Sumpter board approves three-page procedure to sell its properties

A procedure to begin sale of township-owned properties, selling two at a time, until all sellable are processed was approved by the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees on a vote of 5-1 at its regular meeting via zoom on Sept. 28.
Voting no was Trustee Peggy Morgan. Trustee Donald LaPorte was absent.
Before the discussion on the procedure began at the work/study session, Corey Blue, spoke via zoom.
Blue said he was a five-year resident next to one of the properties identified for sale. He said the township shouldn’t own property. He said having his house be right next door to commercial shouldn’t be considered. He said he has a township business card that says, “Country Living at its Finest.” Blue said, “I would jump in a heartbeat to buy the property near me and let it stay rural.” He said a storage area is where criminals store their stuff. “We need a grocery store before Lock & Save,” Blue said.
“It doesn’t make sense to have commercial area in a residential area,” Blue continued. “People around it should have the opportunity to buy it … I like the trees around there.”
He referred to the property behind the vacant medical center on Sumpter Road.
“I appreciate what you just said,” Trustee Rush said. “I hate the idea the township holds property … It is in a commercially zoned district … You will have every opportunity to bid on that property … It’s a mess we’re trying to clean up … to get it back on the tax rolls. Corey, I feel your pain.”
Trustee Oddy said the health center was a 10-acre parcel and the board sold the medical center one acre and still had the nine acres in the back.
He said everyone wants a grocery store or tractor supply, but “not in my back yard.” He said it was part of the health center and wasn’t for sale before. He said elected officials come and go. He said he was on the board when it sold 16 or 13 properties and he was not aware of it.
Supervisor Tim Bowman, who told of the plans he saw for the storage facility on that acreage at a previous meeting. He said it is zoned central business commercial now.
“It looks nice to have trees out there right now,” Blue said.
Supervisor Bowman said if the township sold it, it would require a buffer.
Trustee Morgan said she has been looking at this and read the policy and procedure.
She said several years ago the township had had a liquor license for 30 years and Zino’s was interested. The board voted to give it to Zino’s and Zino’s stayed open six months and then it all fell apart.
“He’s gone with the liquor license and we have an empty building,” she said.
“I sure wouldn’t want a storage lot in front of my house,” Morgan said. “Not a great idea.”
Supervisor Bowman said the township has to start getting businesses to grow and this one would be “out of sight, out of mind.” He said the location is a perfect place and, “We need to start somewhere.”
“Corey has a restaurant nearby, tables and chairs, daycare, cars across the street … It’s gotta start somewhere,” Bowman said.
Trustee Oddy said Van Buren Township is already starting to put in commercial businesses to Sumpter’s border. He said the communities around Sumpter are planning and bringing commercial to Sumpter’s doorstep.
Tony Caudill, said via zoom that he is a 57-year resident that lives on a private drive at this site, behind Trustee Don LaPorte and the clinic. He said his driveway up front is commercial in a sense.
He said that morning he went fishing on Lake Erie and there was a storage unit that was so bright he couldn’t drive his pickup.
“I hope this gets shot down,” he said of the plan for a storage unit near his home.
“The township is putting this out for bid and anybody who wants to put out a bid, for a larger medical clinic, a tractor supply…” Oddy said. “The proposal to the township for a storage unit will go out for the highest bids, but the highest bid may not win it.”
Also, at the Sept. 28 meeting, the board:
• Approved vacating Krystal Tackett’s membership in the Parks and Recreation Commission for her lack of communication via any form (text, phone, email, or in-person), a violation of the commission’s bylaws;
• Approve Drusilla Allen’s request to step down as Parks and Recreation Commission Treasurer, with regrets;
• Approve the resignation of Jim and Joanne Posegay from the Parks and Recreation Commission, with regrets;
• Approved re-keying the main door at the Parks and Recreation Commission, with the clerk’s office to distribute all new keys to key holders;
• Approved renewal of a five-year Axon bodycam agreement at a total cost of $48,466.52 ($9,673/yr.), with total cost to be paid from forfeiture funds;
• Approved employment contract for Fire Chief Rick Brown, effective June 22, 2021, for total of $58,240, with a change to the last sentence as recommended by Clerk Esther Hurst regarding termination. The vote was 5-1, with Morgan voting no and LaPorte absent;
• Approved pre-funding additional MERS monthly payments of $25,000 to $300,000 on April 1 of each year going forward and prorated September 2021-March 2022 of $175,000. This will allow the township to capture return on investment into funding status and achieve 7-12% interest versus the less than 2% in its Comerica savings; and
• Complained about the Independent at length.
The work/shop session was two hours long and the regular meeting 45 minutes long.