At its regular meeting on June 23, the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority voted unanimously to renew the Wade Trim Professional Services Funding Scout for two years at a cost of $24,000.
DDA executive director Merrie Coburn said under the last contract, the township was able to get $2.3 million in grant funding.
The state and federal funds were for transportation and mobility planning and improvement projects, a return of more than $28 in grant funding for every $1 invested in fees.
The Funding Scout, Wayne Hofmann, was unable to attend the meeting.
In other business at the 52-minute meeting, the DDA:
- One by one introduced themselves to Danielle Wright, the new DDA administrative assistant. This was her first meeting since being hired a month ago;
- Accepted the clean financial audit from Plante Moran for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2025. “We are in really good shape,” Coburn said;
- Agreed to set a subcommittee meeting to discuss the 2027 fiscal year budget, with no more than five DDA members present to prevent a quorum;
- Heard Coburn announce that the county has scheduled the resurfacing of Tyler Road between Haggerty and Belleville roads for 2026 and the resurfacing of Belleville Road from the I-94 N. Service Drive to the Belleville Road Bridge in 2027;
- Learned that Walmart has appealed its taxes to the Michigan Tax Tribunal and it has gone to trial. Coburn said to date the township has spent $32,274.98 in attorney and appraisal costs;
- Learned that Wayne County is preparing to sign off on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Belleville Road widening project that has a spring 2027 construction date. That means the NEPA approval for the Tyler Road Pathway isn’t far behind, Coburn said;
- Heard Coburn announce that DDA staff is attending bi-weekly meetings with Giffels Webster for development of the township property at Belleville and Tyler roads. The consultant currently is working on renderings that reflect the survey results that the township board will consider. Coburn said it is a work in progress;
- Learned a new business is coming to the district soon. Liquidation Wonderland will open at 11740 Belleville Rd., near Dos Pesos in the former Coldwell Banker office;
- Was informed the sprinkler system repairs have been completed and landscaping restoration begun at the corner of Ecorse and Belleville roads. This is being paid for by DTE since it is the result of the work they had done last winter;
- Learned the DDA is promotiong a business retention and attraction strategy through TechTown Detroit, working on a gift card program, and working to create a data base of district businesses to send out information to as well as the quarterly newsletter; and
Heard supervisor Kevin McNamara say this wasn’t an agenda item, but he wanted to ask DDA members for support of the July 16 special event at the BYC to keep the local newspaper running. Donations are needed for the new non-profit paper. He asked members to get the word out and to distribute a brochure he said is coming. Angelica Renaud of A-Design Line Embroidery said that she has provided 150 clips that say “Keep the Press Running” and she and Janet Millard are splitting the cost. The clips were to be distributed with information about the July 16 event at a booth at Lake Fest.