BHS leaders present Black History Month program to VBT board

At the regular meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees on Feb. 18, three members of the Belleville High School Leadership team gave a presentation on Black History to mark February as Black History Month.
Clerk Leon Wright said the board had been wanting to do something special for Black History Month and he contacted the high school where he has been conducting student council elections for years.
Ivana Goff, president of the senior class and the student council, led the presentation, with Morgan Liggins, and Braylon Hubbard participating.
Ivana said she is the first and only black female to serve on the Michigan Association of Student Councils and Honor Societies, which meets monthly in Lansing and works with the state Board of Education. She said she will be giving a presentation on leadership at a state conference the coming weekend.
The three named black leaders and innovators throughout history, with pictures and graphics on the meeting room screen and included Clerk Wright, by noting he is the first black clerk Van Buren Township has ever had and he earned the state Clerk of the Year award.
Ivana explained the importance of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion).
The trio received a standing ovation from the audience and the board and had their picture taken with the board and shook their hands.
In other business at the 46-minute meeting, the board:
• Approved a resolution authorizing purchase of property and signatory on behalf of Van Buren Charter Township for the purchase of 7810 Belleville Rd. for $602,000 to be paid out of the DDA line item. This was through the eminent domain procedure needed to get property for the widening of Belleville Road. The house is so close to the road it has to be torn down. Supervisor McNamara said the township will probably sell the back part of the property. DDA Executive Director Merrie Coburn said the road-widening project is to be bid out in August. She said there is a vulnerable bat which is in that area and its breeding season starts in March, so trees for the widening need to be cut down over the winter;
• Heard retired Wayne County commissioner Al Haidous recognize Walter Rochowiak for his more than 15 years of service with the Wayne County Commissioner’s office, working on roads for eight years each for both former commissioners Kevin McNamara and Haidous. Rochowiak also served 20 years as a township trustee;
• Approved the management consultant professional services agreement with Carol Towles;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointment to the Recreation Committee of Kimberly Nofz, Charles Coleman, Stacy English, and Mark Woodson with terms to expire Feb. 1, 2026;
• Honored Todd O’Neill who has retired from the Recreation Committee after 15 years of service. He was honored for the research and development work he did on the recreation center to find out what people wanted. Clerk Wright said O’Neill played an important role in the project;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointments to the Downtown Development Authority Board of Craig Atchinson, Christopher Brown, and Dawn Chappell, with terms to expire March 9, 2029;
• Approved the supervisor’s appointment of Angelica Renaud, owner of A Design Line, to the DDA board to fill a vacant position, with a term to expire March 9, 2027;
• Approved the adoption of the report of the 2024 Planning Commission Activities, Public Engagement Activities, and Master Plan Implementation;
• Approved the promotional personal services agreement of Bill Miner as water and sewer director;
• Approved the first reading of a zoning ordinance amendment allowing for added height in the Belleville Road Overlay district from 40’ max to 50’ max, with additional building setbacks, as recommended by the planning commission;
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance amendment on the Property Maintenance Code to bring it up to the new international code standards, coinciding with new state standards for building, residential, plumbing and mechanics; and
• Learned from Clerk Wright that the results of the Wayne County audit of the November 2024 Presidential Election in Van Buren Township showed the township’s election was flawless. He said the county said it was one of the best audits in the entire county. He said the state determines who to audit and the county did it here two weeks earlier. Clerk Wright thanked the staff and poll workers for their outstanding efforts in the election.