Belleville Fire Dept. Auxiliary announces $21,000 earned for truck

The Belleville Fire Department Auxiliary raised $21,000 to “Dress the Truck” at its event at the Belleville Yacht Club on Oct. 7.
At the Oct. 16 meeting of the Belleville City Council, auxiliary member and candidate for council Julie Kissel said it was a fun event and the money was earned to buy the necessary equipment needed for the new fire truck, obtained with a grant.
Later in the meeting, Fire Chief Brian Loranger thanked the auxiliary for the “Dress the Truck” event and funds and said he wanted to tell “the rest of the story.”
He said the power went out at 1 p.m. and the “Dress the Truck” event started at 5 p.m. The BYC was on reduced power. The lights came back on at 9:30 p.m., so it took a lot of special activity to have the food at the party and raise all that money.
The council also thanked Kissel for being at city hall for the past few weeks cleaning up offices and “getting dirty” to help the transition to the new city manager and setting up the office for the assistant manager.
Councilman Tom Fielder said during the cleanup they found some very old pictures and film from early Belleville activities and they will be trying to see what is on the film.
Mayor Pro-Tem Ken Voigt said he thought it was interesting that during the month of Booville and near Halloween that the back room at city hall is getting less scary.
In other business at Monday’s 48-minute meeting, the council:
• Welcomed the new city manager Jason Smith noting this is his first day on the job and they hope he will come back the next day. He said he is happy to be here and will be back tomorrow;
• Witnessed the promotions of three probationary fire fighters who have earned full fire-fighter status: Michael Wisniewski, Robert Gay, and Michael Harper;
• Announced the scarecrow contest winners: Animal Magic, Mark and Misty, tops in the Business Category; Belleville Area Council for the Arts, tops in the Adult Organization category; Boy Scout Troop 793, tops in the Youth Organization; and Vicki Geyer and Jamie Winters, tops in the Families/Individuals category. None of the winners were present to receive their awards, except for BACA. Mayor Pro-Tem Voigt accepted that award;
• Approved the special-event application for the Cinnamon Father’s Day Car Show on June 16, 2024, with a notation that they may have to revisit the approval if the Victory Park renovations are going on at that time;
• Reviewed reports on police and fire services for the year. Year-to-date calls for service for police is 2,844, up from 2,474 at this time last year. The fire report shows 636 calls so far this year, with 33 during the month of October so far. About 84% of the runs are rescue and emergency medical service. The fire department also presented a list of the community events the duty crew and other fire fighters are attending during October;
• Approved accounts payable of $212,147.88 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Blue Ribbon Contracting, $4,760 for replacement of the sewer on Roys St., and $12,975.50 for the sewer on N. Liberty St.; and to Osborne Concrete, $824 for road repair near water valve. When asked, DPW Director Rick Rutherford said the city is paying its contractor for the Roys St. repair and then will go after those responsible;
• Heard Councilman Jeremiah Beebe ask for follow-up reports on Victoria Commons’ signage and trees, as discussed at the last meeting. DPW Director Rick Rutherford said they trimmed the branches covering the no-parking signs, replaced four faded no-parking signs, and trimmed branches covering stop signs;
• Heard Victoria Commons resident Sherry Jones say she has lived in the subdivision for 26 years and she complained about Councilwoman Kelly Bates parking in a no-parking zone. Jones asked why all of a sudden, during the last two months, Bates would park on the wrong side. Tom Jones said he has a solution: If the Chevy pickup truck would pull up a little so it is parking in a legal area it would work. He said the residents love Bates and they all need to live together as neighbors. Mayor Kerreen Conley said the acting police chief wasn’t present that night but they will get clarification on the ordinance from the police chief and fire chief;
• Heard Councilman Fielder announce that Belleville High School is hosting the league championship football game between BHS and Northville at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. He said both teams have school colors of orange and black. Fielder also noted a new veterinarian drug, other than fentanyl, has caused 30 to 40 deaths in the middle part of the state and it probably will be in Wayne County eventually. It caused 200 deaths in Philadelphia. He couldn’t remember the exact name of the drug;
• Heard Rutherford report that the work on the cemetery roads is largely done and the cemetery is open. Additional lane widening will take place on Monday, Oct. 23. Mayor Conley said some very generous people in the community paid for the cemetery work; and
• Heard Tom Jones ask about taking steps for child safety during Halloween, noting adults should walk with kids. “With gummies out now, you have to be careful,” Jones said. Mayor Conley agreed, saying, “Things are not always what they seem to be.” Fire Chief Loranger said there are a ton of parents who walk with the children during downtown Halloween trick or treat. Councilman Bates said there are 220 homes in Victoria Commons and children get bused into their community from the outside. They discussed fire department candy testing for children; and
• Heard Ray Martin thank the council for taking care of trimming the trees in Victoria Commons and putting the speed monitor from Van Buren Township up that seemed to deter speeding. He said the city should get its own monitor and he volunteered to write a grant application for one, like he used to do when he worked for the Detroit Police Department.