Supervisor McNamara: Ecorse could be runway for self-driving cars

With the American Center for Mobility getting under way at Willow Run at the west side of Van Buren Township, the VBT Downtown Development Authority is looking for ways to tap into the project.
At its regular DDA meeting on April 25, VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara said the township made sure ACM knew about Grace Lake, just down Ecorse Road from Willow Run, as a place for research and development offices.
“They’ll be looking for a new runway for cars and Ecorse is a natural,” Supervisor McNamara said of the driverless-car facility.
He said ACM needed $50 million to start and they just got two $15 million pots of money, giving them the final $30 million they needed. Now they can move forward and plan to open Dec. 1 of this year, he said.
McNamara said all car companies will want a little bit of property near the project for research and development and VBT is in the right place.
He said there will be a super-high-tech garage offered on site. The cars will be tested in their little city on site, but those involved will need another facility. He said realtors are waiting to see if ACM takes off.
DDA Director Susan Ireland said AT&T was ACM’s first investor.
Assistant DDA Director Lisa Lothringer reported she and VBT Director of Planning and Economic Development Ron Akers attended a regional meeting at SPARK on “Planning for the Future of Mobility and Autonomous Vehicles.” SPARK is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the economy of the Ann Arbor region.
She said she and Akers also attended the Wayne County Economic Development Partnership Forum which included discussions on possible local implications of budget cuts from the federal and state levels and a presentation by DTE on creating partnerships for growth.
In other business at the April 25 meeting, the DDA:
• Approved expending $7,335 for the purchase of five Automatic External Defibrillators to be mounted in strategic locations at the township hall and public services building, as requested by Public Safety Director Gregory Laurain. The DDA also allocated $200 for other training expenses, probably pizza for the 35-40-minute training session planned for all township employees. They are being purchased from Aventric Tech in Warren and have an eight-year warranty. They will be maintained by the fire department;
• Approved the low $14,610 bid of Gonczy’s Property Maintenance to maintain the landscape for 2017 at the Ecorse and Belleville roads intersection. WH Canon, which maintained the landscape last year after installing it, bid $35,340, and Pioneer bid $22,375;
• Approved allocating $150 for a Michigan Certified Assessing Technician (MCAT) class for Lothringer during the 2017 calendar year, plus lodging and meals, if necessary. Ireland said it is in the best interest of the DDA for staff to have background in either assessing or taxes;
• Approved allocating up to $3,000 for Phase 1 of the 2017-18 Printing Marketing Campaign that includes a full-page ad in the 2018 Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce Directory; a half-page ad in the Strawberry Festival booklet, shared with the township; the 2017 sculpture brochure; and revision and reprint of the Welcome Map;
• Heard Ireland report that she and Lothringer went to Glen-Gery Supply and selected the building stone for the bottom four inches of the structure to be rebuilt at 10101 and 10151 Belleville Road – the Placemaking project. The manmade stone selected is impervious and never fades, she said;
• Heard Ireland announce the DDA has completed purchase of 10065 and 10085 Belleville Road. The DPW has secured the buildings until they are checked out for asbestos and demolished. The architect has been directed to include these parcels as part of the Placemaking project;
• Heard Ireland report she met with MDOT to discuss the aesthetics of the planned pedestrian overpass on Belleville Road. She said she believes they will be able to put a VBT logo on both sides of the bridge. She said there will be light poles at each end of the walkway, for safety, but not shining into traffic. No lights will be on the bridge. She said MDOT said the bridge at Telegraph and I-94 is its worst nightmare because workers have to change lightbulbs every week because of traffic vibrations. She said they plan to go out for bids on the pedestrian overpass in March 2018; and
• Heard Lothringer report that thus far 55 young people had applied for the Summer Youth Jobs Initiative. McNamara said there are 25 to 30 positions open and so applicants will compete for the jobs.