Belleville to seek donations for paving of Hillside Cemetery roads

Belleville City Manager/Police Chief Dave Robinson told the city council at Monday’s meeting that there are people interested in donating money to pave the roadways in Hillside Cemetery. He doesn’t yet know how much this would be.
City Manager Robinson said the city can’t use street funds for that and about four or five years ago the city engineers estimated it would cost about $250,000 to pave the cemetery roads.
He suggested a public campaign to see if people who have loved ones in the cemetery would agreed to donate to that fund.
Robinson said the city has been getting rid of the dead trees and maybe the public would like to help keep it a solemn and well-kept place.
“We will do a media-type education campaign,” and possibly get the addresses of those with loved ones there and send them letters, he said.
He said they could seek donations to the fund for six to eight months and find out how much is donated. Then they could assess where they are and what the council wants to do.
Mayor Pro Tem Ken Voigt, leading the meeting in the absence of Mayor Kerreen Conley, said the estimate is five years old and asphalt has gone up in that time.
DPW Rick Rutherford said he could get some unofficial bids on a current estimated cost.
The council also discussed the idea of having the trees in the downtown lighted year-round, as first suggested by Therese Antonelli, a Chamber of Commerce member who has a business downtown.
Robinson said they would have to secure a company to come in and hang the lights. He said he and Rutherford went downtown and checked the outlets on the trees and none had power, except for those on the Fourth Street Square. They will get an electrician to come out to look at them.
He said there are a lot more trees on the east side of Main Street than the west and the new development put in new trees, but they have no electricity. He suggested looking at solar or something and asking some businesses to light their trees. He’d like to have the new lights sturdy enough to be up all year round, which, he said, would look awesome.
Mayor Pro-Tem Voigt said it’s not expensive with LED lights and while the electrician is here, he should look at getting better electricity to the Fourth Street Square.
Councilman Steve Jones said they have nothing that can handle the Belleville Area Council for the Arts stage when they bring it in and they need outlets to handle audio and lights.
Voigt said BACA has two, 220-amp outlets for the stage at Horizon Park.
In other business at Monday’s 19-minute meeting, the council:
• Approved accounts payable of $71,002.87 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Bound Tree, $886.56 for PPE supplies for the fire department with an AFG grant; to Crawford Door, $615 for repair of the DPW building main garage door; to Priority One Emergency, $632.86 for uniforms and equipment for the new police officer; and to Westland Lock & Key, $1,600 for locks for park bathroom doors;
• Heard Robinson report that the scheduled ceremonial swearing in of new, full-time police officer Tirrell Robinson at that night’s meeting had to be postponed because the officer wanted his wife to be there and she was ill. They will schedule it for another time, he said. Officer Robinson previously worked at the Detroit Police Department;
• Heard Councilwoman Kelly Bates ask when the yard waste will stop being picked up curbside and Rutherford said that would be the first of December. Councilwoman Bates also promoted Harvest Fest which is on Saturday, Oct. 8, beginning with a Tractor Parade up Main Street shortly after 11 a.m.;
• Heard Councilman Jones joke that there was a nice turnout of scarecrows for the meeting, referring to the scarecrows stood up against the walls waiting to be installed on lamp posts along Main Street. He announced there is a new Welcome to Booville sign that has been furnished courtesy of a local business;
• Heard a question from the audience about the safety of the Main Street trick or treat event on Halloween. Sumpter Township has canceled its annual Halloween party at the fire hall and no wanding of trick-or-treat bags will be offered. It was noted they didn’t want to give parents a false sense of safety because the wands would only indicate metal and there are lots of drugs out there. Robinson said Main Street is closed for the event which makes it safer and police in the city haven’t wanded trick-or-treat bags for years. Voigt said the Main Street trick or treating is like a big “Trunk or Treat” event where you know everyone giving out candy. When someone said kids don’t go trick or treating in neighborhoods anymore, Bates said they “still bus them in” to her subdivision, Victoria Commons;
• Heard Tom Fielder announce the Tractor Parade on Saturday will have 40 participants and Councilman Jones will be announcing the participants and tell about the tractors. The parade leaves Sumpter Township from Harris Road at 11 a.m. and heads north up Sumpter Road/Main Street to North Liberty Street and back to E. Huron River Drive to Haggerty and back south to Sumpter;
• Heard Fielder also announce that two undefeated teams – Belleville and Franklin – will play at the BHS Homecoming football game next week. Voigt said the giant football helmet will debut that night; and
• Were advised that the locks have yet to arrive for the park restrooms and they are expected in a week or so. Also, no grant has been received for the Harbour Club streets, but the city will apply for another ARPA grant, Rutherford said.