VBT OKs engineering for Belleville Road water main extension

An 8-inch water main installation project on Belleville Road between Jeanette and Sunrise will eliminate four dead ends in that area, Water & Sewer Director Kevin Lawrence told the Van Buren Board of Trustees at its Dec. 19 meeting.
The new line will run along the east side of Belleville Road between Jeanette Avenue and Sunrise Lane to provide redundancy looping for existing water main dead ends on Jeanette, Venetian, and Sunrise.
In conjunction with the new 8-inch water main along the east side of Belleville Road, an 8-inch water main crossing of Belleville Road near Venetian will provide a loop to the plaza on the west side.
The board unanimously approved not to exceed $147,800 be paid to Fishbeck for engineering services for the project. Supervisor Kevin McNamara and Trustee Sherry Frazier were absent and excused from the meeting.
In other business at the 41-minute meeting on Dec. 19, the board:
• Approved the 2024 Board of Trustees Meeting Schedule and the 2024 Township Holiday Schedule;
• Approved the Washtenaw Area Mutual Aid Council Interlocal Agreement. It has been updated to reflect the change from a charitable organization to a government agency to allow for legal protection;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointment of Jill Yob to the Environmental Commission with a term to expire on Oct. 1, 2026;
• Heard Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Merrie Coburn give the 2023 DDA Annual Report. The VBT DDA was created in 1990;
• Approved having Fishbeck engineers provide a Reliability Study and General Plan for the township’s water system in the amount of $34,500. The study is mandated by law every five years and VBT’s last study was in 2016;
• Approved having Fishbeck engineers provide engineering services for the North Shore and Beckley Road pump station replacements for the township sanitary system in the amount of $68,900. The North Shore pump station has three grinder pumps in wet well and a 1-1/4-inch diameter discharge. The station was installed in 2013. The Beckley Road pump station is a 100 gpm-rated steel dry-pit pump station installed in 1970. The North Shore pump station has reliability issues and Beckley Road pump station is at the end of its useful life;
• Approved the petition and resolution for the abandonment of a portion of the Bell Creek Drain on properties owned by Ashley Capital on the west side of Haggerty Road south of Van Born and 6480 Haggerty Rd. The abandonment of this section of the drain will facilitate the development of the 175-acre Crossroads North Phase 2 development. The drain, which starts on the site, will be rerouted to the storm basin and south to a different drainage district. The petition and resolution is required by the Michigan Drain Code for this abandonment to occur. Wayne County makes the final decision;
• Heard Morris Little from Van Buren Estates say there is a rumor about a new township hall being built. Treasurer Sharry Budd, who was chairing the meeting in the absence of the supervisor, said they are not building a new building for the township hall, but they are building a community center. Little also asked about who is paying for the reconstruction of Haggerty Road and was told it was mainly the grants. Little said at one point the supervisor wanted to pay a large amount for the project, but that didn’t happen;
• Heard Clerk Leon Wright say that because of State Proposal 2, there are changes to how the voting will go in 2024, starting with the Republican presidential primary on Feb. 27 and then elections in August and November. He said early voting will take place nine days before election day and the township has two precincts set up at the township hall where people can vote and then put their ballot in the tabulator. He said they also have no-reason absentee voting, which starts 45 days ahead of election day, but these ballots are not counted until election day. If a voter changes his or her mind after turning in the absentee ballot, the ballot can be spoiled and the voter can revote. There is a major difference between the two voting methods because with early voting, the ballots are put into the tabulator and can’t be recalled; and
• Heard Treasurer Budd say the township offices will be closed from Dec. 21 through Jan. 2, but her treasurer’s office will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, if people want to come in and pay their property taxes in 2023. She said any tax payments in the drop-off box or in the slot in the police department will be credited to payment in 2023 when they reopen the treasurer’s office on Jan. 3.