City Council adds another $15,000 to legal action against landfill

At the Oct. 7 meeting of the Belleville City Council, the council voted unanimously to add another $15,000 to its share of the legal bill to fight the delivery of radioactive waste to the Wayne Disposal operation on the North I-94 Service Drive in Van Buren Township.
Mayor Ken Voigt said this is in addition to the $5,000 already approved by the lawsuit. He said the money will come out of the city’s fund balance. He said that is the city’s “rainy-day fund” and if this isn’t a rainy day, he doesn’t know what is.
Mayor Voigt said Van Buren Township is paying the biggest share of the litigation cost. The township has not publicly announced any cost associated with the litigation.
Mayor Voigt said there is a Wednesday, Oct. 9, motion hearing before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox in Detroit and he is on the witness list. He said the hearing should be interesting. [UPDATE: The Oct. 9 motion hearing was adjourned for a week to Oct. 16.] Judge Cox first enjoined radioactive waste from being delivered to the site and then amended that to say only the waste from the Niagara Falls site is enjoined and the similar wastes from other sites could continue.
He said they think they have a good case since the landfill’s permit expired two years ago and it was allowed to continue. A public hearing is part of the permit application and that is yet to be held.
When asked if the Oct. 9 hearing will be the end of it, he said it wouldn’t, but he expected the state government to ultimately settle the problem.
In other business at Monday’s regular meeting, the council:
• Approved on a 4-1 vote spending $1,090 to get stretching exercises for the police department from ATI which will be given to officers to use to stave off injuries from wearing heavy equipment. Copies of the exercises will be made for the rest of the employees. Councilman Randy Priest voted no without comment. City manager Jason Smith had recommended spending $34,065 to get workstation assessments and ergonomic training, but the council agreed it wasn’t going to be paying $5,000 for each new chair to follow through on workstation assessments. Although Smith had proposed this for police and fire, Fire Chief Brian Loranger said the fire fighters mostly come from home for runs, with a few working seven-hour shifts, so it doesn’t apply to them;
• Was told by Smith that the DPS Director contract for Jordan Edwards for $75,000 didn’t work out because he was not interested and so the proposal to hire him was removed from the agenda. Edwards works at Metro Consultant Associates, a public works consulting company in Plymouth, and also worked at the Ecorse DPW. He was to start immediately to replace the former DPW that Smith fired ;
• Approved a Family Court Awareness Month Proclamation;
• Approved a Konica Minolta printer lease for four multi-function printers, but rejected Smith’s plan to have an additional six smaller printers on desktops. Cost will be $610.65 a month for five years and follows the state contract for such items. This will not service the fire department, which said the auxiliary owns its printers. Councilman Beebe said the goal is to stop killing trees and go electronic when possible;
• Directed Smith to go out for bids for finishing the alley paving instead of presenting quotes for the work from contractors. City workers had taken out the existing paving to begin the work. Mayor Voigt said for projects over $5,000, they have to go out for bids. The work left to do on the alley between Wabash and Davis streets is fine grading, compacting, and four-inches of asphalt. The DDA has approved paying 50% up to $20,000;
• Heard Assistant Fire Chief Chris Zweng say that when the fire fighters were going to get a generator, they had three contractors with quotes in hand and the department was told it had to go out for bids. And, the fire department can’t open its doors during a power outage, he noted. He said it seems the fire department has to follow different rules than the other departments. That’s when Mayor Voigt directed Smith to bring the alley bids to the next meeting;
• Directed Smith to bring bids for the tree to be removed in Victoria Commons and the three trees in Hillside Cemetery instead of the quotes he presented from a preferred contractor;
• Approved a resolution formally adopting the 5-Year Parks Plan Refresh;
• Authorized selling the old street sweeper, since Smith said he had an offer. Assistant Fire Chief Zweng said two or three years ago when the fire department had an offer of $15,000 for its old fire truck, it was told by the city that they had to go out for bids and someone bought it at bids for $5,000;
• Tabled until the next meeting for more information the updated parts quote presented for the 1991 Vac Truck just purchased. Smith said he thought it was 100% ready to go, but it might not pass MDOT inspection without some $4,296.99 worth of upgrades;
• Changed the Nov. 11 council meeting date to Nov. 12 in observance of Veterans’ Day;
• Approved a resolution to accept $3,956 from Wayne County Parks millage for this year which will be used to purchase new, heavy duty picnic tables for Victory Park;
• Approved $264,809 accounts payables and a departmental expenditure over $500 from Core and Main for $840 for a sewer project;
• Heard Smith announce that the clock in the Fourth Street Square is going to be repaired. He said assistant city manager Steve Jones called the repair man in Cincinnati and he’s coming out;
• Heard a Victoria Commons resident complain about the pond where she can’t see the water because of the weeds and the fountain that isn’t working. Mayor Voigt said the DDA has engaged a company to fight the weeds that are hard to get rid of and the fountain is to be installed;
• Heard Carl Bono, who has lived in the senior co-op on Sumpter Road since December of last year, complain about the mess next door to their housing where the contractor is using the area as a dump. He said there are 100 dump loads of dirt with stones spread over the area, which makes the property one to two feet higher than it was. Now there is cement and metal and earlier that day an excavator was stacking things in eight to ten-foot high piles. He said in a previous incident in his life he went to the attorney general’s office and had it taken care of. “If you folks don’t get him to comply, I’ll do that again,” he said. He said zoning for that property is not for a landfill. Mayor Voigt said the city would take care of it. Smith said he does have a meeting planned with Steve Davenport on another project;
• Heard Mayor Pro-Tem Kelly Bates ask about the Priority Waste bins that were left when the company stopped its service. Mayor Voigt directed Smith to send them a registered letter saying the city is going to dispose of them if they don’t take them back by a certain date;
• Heard Smith report that he has had a conversation with Steve Davenport about swapping some property he owns for city property and they have a meeting set to continue the conversation. He also reported the Sani repairs are now under $9,000, half than what it was. He said the DTE contractor is at Denton Road Bridge and will move the gas line and access to the cemetery will be closed for a couple of days and after that demolition of the bridge can begin. The suggestions from the SEMCOG road safety study included a dogbone roundabout at Five Points which would take a small piece of the car place. Also, it suggested curb extensions at Second, Third, and Fourth to calm the traffic. He said it would cost $2.5 million to $3 million for the roundabout. He said he has sent this to the grant writer for an April deadline for the Safe Streets for All Grant application;
• Heard Mayor Voigt say signs are going up at the parks so people will know how to contact the city when they have complaints on the parks instead of going to social media. He said he is happy the bridge is under construction and he gives Van Buren Township credit for getting permission to do the engineering which probably took two years off the project. He also praised State Rep. Reggie Miller who was 90 days on the job and was able to get $10 million from the state for the project. Jones said the bridge was on the “do not repair” list and Commissioner Al Haidous got it put on the “repair” list;
• Heard Police Chief Kris Faull say there are 70 tractors in Saturday’s Harvest Fest Parade. She said they will be taking off from her place in Sumpter at 10:10 a.m. and will get to Belleville at 11 a.m.; and
• Heard fire fighter Kissel say after a year of work he now has his paramedic license and he has given heart-saver training to 36 employees in the Van Buren Public Schools. Chief Faull said her officers will be trained by him, as well.