Sumpter Twp. hears presentation about district library

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
At its regular meeting on July 22, the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees listened to a presentation by Joy Cichewicz, vice president of the Belleville Area District Library Board, and Rick Dawson, husband of the library board president.
The primary election on Aug. 5 will contain two library proposals: one for millage to fund bonds to build the main library and one for millage to run the libraries, both for 20 years.
Cichewicz showed the architect’s drawings and explained briefly the proposed satellite library plan for the Sumpter Community Center site. She said it would be open 28 hours a week.
She said the satellite will contain a lab to teach computers, typically one-on-one since that works best, and the computers would be open to the public when not used for teaching.
She said according to her calculations, this library site would have the only public wireless access in Sumpter Township.
Cichewicz said the satellite library will be about 3,000 square feet, the same size as the original Belleville Library.
She then gave a brief description of the proposed main library at the DNR site on the lake north of the Belleville Bridge.
Sumpter Trustee Bill Hamm said the library board sent a display for the Community Center and he and Trustee Alan Bates were charged with inspecting the display and OKing it to be put up.
Hamm said they looked at it and it didn’t urge people to vote yes or no, but was just information.
Cichewicz said there were two small drawings: one of the Sumpter satellite and one of the new main library. She said they were already stuck up on a door at the Community Center.
Then Dawson, who had been handing the drawings to Cichewicz for her talk, said their presentation was complete and they would be leaving.
Mary Sherwood protested from the audience, asking when the public would be able to ask questions. Cichewicz and Dawson said they would stay for questions.
At the end of the meeting when questions were taken, Sherwood asked about access to the adult area upstairs in the proposed main library and Cichewicz said there is an elevator.
Barbara Miller asked how much would be spent on renovations of the Community Center for Sumpter’s satellite library and Cichewicz said that would be just under $1 million. She said $19 million is being spent on the main library.
Miller said that means Sumpter would get just 5% of the money spent.
Miller asked what the target date was for constructing the Sumpter Township Library and Cichewicz said the library architect said the Sumpter and main library could be built simultaneously.
Mary Ban asked about the acreage for the library and the acreage for the fishing area on the lake and Dawson said they didn’t have that information. But, Cichewicz said the library acreage is just under five acres for the two plot. They didn’t have acreage for the fishing.
The house would be $500,000, Cichewicz said, and she didn’t have the figure on her for the DNR property.
Earlier in the meeting, township attorney Rob Young said the draft of the lease agreement between the library and the township has been studied and suggested changes added.
Young said the document has been sent back to library attorney John Day for his comments.
The lease agreement proposed by Day was for paying the township $1 for 30 years, but having the library pay its own expenses.
In other business at the July 22 meeting, the board:
• Approved the Senior Alliance Plan for Aging Services for fiscal year 2015;
• Approved an interview committee of John Tackett, Bill Hamm, Alan Bates, and John Morgan to go over the three applications for plumbing inspector;
• Approved the Wayne County Hazard Mitigation Plan developed by the Wayne County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, with the Wayne County Local Emergency Planning Committee;
• Approved hiring as on-call fire fighters: Ronald Barnette, Jamie Krushlin, Daniel Montecinos, Jesse Durham, Gabe Akans, and Robert Gay;
• Approved a proclamation supporting a Willow Run Bomber Plant Memorial, as envisioned by Tim King of Ypsilanti Township. King is getting support throughout Michigan for a memorial and is asking the governor and legislature to delegate sufficient funding for the memorial to honor the contributions of the Bomber Plant, the B-24 Bomber, and all who worked there as “Guardians of the Spirit of America’s Liberator”;
• Heard Trustee Peggy Morgan announce she went to the open house at the Moose Lodge (in the former PNA Hall) the previous Sunday and there was a large crowd and the Moose has done a great job with the building. Treasurer John Morgan said the Moose is “an asset to the community.” He said Moose memberships are at a discount now, but will be going back up to regular price soon;
• Learned there is no new information on the proposed Inter-county Drain and so attorney Young suggested the project, which no longer seems pressing, be put on hold for a bit; and
• Learned the fire department will be presenting its annual corn roast on Sept. 7.
Treasurer John Morgan presided at the meeting in place of Supervisor Johnny Vawters who is on medical leave.