Public Safety Director: Sumpter residents can warm up, cool down

Sumpter Township Public Safety Director/Police Chief Eric Luke said the township offers a place for residents to warm up or cool down 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
He said all they have to do is call (734) 740-1530 and they will be let into the comfort of the Sumpter Community Center, 23501 Sumpter Rd., right across from township hall.
The regular hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it’s available after hours by request, Director Luke said.
The township has been criticized for not posting this information on a sign in front of the building, but Director Luke said he doesn’t want people to think they can use the building only when the sign is up.
He said he has posted the phone number on Nixle and Channel 12 local access that runs continually to let the residents know it is always open, if needed.
Luke said the Community Center was designated a shelter under the township’s Emergency Operation Plan in 2015 and was first opened as an official warming center in April 2018 leading up to a dangerous cold spell forecast for the area.
A Nixle message was sent out, which in turn automatically posted to the Sumpter Police Department website and both the police department and fire department Facebook pages, Luke said.
It was again opened as a warming center in January 2019, leading up to another forecasted dangerous cold spell, he said. At that time, Sumpter Township was added to the warming center list kept by the Wayne County Department of Homeland Security / Emergency Management, and it, in turn, furnishes information to regional media when an expected need arises, he said.
Luke said at that time, Sumpter Township was one of 27 Wayne County municipalities on the list. A Nixle message was sent out (again with auto-posts to the other three locations). Same hours as above and continue to this day for both warming and cooling center, he said.
Luke adds these other statements:
• It was first opened as an official cooling center on or about July 21, 2019, leading up to excessive heat forecasted for our area. A public notification was made via the methods specified above and the sign in front of the community center.
• Open as a warming center on or about Nov. 12, 2019. A public notification was made via the methods specified above and the sign in front of the community center.
• Open as a cooling center on or about July 6, 2020, even though the community center was otherwise closed due to COVID. A public notification was made via the methods specified above and the sign in front of the community center.
• Open again as a cooling center on or about July 15, 2020, for another round of excessive heat (again, Community Center otherwise closed due to COVID). Notification made same as above. Following this date, Luke said he believes that was the time he spoke at length at a board meeting about the center being open whenever needed as a warming or cooling center with no official announcement required.
• Open as a warming center on or about Nov. 17, 2020 (Community Center still otherwise closed due to COVID). Luke said notification was put out on the typical sites as above but was not posted on the sign in front of the community center as, “We did not want the public to mistakenly think the only time it was open was when the sign was up, or they’d received a notification through the other means.” He said he instead created a slide that he attached to the Nixle post and began running non-stop on Channel 12 local access (continues to this day with a minor wording edit) to let residents know that it’s ALWAYS open to them should they need it.
• On Aug. 25, 2021, leading up to an expected spell of excessive heat, “We sent out a reminder via the typical means, with the slide attached again, stating, ‘With the heat index expected to reach 100 degrees this afternoon, Sumpter Township wants to remind our residents that the community center, 23501 Sumpter Rd., operates as a cooling center (or warming center in colder months) whenever there is a need.”
• On Jan. 4, 2022, Luke said he received an email from the Wayne County Department of Homeland Security / Emergency Management, something they frequently do leading up to a hot/cold spell, asking for municipalities to confirm their continued operation of warming centers. Luke said he confirmed Sumpter’s information and noted that Sumpter Township was one of only nine on the list offering the warming center and one of only four who were offering 24-hour service, if needed.
Luke said over the years there have been five uses of the service, with one being a multi-day stay.