Public amenities at Grace Lake explained to Van Buren Township LDFA

At its regular meeting Nov. 13, the Van Buren Township Local Development Finance Authority heard VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara ask about public access to Grace Lake trails and pond.
Supervisor McNamara said he received a complaint from a resident who is concerned the amenities at Grace Lake Corporate Center, the former Visteon Village, are not accessible to the public.
Scott Medlen, of Sovereign Partners which now owns Grace Lake, is a member of the LDFA and he explained.
Medlen said Grace Lake is open to the public from dawn to dusk and the public is welcome to use the trails, eat lunch at the lake or walk around the lake. Fishing is not allowed and it makes him nervous to have people walking between and through the buildings.
He said activity there after dark usually is a problem. He has found beer cans, liquor bottles, cans of worms, used condoms, and smoking logs and red Solo cups on the sidewalk in the morning.
“When the sun is up, there’s no problem,” he said.
He said the trails are available during daylight hours and he has put up gates at both ends that get closed at night. He said he had the gates closed since it snowed and he has no reason to open them up for the winter. He said he doesn’t want to encourage the use of the trails by snowmobilers.
Medlen said people could walk around the gates to cross-country ski on the trails.
LDFA member John Delaney said he has told fishermen he saw at the lake that there is no fishing and they told him they are just catching and releasing, but then he saw them pull out a whole string of fish when they leave, “30 fish on a string,” he said.
Delaney said the lake is spring-fed water and the fish are there to stock the pond, with eagles eating them now and then.
Medlen said there are small mouth bass, blue gill and carp.
Medlen said he had a question about Visteon Way, a county road that runs from Hannan Road to Ecorse through Grace Lake, and is deteriorating. He said 2,000 vehicles use that road each work day.
He said Wayne County never touches the road and his landscapers, WH Canon, have been clearing it from snow for the past few years as a discretionary move and didn’t charge.
“This year, they put their foot down and are charging,” Medlen said.
He said when it snowed Nov. 11, he told them not to touch it to see if the county came to clear it, but the county hasn’t come.
Delaney said he has called Wayne County Commissioner Al Haidous about the deteriorating road, but nothing has been done.
Medlen said some asphalt patching of holes in the cement has been done, but his experience shows that the asphalt will be gone by next year. He said some catch basins were replaced, as well.
Delaney said a catch basin was sticking up and a child on a bike hit it, fell and was injured. He said EMS came and, “I lost it.”
Supervisor McNamara said Visteon Way is a secondary road, like in Haggerty sub, and the county won’t plow it until all the primary roads are done.
“I would recommend you deal with WH Canon,” McNamara said. “The road is falling apart,” he conceded.
Medlen said it is especially bad near Hannan Road.
LDFA member David Schreiber of Wayne County, said the county rates all its roads and prioritizes them to use the limited funds available.
“Two thousand cars a day is nothing,” McNamara said, referring to how the rating is determined. “More than that come out of Haggerty sub.”
“We want to do more for Visteon,” said LDFA member Doug Peters, with tongue firmly in cheek. “We wouldn’t want them to leave.” [The township is planning to sue Visteon again over its refusal to give more money to help the township pay off the bonds floated to build the infrastructure for Visteon Village, which it has since sold to Sovereign Partners.] McNamara said there is discretionary money for the county to use on roads.
Medlen asked for contact numbers for the county commissioner and staff at the road department to talk to them even though he was advised they won’t help him with Visteon Way.
LDFA chairman Michael Dotson asked if the LDFA should consider changing the name of Visteon Way, as suggested by Delaney in the past.
Changing the name of a road is easy to do, McNamara said, just like changing your address.
“We wouldn’t want to look petty,” said Peters, suggesting they wait until the lawsuit is over.
McNamara asked Medlen if it was possible for Grace Lake to put up a sign for the public telling the hours. It could start with “Sharing our property with you …,” he said.
Medlen asked where the signs should be placed and Delaney said they should be by the trail head and the lake.
Medlen suggested telling the public where to park to use the trail. He said Grace Lake has security – a daytime firm and a nighttime company.
Medlen said VBT Police Lt. Charles Bazzy said he should set specific hours, but the daylight changes times around the year, so they have set “dawn to dusk.”
“It’s in my best interests to have people understand” about the rules for using the property.
Delaney said there is plenty of grass and acreage at Grace Lake to hold events and then clean up afterward. He suggested soccer could be played there.
“I’d like to know ahead of time,” Medlen said of events on the property. He said if they wanted to play soccer, he would want to direct them to a smooth area so they don’t fall on the rough surface.
In other business at the 38-minute meeting, the LDFA:
• Approved the 2020 LDFA Budget as prepared by VBT Deputy Treasurer Sean Bellingham. There is $685,000 in property tax income and $1,970,000 in bond payment;
• Heard McNamara announce the LDFA will be borrowing $1.6 million from the township in 2020 to pay on the bonds for Visteon infrastructure. In 2019, the LDFA borrowed $577,543 from the township to pay on the bonds;
• Approved the 2020 LDFA meeting schedule: 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14; Wednesday, March 11; and Tuesdays May 12, July 14, Sept. 8, and Nov. 10; and
• Learned the informational meetings in accordance with Public Act 57 of 2018 (Recodified Tax Increment Financing Act) will be at the March 11 and Sept. 8 meetings. McNamara’s executive assistant Dan Selman is managing the LDFA and he said he is using the template for these informational meetings set up by Ron Akers, the former director of planning and economic development. Anyone with any suggestions on the format of the meetings is asked to call Chairman Dotson.
All members of the LDFA were present for this meeting, including Chuck Covington who participated via phone from Houston, TX.