DTE representative explains power plans to Belleville City Council

On Monday, Nov. 18, the Belleville City Council heard a report from Barbara J. Rykwalder, DTE Energy Manager of Corporate and Government Affairs, on what improvements DTE is planning in the city.
She was invited by the council to speak about the ongoing city problems with power outages, especially in the eastern side of town.
She brought only a laptop computer and sat down facing the council and invited the five people in the audience to stand up and watch her computer over her shoulder.
She showed 48111 and Robb and Elwell roads which are getting upgrades.
Rykwalder spoke of how tree limbs cause most of the power outages, with birds and animals causing a small number.
She said in 2025 they will be putting new poles and shorter, six-foot fiberglas crossarms on the poles in the city. People will see piles of poles, she said.
“You are taking steps to make our service more reliable,” Mayor Ken Voigt stated and she agreed.
Mayor Pro Tem Kelly Bates, who lives in Victoria Commons, complained about the outages there and said since their power lines are underground, she doesn’t know why power goes out.
Fire Chief II Chris Zweng said Belle Villa is tied into Victoria Commons and trees are a problem in Belle Villa.
Councilman Randy Priest said there are a lot of very old, bad power poles in the city and one that is near the museum is the same one seen in a picture taken in the early 1900s. Rykwalder said people could send a picture of bad poles to DTE or its address or the pole number or the street crossing location.
Chief Zweng asked if DTE is going to get rid of the big generator they keep bringing into the city. He said it it a safety concern and noisy.
Rykwalder said they are working on it, but it is kept to make sure people are not without power.
Councilman Priest told of how he and his wife were out of town when an electrical brownout ruined their refrigerator.
Rykwalder said people should unplug their equipment and report the brownout right away.
Priest said they were not home and didn’t know about the power. He asked if there wasn’t a way to turn the power off completely instead of letting a brownout ruin appliances.
Rykwalder said there are programs to pay people for lost appliances.
Rykwalder said the public could go to DTE Power Improvement Map on line and see what is planned in the next five years in their area to improve power reliability. She said they are putting in closure devices that cut off power to a troublesome area so other areas can continue to have electrical service.
After she left, Mayor Voigt said this is the first time DTE came out to talk since he’s been on the council.
In other business at the one-hour meeting, the council:
• Heard city manager Jason Smith discuss the SEMCOG Road Safety Audit Recommendation Report and explain things that should be planned in the city to qualify for a big Safe Streets for All grant. The changes total about $4 million and Mayor Voigt called it “pie in the sky, unless we get a really good grant.” The deadline to apply for the grant is in March and results will come in April or May. He said the March grant would cover what’s been done on planning, Smith said. Changes the city has endorsed include a mini-roundabout at Third Street, sign upgrades, curb extensions at Second, Third, and Fifth/High streets, plus a semi-roundabout at Five Points;
• Approved a proclamation honoring the the life of the late Iona M. Merriwether who recently died at the age of 91. She cared for children of local working families and her late husband was a veteran and served with the Van Buren Township Police Department;
• Decided that the holiday light judging will be done by council members on Dec. 6 and 7, with winners honored at the Dec. 16 council meeting;
• Approved paying half of the $5,320 needed for Snider Electric to fix the Doane’s Landing power box that furnishes electricity for the light and irrigation. The city is asking the Downtown Development Authority to pay the other half;
• Named city manager Smith as the new Street Administrator. A former DPS director had been MDOT street administrator, but he is gone; and
• Heard city manager Smith announce an intoxicated driver hit a light pole in front of the Thai restaurant over the weekend and the city had a spare pole to replace it and they will order more spares. He also announced the Tahoe 25 police car is now up and running.