The former DPW yard at 100 Davis Street has been the target of environmental cleanup for almost 20 years.
Following the latest directions from the Department of Environmental Quality, about even more testing, the City of Belleville plans to use the remaining $45,000 in LUST funds – which expire at the end of September.
LUST stands for Leaking Underground Storage Tanks and the federal funds were used to clean up many sites in Michigan. Belleville’s grant requires 20% matching funds.
The property had held an underground tank for gasoline for city vehicles, but that was removed a long time ago and contaminated soil removed.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, City Manager Diana Kollmeyer said she, DPW Director Keith Boc, attorney John Day, and city consultants CTI met with DEQ regarding the final closure report for 100 Davis Street.
The property’s neighbor is interested in buying the site and the city has been trying to get a final OK from DEQ.
“We thought we were ready to go forward, but, I guess, we’re not,” she told the council.
Attorney Day said the city submitted a closure letter to DEQ almost a year ago. He said the city went through the steps of hiring a consultant, cleaning up the site and submitting a letter.
He said the DEQ asked the city to file deed restrictions, which it did. Then the DEQ asked the city to file the deed restrictions with page markings, which it did. Then, the city heard no more.
The rules are that if a municipality hears nothing for six months, it can assume the site closure is approved.
In April, a senior geologist looked at the information and everything changed.
Day said this is a half-acre site with more than 20 testing wells. The geologist said he didn’t know which way the groundwater was flowing.
The geologist said he didn’t know if the city got all the source materials. They want more testing and possibly more cleanup, Day said.
“We had LUST funds of $45,000 and at the end of this month it goes away,” Day said, adding, with a roll of his eyes, that the geologist said this could be a seven-figure cleanup.
Day said the city is willing to dig a few more holes to prove it’s clean.
Boc said the plan is to start digging this week and keep digging out the dirt until the DEQ says it’s all out.
Boc said the DEQ will require them to “bust the floor” on the inside of the building to dig some more.
“It has to be done by the end of the month,” Boc said, adding that the DEQ knew in April that there were questions, but didn’t let the city know until late August.
Day said the city could litigate, but that would take time, and more monitoring wells would take time, which the city doesn’t have because it will be losing its LUST funds.
“The best idea is to go over and dig a big hole and keep taking samples to show there’s no source material left,” Day said.
Boc estimated that the work by the consultants will be about $30,000 with the city’s share about $9,000.
The council unanimously authorized paying up to $55,000 for the project, most of which will be reimbursed.
Boc said CTI will be looking at bids for the additional testing.
Councilman Jim Shrove asked: “Can’t we tell the FBI that Jimmy Hoffa is buried there?” and the meeting room erupted in laughter.
Boc said 100 yards of soil have been removed already and it’s been contaminated for almost 20 years. He said they will be “fingerprinting” the contamination to make sure it’s the city that is responsible and not others.
In other business, the council:
* Approved the 2009-10 budget of $994,310 for the Fred C. Fischer Library. The library is supported by the tri-community and Sumpter Township has already approved it. Van Buren Township will consider the budget next. Library Director Debbie Green gave an update on the growing use of the library and said she has hopes the district library project will be settled by the end of the year. She praised the allocation of a Belleville Reserve Police officer for after school hours and wishes they had done it sooner. She said there is no more smoking and no more fights on the porch. Also, no more stolen bikes. After the council approved the budget, Mayor Pro Tem Rick Dawson said, “Deb struggles really, really hard to keep the budget in line”;
* Approved an extension of 60 more days on the existing sign ordinance enforcement moratorium. This action also extends permission for merchants on Main Street, between Denton and East Huron River Drive, to have temporary ground signs not to exceed 24×36″;
* Approved Mayor Richard Smith’s appointments to a sign committee to study the ordinance and make recommendations to the council. He appointed: Mayor Pro-Tem Dawson, a representative of the administration (either Kollmeyer or Boc), and Michelle Leonard Mahaffey, the owner of A&W restaurant with an ardent interest in the sign ordinance that she said could affect her business drastically;
* Approved two resolutions – one to create a Downriver Sewer Authority and one to create its budget. Each community is putting in $3,000. Boc explained that the 13 communities now pay Wayne County for sewer treatment and they would like to handle the process themselves, since a recent study showed the communities will save money by doing it themselves. Boc said there may have to be a court battle with Wayne County over who owns the assets. The current contract with the county expires in 2012;
* Approved the mayor’s appointment of LaMuriel Lyman to the Parks and Recreation Commission to fill the unexpired term of Martha Brown, who resigned. Lyman’s term will run to 2012;
* Approved the Parks & Recreation plan for the second-annual Scarecrow Contest. The DPW will build the frames for the entries and then put entries up at the light poles about Oct. 12. They will stay up until after the downtown trick-or-treat event on Oct. 30. The Harvest Fest in the area of the museum and library is set for Oct. 17. More details of the contest will be decided at next Monday’s Parks and Recreation meeting. When asked if the work on Main Street will allow the Harvest Fest activities, Kollmeyer said on Oct. 17 Main Street “may not be pretty, but it will be safe for the children”;
* Approved accounts payable of $975,526.29, including the following departmental purchases more than $500: Absolute Sales International, $959.50, for CLEMIS installation/ programming; AT&T, $611.55, for final bill/old line, police; CDW Government, Inc., $2,634 for CLEMIS hardware; Jack Doheny, $807.63, sweeper parts; Macomb Community College, $1,320, membership dues; McCoig, $832.25, concrete cemetery foundations; Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels, $3,440, legal fees / POAM case; and R.L. Evans, $4,420 for city hall repairs during renovations;
* Heard Kollmeyer comment on how the faltering economy has affected other municipalities and how glad she is that the city has not needed layoffs. She said in the DPW, one retired and has not been replaced and at issue in the police department is not replacing a retired officer;
* Heard former Mayor Tom Fielder note that the municipalities, such as Belleville, that are on the Michigan Department of Treasury “Watch List” are required to have balanced budgets, and do. Fielder said the State of Michigan should put itself on the Watch List; and
* Went into executive session to discuss negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement.