VBT Board approves change of Iron Belle Trail on east end

The Iron Belle Trail route has been changed on the east end of Van Buren Township and it will now go straight down East Huron River Drive from the City of Belleville to the entrance of the Lower Huron Metropark at Haggerty Road.
At the regular meeting of the VBT Board of Trustees on June 4, the board unanimously passed a resolution approving the revised route. There is no additional cost to the township at this time, but the township board may have future finance decisions, said Supervisor Kevin McNamara.
The resolution states the township has received information that Wayne County plans to perform work on the bridge on East Huron River Drive and the entrance to Lower Huron Metropark, including the addition of sidewalks on the south side of the bridge.
The previously approved route of the eastern half of the Iron Belle Trail in the township had planned to go east on East Huron River Drive from the City of Belleville to Edison Lake Road in front of Sandy’s Marina, across the Huron River on the old bridge, then north to French Landing Park to Haggerty Road then south on Haggerty to the Metropark entrance.
Engineering firm PEA, Inc., which is designing and doing preliminary engineering on the route, evaluated the new information and recommended the route be revised.
The board was advised that in the future as trail planning and design efforts continue it may be necessary to make modifications to the route. These changes will be brought back to the board.
Jeffrey Smith of PEA said the new route scores highest of any proposed for that area and it will offer the following benefits:
• It eliminates two road crossings, therefore making the route much safer.
• It also eliminates the engineering challenges by Sandy’s Marina.
• It eliminates concerns about the deteriorating bridge.
• It eliminates the potential conflict with the land owner east of the river.
• The very outspoken residents along this route strongly prefer avoiding Edison Lake Road and the road crossings.
• Huron River Drive crosses the railroad tracks at 90 degrees which is safer than the angled crossing on Haggerty.
Supervisor McNamara said the head of bridge maintenance at Wayne County has confirmed the upcoming work on the bridge and has said 6’ sidewalks would be on both sides of the bridge that is being repaired.
Trustee Reggie Miller asked if the township has written documentation that the bridge widening work will be done. She said the report she heard said, “if possible.”
“Based on an official I talked to, Wayne County would not pay for the sidewalks,” Trustee Miller said referring to her longtime contact Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous.
“The supervisor assures us he has it in writing,” Miller said. She said the supervisor says the county will pay for it and, if not, the township may be able to use funding for the Iron Belle Trail.
She called the route change “a good alternative.”
Supervisor McNamara said it would cost from $700,000 to $1 million to repair the old bridge and a half million dollars per road crossing.
“I think this would work out nice,” McNamara said.
Trustee Paul White read an email sent by Ali Aljawad, head bridge engineer at Wayne County, to VBT Director of Planning and Economic Development Ron Akers, that Akers had read at the work/study session the day before. This was in reply to a question by Akers on bridge work at that site.
The email said the deck repair and rehabilitation of the bridge is scheduled for 2020 and there will be six-foot sidewalks on both sides, “if this is feasible.”
During the work/study session, McNamara said he talked to Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Director of Public Services Beverly Watts about it. He said they are Ali’s bosses and Ali is in charge of bridge engineering.
Akers said he asked Ali if one side could be 10 feet wide for the Iron Belle Trail and he said they’d look at it.
McNamara said if the sidewalk isn’t built, the board could change the route. But, he said, Iron Belle would pay to make it wider.
“You’re going to get this — maybe nicer,” he said of the bridge. “I think we’ve got the opportunity.”
In other business at the 47-minute June 4 meeting, the board:
• Approved paying $202,574 with a 10% discretionary fund to Fonson Company, Inc., for the Briarwood Sanitary Repair with money coming from the Water and Sewer Fund. Water and Sewer Director Jim Taylor said regular camera testing found a 300-foot section of sanitary sewer had defects that could cause constriction of flow which could send sewage into basements in the 20-year-old subdivision on Van Born at Briarwood Drive. The work will impact three residential driveways and these residents at 6300, 6316 and 6334 Briarwood Dr. will be contacted so cars can be moved out ahead of the digging. Work will begin after the school bus routes stop and be done after the Fourth of July — about four weeks. There is to be no restriction of flow during the repair and all properties are to be restored;
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone 13414 Martinsville Rd. from M-1, Light Industrial, to R1-B, Single Family Residential. The second reading and approval will be at an upcoming meeting. This is the fourth rezoning on Martinsville from M-1 to R1-B and a rezoning request costs $600 and takes 60 to 90 days. There was much board discussion about how to solve this problem of houses on M-1 zoning, making them non-conforming uses, which has to be changed for home buyers to get bank loans. Letters will be sent to the other 15 residences on that stretch of Martinsville north of Savage that are zoned M-1 to offer them rezoning at reduced, or no, charge. Gentle Machine and Die and Great Lakes Repair are M-1 uses in the M-1 zoning, so the township can’t just rezone the whole area;
• Heard Trustee Kevin Martin report the free tire recycling day brought about 2,000 tires, nearly filling up three bins;
• Heard Trustee Miller report that fireworks are set for June 29, with a rain date of June 30, at Beck Ball Fields, and concerts will be held at 7 p.m. at Quirk Park July 10, 17, and 24;
• Heard Treasurer Sharry Budd report the Belleville Area Museum has an exhibit of wedding dresses and will hold a fashion show on Thursday, June 20; and
• Heard Trustee Paul White say he was disappointed that the Van Buren Township board missed participating in the Sumpter Fest Parade and he hopes next year there will be a group in the parade. He also said he attended the Memorial Day ceremony in the City of Belleville and was disappointed the supervisor wasn’t there to help honor everyone who died and the 75,000 who are missing in action and didn’t return. McNamara said he was busy and, “I almost never speak on Memorial Day because I am not worthy to speak,” because he is not a veteran. “I asked Clerk Wright and Trustee Martin. They served their country,” McNamara said. Martin attended and Wright said he was not able to go and, “Everyone has his own way of marking Memorial Day.” He said board members need to work on comments to each other. Treasurer Budd said somebody shouldn’t point fingers and condemn somebody else. She said her family was coming over that day. Miller said, “Stop with the negative comments,” but White continued to say McNamara should attend events in the tri-community. Board members were talking over each other and Budd made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Miller and McNamara said, “I don’t deserve to speak” and then amid the turmoil at the board table said, “I’m going to adjourn this meeting.” And, did.