Public asks VBT board for help with cyber security, dead trees

A resident asked the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees for help with cyber security at its regular meeting on Sept. 17.
She said especially with the Smart freeway being installed, the public needs cyber security because it can’t afford to be attacked. She said she has been a cyber security victim for two years and she said the Van Buren Police dismissed her reports.
She asked the board to set up a cyber team for public safety and security.
Supervisor Kevin McNamara said she is not the first person to mention this.
She said she had a suspect and ample evidence but was not taken seriously.
“I don’t know what we can do,” McNamara said.
Clerk Leon Wright said this is something brand new that has been brought to the MMRMA board where he sits. “We’re trying to get a hold on it,” he said. “It’s so new.”
“You must be proactive,” she said.
McNamara said residents are coming to township police for help with this.
The next speaker under public comments at the beginning of the meeting, was former VBT Fire Chief Brad Traskos, now retired and living on Willis Road in Sumpter Township. He said his wife Diane and he both have called the Wayne County Road Commissions at the New Boston yard. Their concern is the dead trees along Sumpter Road between Bemis and Hull roads.
He said several years ago a motorcycle club was out and a tree had come down, but had landed in a shaded area. He said one of the motorcyclists drove into the branches, was impaled, and expired.
Traskos said on Sumpter Road big elms are leaning over the road and they will be in the road when they fall.
“I’m worried for your first-responders, being a retired fire chief from here,” Traskos said, adding he is hoping the board could look into it and push Wayne County Forestry to get that done.
Supervisor McNamara said they will call, but he knows the county has cut back on forestry employees.
A third speaker, Ms. Hall, asked the board to move the age down at the new Community Center to allow her son, age 15, to exercise unsupervised. She said at Summit in Canton, the age is 12. She said her son wants to play basketball hour upon hour and she doesn’t want to sit and watch that. She said he is in the National Honor Society and would obey the rules. She asked that it depend not on the age, but that the rules are being followed.
Supervisor McNamara said he guarantees those making the decisions will talk about it.
In other business at the hour-long meeting, the board:
• Approved the Winterfest Commercial Fireworks Display Permit Application by the Fireworks Club to discharge fireworks on Belleville Lake during the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce Winterfest on Saturday, Dec. 7, with a rain date of Sunday, Dec. 8;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointments of Jeff Jahr and Brian Cullin to the planning commission with terms to expire Oct. 1, 2027;
• Heard a presentation by Donovan Smith of McKenna Associates on the Housing Readiness Initiative he will be managing for 13 months. The township got a state grant of $45,000, with a $5,000 matching grant, to pay for the study. There will be four public engagements. Smith will be working with the steering committee and staff on the project, which is expected to be approved by the board next spring. It works on revisions to the 2020 Master Plan that will encourage middle housing;
• Approved the $21,342 quote by W.J. O’Neil to replace the split system HVAC in its server room at Fire Station #2. The existing system, which is 21 years old and in two parts (one on the outside and one on the inside) failed a few months back and temporary portable air conditioning units have been used to maintain proper temperature in the server room. The recommendation to replace the system was primarily due to the age of the existing split system unit, as parts are no longer commercially available for its repair;
• Approved adopting the 2024 Van Buren Township Economic Development Strategy and Marketing Plan as part of Redevelopment Ready Communities Certification. The goal is to market the township for future growth. This study was paid 95% with grant money. After approval the township will work with MEDC contacts to complete the final process of RRC certification. “This is the last big hurdle for certification,”;
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance rezoning the 38.8-acre parcel west of Costco Truck Terminal from M-1 Light Industrial to M-2 General Industrial, as recommended by the planning commission. The second reading and adoption is planned for the next board meeting agenda. McNamara said he lives in that area and Costco has just-in-time inventory and trucks drive around until they can get into the site. “This is huge,” he said, noting Costco will use the new parcel to get trucks off the road;
• Heard Clerk Wright say the new state election rules are costly for local municipalities, but the township will get $110,000 back for expenses. He said the ballots are going out and if you don’t get your absentee ballot by Oct. 2, contact the township. He said the nine days of early voting starts Oct. 26. He said the township has more than 25,000 registered voters and, “Every vote counts”; and
• Heard McNamara announce that that night’s meeting was the last one for Director of Planning and Economic Development Dan Power as an employee of the township. Power has resigned to take a position in the private sector with Beckett & Raeder. McNamara said the board doesn’t want him to go, “But we want you to be happy. Thank you for what you’ve done for the community.” Other board members complimented his work and Power said it was a challenge for awhile, when COVID struck, but he thanked them for the opportunity. Director of Public Services Larry Luckett said, “Wherever you go, you’ll be a shining star.”