Wayne County to resurface Sumpter Rd. from Hull to Willis

Wayne County will be paving Sumpter Road from Hull Road in Van Buren Township to Willis Road in Sumpter Township this summer.
This was announced by Sumpter Township Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis at the special, in-person meeting of the township board on June 2. She said the township had just been informed.
Resident Mary Ban, who has been working to get the road fixed for several years, was pleased and said, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil.”
She has lobbied for the road upgrade with Wayne County and with Van Buren Township, but she said the township wasn’t very helpful. One township official, she said, offered to have a grader sent out, but she said she told him that Sumpter Road was asphalt.
In the past, Ban’s efforts also were responsible for traffic signals at Willis and Rawsonville roads and Martz and Rawsonville roads, and the changing of the timing of the light at Bemis and Sumpter roads.
Also, at the special, 38-minute meeting June 2, the township board:
• Approved a fiber optic package by Comcast pertaining to the township phone system at a cost of $1,400 per month for 60 months, as recommended by Finance Director Elle Cole. She said Comcast is willing to invest $30,000 in the project and the township will be able to drop Verizon phone service of $24,000 to $30,000 a year. After the 60 months, the township will own the fiber optic system. Cole said this will strengthen internet reception and introduce fiber to Sumpter Township and encourage putting in more fiber for residents. It will not improve the quality of the board meeting videos on You Tube, the board was told;
• Approved Sumpter Township COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Plan with Michelle Bellingham designated as the township’s Workplace Coordinator and Karen Armatis as back-up;
• Approved the low bid on cement replacement beside the library and behind water building at a cost of $8,500 paid to C&S Construction Management of Wyandotte out of library funds;
• Approved the low bid for $20,400 on chain link fencing surrounding the DPW pole barn and storage yard, beside the library, from Outdoor Amenities of Sumpter Township, paid out of library funds;
• Approved paying warrants through June 30 and approved processed payments through May 13 totaling $395,764.37 and processed payments through May 27 of $202,493.96;
• Canceled the June 9 and June 23 regular board meetings and any township commission’s June meetings due to the extended Stay at Home Order, as requested by Clerk Esther Hurst;
• Approved purchase of two royal-blue Ford Police Interceptor Utilities AWD (aka Explorer) at a total cost of $81,282 from Atchinson Ford, as requested by Public Safety Director Eric Luke;
• Hired Jon Tackett as temporary building official in order to sign plan reviews until a permanent official can be hired at a cost of $50 per plan;
• Confirmed all water mail/payments will be opened/processed and stay in the treasurer’s office due to bonding issues and keeping all money in the treasurer’s office. When asked by resident Sharon Pokerwinski what that was all about, Supervisor John Morgan explained there was a disagreement in the treasurer’s office and, “We confirmed what we knew” and thought the board should vote on it. Trustee Matt Oddy said each board member got a copy of a letter from the township’s auditor and, “It has to be done that way for internal controls” and a separation of duties;
• Heard Trustee Don LaPorte report the fire department had picked up the new fire truck and it is out getting lettered now;
• Heard Ban complain about the Secretary of State sending out letters to the 6.5 million registered voters in the state at $.55 each, which totals $3.5 million. She called this squandering of money since the local communities are doing a good job of getting information on absentee voting to their residents. She also said she hadn’t heard from Kroger yet concerning her suggestion to take over the vacant Kmart store on Rawsonville Road in Van Buren Township;
• Heard Pokerwinski ask why Treasurer Ken Bednark hasn’t been to a meeting in four months. Supervisor Morgan and Clerk Esther Hurst said he didn’t give a reason when he called in to say he wasn’t coming. Pokerwinski also said Sherwood Park needs to be mowed. A woman is putting in a butterfly habitat at the park and needs a part mowed. Pokerwinski said there already are many butterflies at the park. She said signs have to be put up concerning swimming because people are swimming by the dock and that disturbs the fish in that area where the fishermen fish. She also said she has paperwork on the final contract from Wayne County for parks, which must be used by September 2022, and has asked for an extension of another grant that needs to be used by September 2020; and
• Heard Pokerwinski also say she was apologizing for the Independent which she said only prints stories about Nelson Po and his group and nobody else. She said she doesn’t know why she is apologizing for the paper since everything the editor publishes is lies. She said she is sorry the board needs to go through this.
Absent from the meeting were Treasurer Kenneth Bednark and Trustee Don Swinson, who were both excused.
At the meeting, which later was aired on YouTube, all the people visible wore masks, including the board. The special meeting notice advised that only 10 people would be allowed in the audience and all others turned away. Also, everyone was to wear masks and practice social distancing.