Sumpter Supervisor told to get three sealed bids for his office renovation

Sumpter Township Supervisor Tim Bowman was advised by his township board that he had to get three sealed bids for his office renovations and refused to make a motion to approve his proposal.
This was at the April 23 regular meeting of the township board. Trustee Donald LaPorte was absent and excused.
Supervisor Bowman asked for approval of renovations for his office at a cost of $47,860 plus an addition cost of $8,000 for fixtures and furniture for a total not to exceed the cost of $55,860.
There were no motions for approval and Trustee Matthew Oddy noted that when the board members discussed the renovations, it included glass in front of his secretary, like all the other offices where officials met the public. He said safety was the primary reason.
Bowman said, “Karen doesn’t want glass in front of her,” referring to Karen Woodington, his assistant. He said they are making the wall in front of her taller and narrower and there will be an area for handicapped. He said there is furniture and fixtures for a new meeting room.
Bowman said she will have a new desk and the assessor will use his desk near her, looking out at the public.
“When we started, it was for security purposes … and for me, that should be added to this plan. I know Karen doesn’t want it,” said Trustee Oddy.
Bowman replied that he goes to a lot of offices in Ann Arbor, Canton, Wayne, and Romulus and none of them have glass in front of that. He that is not the thing to do. He said they should ask the police chief how often does the township have a threat.
He said glass is aggravating and they can’t hear on the other side.
Bowman said he asked Dawn in the clerk’s office how she felt about the glass there and he said she likes it during the germ season so she doesn’t get a cold. He said the glass at the treasurer’s office is a different thing.
Clerk Esther Hurst gently reminded Bowman that they need three sealed bids for purchases over $10,000. She asked if his bids were sealed. He said they weren’t.
He claimed the township never required that before and Clerk Hurst said that was the township’s policy.
Trustee Oddy said he does think having a meeting room is a good idea because the trustees don’t have offices and they don’t like to displace other officials in the offices when they want to meet with a resident.
Bowman said he got three different contractors to submit bids and Finance Director Holtz told him how to do it and, “Now, you want sealed bids.”
“It’s always been our policy,” Hurst repeated.
Oddy said in the past a package was presented, advertised, and they tried to get three sealed bids.
“I’m done with it. Do what you want,” Bowman said.
Trustee Oddy noted there were no motions on the floor, so they could move on with the agenda without taking action on that item.
At the end of the meeting, Trustee Tim Rush said he thinks the board is in support of Bowman’s office work and wants the office upgraded but said three sealed bids were needed.
“I did what they told me to do,” Bowman said. “They made me look like a dumb ass. That’s real support.”
Rush said the board is in support. He said he is talking about bids.
“We have to advertise,” Hurst advised.
In other business at the 51-minute meeting on April 23, the board:
• Approved a motion to promote police patrol officer Sean Hudson to sergeant effective April 22, as recommended by Public Safety Director/Police Chief Eric Luke. The meeting paused while Hudson’s father pinned the new badge on his son and the board paused for photos with the Hudsons;
• Approved purchase of a new sewer pump for the Rawsonville Road pump station at a cost of $64,132 plus freight from Kennedy Industries. The current pump failed and it would take more than $38,000 to repair it, a significant amount for a standby pump. Meanwhile, there had been two pumps pumping the sewage at that location and since the failure the pump that is left is operating full time;
• Approved purchase of a new control board for the Sumpter Road pump station at a total cost of $6,265.97;
• Approved to direct the township manager to post/publish bid requests for ARPA obligated projects, with final approval by the township board;
• Approved permitting Priority Waste to transport, repair, paint, and partial-decal designated recycling containers at a total cost of $1,500 each, expensed to obligated ARPA funds;
• Approved use of the 2024 Employee Self Evaluation and the 2024 Employee Performance Survey;
• Approved accepting the resignation of Kristina Stencel from the temporary part-time position;
• Approved on a 4-2 vote, with Clerk Hurst and Treasurer Bart Patterson voting no, to keep Kristina Stencel on the part-time pay of about $16 per hour in the temporary position and raise it retroactively to the permanent part-time position pay of $22.87 effective April 24;
• Heard Finance Director Scott Holtz report that during the last fiscal year the township received $2,327,330.13 from the landfill in royalties. He also reported that in the first quarter the township has $3.1 million in investments at Comerica and $12.6 million in other investments, making a total of $15.7 million which is expected to bring in $500,000 in income by the end of the year;
• Heard John Chapman, who runs a car repair on Sumpter Road, just south of Willow Road, complain about an ordinance officer who has two allegations against him concerning state and local business licenses and asked the board to “get this muttonhead off my back.” He said he originally worked on his own property in Sumpter before he cut his legs off. Then he had a shop in Belleville and then came back to Sumpter. He said he promised the late Supervisor Johnny Vawters to clean up that location and he kept his promise. “I got a lot of compliments on the way the place looks,” he said. “If I’m a bad person, arrest me. I’m a criminal,” he said. Board members said they would like more information and asked the attorney to look into the situation. “We’ll try to figure it out,” promised Trustee Peggy Morgan. Trustee Rush told Chapman, “I’m the one who expedited the license you’re holding there”;
• Heard Trustee Rush announce that the Council of Western Wayne will be meeting at Sumpter Township Hall at 9:30 a.m., June 7, the group’s last meeting before the summer break. He said often people representing the county, state, and federal governments attend the meetings and much vital information is shared;
• Heard Oddy report that the planning commission will be meeting on May 9 and they are working on the Master Plan. He said they hope to have the proposed carwash on the agenda. There were concerns about the water discharge into the township’s pressurize system and turning lanes at the intersection of Sumpter and Bemis roads;
• Heard Township Manager Anthony Burdick report that he will ask the supervisor to give him the unsolicited sealed offer he has so it can be considered. He also said a training professional who does behavior modification, will do a presentation at the May 14 board meeting. He reported on virtual meetings on the use of ARPA funds, work on the compensation for Fire Chief Brown, and attempts to get things put in place at a Parks and Recreation meeting.