Country living at its finest: ‘That’s bull crap’ says Sumpter supervisor

“Country living at its finest? That’s bull crap,” said Sumpter Township supervisor Tim Bowman referring to the township’s motto at the March 24 board meeting.
He said the dirt roads in Sumpter have so many potholes that they “beat your guts out” when you drive on them. He proposed a town hall meeting on April 10 so township residents can come tell their stories about the roads.
“I want to hear first-hand how it affects residents,” he said. He retold the story of his mother, who recently turned 91, and how she waited “one hour and ten minutes” for an ambulance while she bled into a pillow on the floor. He said it took 45 minutes for the fire department to get there.
Bowman said Wayne County is responsible for the roads in Sumpter and he wants to go after them. The township declared an emergency on the roads, but the county barely responded, he said. Bowman said, besides just occasional grading, the roads need gravel instead of dirt and crowns so the water will drain, along with cleaning the ditches.
Trustee Matt Oddy said there are 61 miles of dirt roads in Sumpter Township.
Bowman said the speakers at his town hall could sign up for public comment and the meeting would be recorded.
Trustee Oddy said he let county commissioner Allen Wilson know about the town hall.
When board members asked what Bowman would do after everyone at the town hall agreed the roads were terrible, he replied, “File a lawsuit. Whatever it takes.” He said they possibly could use the names of the residents who complained in the township law suit.
Treasurer Bart Patterson said such a meeting in Sumpter could conflict with a meeting being planned by several communities and elected officials on the same issue.
Trustee James Frazier suggested the township invite the news media and channels 2, 4, and 7 and the others agreed.
On March 26, however, a special meeting for March 30 was posted with the only item on the agenda being to cancel the April 10 meeting. They did not cancel it but postponed it until April 28, the second board meeting in April.
In other business at the March 24 meeting, the board:
• Considered approval of the final budget amendments for the 2025-26 fiscal year and approval of the original fiscal year budget for 2026-27 after public hearings were held in a session before the regular meeting. The final budget amendments were passed unanimously and the new budget passed on a 4-2 vote (with clerk Don LaPorte absent). Oddy and Patterson voted against the new budget because bids on that night’s agenda would deplete the available funds and unless they cut something else it would not be a balanced budget. It passed without changes;
• Heard Dan Huber ask, under public comments, if the board looked at the packet of information he provided them at the March 10 meeting, with details on the EPA cleanup of his property on Savage Road. Oddy said, “There’s nothing we can do and you have to go through the township manager.” Huber said he got another report from the EPA last Thursday. Oddy said the township manager talks to the EPA all the time. Later in the meeting, the township manager reported his latest report from the EPA was March 9 and since then there is nothing new that he’s aware of;
• Heard treasurer Patterson make a motion to pause the $140,500 project in the superintendent’s office until the board can be sure selection of the vendors is being handled fairly. There was no second, so the meeting proceeded;
• Discussed whether to put a moratorium on data centers while the township studies the matter. Attorney Rob Young said that would make the people think one is coming to Sumpter and upset them when there is no data center pending in Sumpter. The planning commission already asked its consultant for a moratorium to be written up. Township manager Ken Marten said this is a good time to amend parts of the zoning ordinance;
• Approved the March 16 resignation of Nicole VanAssche as chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee with regrets and the assignments of Mary Ann Rowland as chairperson, Anita Honey as co-chairperson, and Michelle Baughman as secretary, and striking out the vacant treasurer’s position because trustee Tim Rush, liaison to the committee, says they don’t need a treasurer;
• Approved a resolution adopting the 2025 Wayne County Hazard Mitigation Plan;
• Approved the Acrisure MTPP Liability-related insurance coverage effective April 1 at an annual cost of $200,444;
• Approved seeking requests for proposals for exterior infrastructure repairs to the police department, community center, DPW building, and library as determined needed on brick replacement, mortar, tuck pointing, window ledges/sills and porches/ramps;
• Approved seeking requests for proposals for the same buildings for new steel or aluminum siding, fascia, trim, sofits, and gutters. Patterson wanted prices on vinyl as well and that was included. He said he has installed vinyl siding in the past and “there is vinyl and there is vinyl,” referring to the quality;
• Heard no motion on an agenda item to consider approval of Special Land Use review for 25891 Sumpter Rd., and then moved on without action when no one offered a motion;
• Approved a collective bargaining agreement with Sumpter Township Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2030, with no report on any changes; and
• Went into closed-door session to update and discuss strategy for preliminary negotiations with AFSCME, FOP, and COAM bargaining units and then came into open session to direct the township manager and attorney to move forward as directed in closed session.