Chris and Sandy Janowiak, co-owners of Janowiak Funeral Home in Ypsilanti, attended the Dec. 8 meeting of the Sumpter Township Planning Commission to explain their plan to open a funeral home in Sumpter Township as their second location.
Chris Janowiak said they are looking at the former Progressive League bingo hall that now is a church at 19865 Sumpter Road, just south of Willis.
He said the present owner, Salem Romanian Apostolic Church, has listed the property for $149,000 and the Janowiaks are considering making an offer, if the Sumpter Township planners would welcome a funeral home there. There is less than two acres of land, he said.
Janowiak distributed property descriptions from the Realtor that shows the old bingo hall was transformed by the church people with white tile in the foyer, a finely crafted wooden altar area and enough church pews to seat about 150. The pews are old, but made out of wood. A modern kitchen area also is shown.
The information from the Realtor said the building had been completely remodeled from the flooring to a new roof, with a large lobby, office, nursery, and alarm system.
The building is 4,000 square feet and Janowiak said he believes there is an adequate amount of parking space.
Planning commissioners were surprised to see the inside of the building since they said no one came to the commission before the work was done and they didn’t know it had been transformed.
Janowiak, who has been in the business for 35 years, said they would need to put a preparation room in the back storage room in order to get a license from the state. He said the kitchen would be changed into a lounge.
He said they would bring their interior decorator over to make the interior elegant and there would be landscaping.
“We’re looking for somewhat of a green light,” he said, asking for direction on how to proceed.
Planning consultant Laura Kreps of Carlisle Wortman said she will go over the ordinances and see what the situation is with the zoning. She was told it was zoned R-2 and she pointed out it is next to the commercial district, so that shouldn’t be a problem, since it obviously is a commercial-type building. She will meet with him to discuss the project.
“I think it’s an exciting use for this building,” Kreps said. “I don’t think anyone is against it. We just have to figure out how we can make it work.”
Janowiak said he is membership chairman of the International Order of the Golden Rule, an organization for funeral home professionals, and he sees his colleagues leaving the business because the overhead costs are too much to handle.
He said these days people are not having as many traditional funerals, with cremations more popular, and some families having the showing and service in one day. Also, caskets and vaults can be selected on line and casket rooms are no longer necessary.
Janowiak said he believes smaller funeral homes will be built in the future. He estimated their Sumpter funeral home would handle about 100 funerals a year.
He said he wanted to present the information to the commission and if they don’t like the idea, then he can look elsewhere.
“We’re always happy to bring new business into the township,” said Commissioner Matthew Oddy.
In other business at the Dec. 8 meeting, the commission:
• Discussed changes to Central Business District, C-1 Local Business, and C-2 General Commercial zonings, as well as industrial zonings, as part of the overall update to the zoning ordinances now under way. The commissioners will study the proposed Article VI, Access Management, and Article VI, Uses, before their Jan. 12 meeting;
• Agreed to change their meeting time to 6:30 p.m. for meetings in January, February and March, and November and December, with the meeting time at 7 p.m. for April through October; and
• Discussed the mysterious chicken farm being constructed on Karr Road between Willow and Arkona. Kurt Nofz reportedly has told the township under the Michigan Right to Farm Act the state supercedes the township and he needs no permits from Sumpter. But a neighbor, worried about the runoff from the chicken farm during the recent rainy weather, plans to check with the state about what is going on there.