Sumpter Twp. board alerted to fire hydrants covered by tall weeds

While the incumbent team sat at the board table, the opposing team that is challenging board members in the Aug. 2 primary election stood, one by one, in the audience to point out failings in the way the present Sumpter Township Board of Trustees was running the township.
This was at the regular meeting on July 12, when Supervisor John Morgan opened the floor to comments.
Jay Bardell, who is seeking to unseat Supervisor Morgan, said he was inspired to talk about fire hydrants by Mary Ban’s earlier comments on people indiscriminately lighting fireworks in the township when the fields of wheat were dry and coming to harvest.
Ban also was concerned about the fireworks falling on roofs and possibly burning homes. She pointed out the July 4 fires in Van Buren Township next door.
Bardell said he really appreciated Ban’s comments and he, too, was concerned about fire safety. He pointed out there are 10-foot-tall cattails hiding fire hydrants along roads in the southeastern part of the township. This would hinder fire fighters trying to save lives, he said.
Treasurer Alan Bates said the township is killing weeds around the hydrants along Bemis Road and he should just go look at the circles around the hydrants. Bardell asked if that started that day because he saw Randy at the hardware store.
Supervisor Morgan said the Water Department does an excellent job of cleaning around the hydrants so they are visible.
But, Bardell insisted all of the hydrants are not visible, which is a danger to public safety.
Trustee Matt Oddy challenged Bardell to give specific locations and Bardell said they are along Judd, Martinsville, and Haggerty on the southeast side.
“I’ve been on the board 12 years and every year they cut the grass around the hydrants and paint them every year,” said Trustee Peggy Morgan. “Maybe they haven’t got to it yet.”
Supervisor Morgan accused Bardell of “grandstanding.”
Oddy asked people to report it to the fire department when they see one that is overgrown so it can be cleared.
“We’re a community,” Oddy said, stressing everyone should work together.
Ban said people cannot spray poisons by waterways.
Lydia Graber, who is running for clerk, said she has lived at 21700 Mary Drive off Judd Road for 22 years and the hydrant in her front yard has never been cleared by the township or ever painted.
A fire fighter said the weeds are bad in the township and he has cut around three intersections himself so he can move the fire truck safely through those crossings at Karr/Arkona and Elwell north of Arkona. He was applauded for his work.
[On Thursday during paper delivery, the Independent noticed hydrants hidden by vegetation along Sumpter Road and Bardell brought pictures on his camera into the Independent office to show some of the other problem hydrants in that section of the township.] Ronald Robinson, who is running for trustee, said signs for the Bardell team have come up missing and he has reported this to the Sumpter Police Department.
“It’s a violation of federal and state laws,” Robinson said. “These are not idle allegations.”
Graber said she is having trouble getting her trash picked up and they’ve missed her place for the last two weeks. She noted she was paying for it.
Supervisor Morgan told her to call Clerk Clarence Hoffman and he’ll contact Republic Waste and see to it that her trash gets picked up.
[Clerk Hoffman is the only one of the incumbent board members to not be on the Morgan Team running for reelection. Hoffman was ousted from the team by a private vote of the other board members, according to reports, and his former deputy clerk, Esther Hurst, who had retired, was put on the team in his place. Hoffman is running on his own for reelection.] Graber, who is disabled, also accused the board of being in violation of federal law by not having handicap access at township hall for the disabled with a counter cut down for wheelchair access.
“We don’t have to change unless we renovated,” Supervisor Morgan replied. “That’s all I know.” He said they would look into it.
Graber said, “It’s only been 22 years that I’ve been trying to get it changed.” She referred to federal law enacted in the 1990s.
Deb Callison, who is running for trustee, said she and trustee candidate Jane Stalmack were out campaigning and a man they talked to praised the Sumpter Police Department to the highest. He said he was speeding to get home because his wife had fallen and she called him for help. The police officer helped him and just gave him a warning for the speed.
“I’ve said right along we have the best police and fire departments in the state,” Supervisor Morgan said.
In other business at its brief meeting on July 12, the board:
• Heard Police Chief Eric Luke give the police report. He told the story of two teens who stole a car in Sumpter and drove it to Westland. There they stole another car and drove it back to Sumpter, where police arrested them;
• Approved the Senior Alliance’s Multi-Year Plan, October 2016 to September 2019, that contains $2,000 more for Sumpter because of Virginia Belinski’s arthritis class;
• Approved Supervisor Morgan’s appointment of Esther Hurst to fill an open seat on the Zoning Board of Appeals with a term to expire Dec. 17, 2017. Virginia Belinski resigned from the ZBA because she had been appointed to the planning commission;
• Approved extending the contract of Water Superintendent Kenneth Kunka until Nov. 30. His three-year contract expired in June. Attorney Rob Young said to keep the contracts in order they all expire when the terms of this current township board expire, so the new officials can be the ones offering personal service contracts; and
• Heard attorney Young say he is at the 34th District Court on the second and fourth Tuesdays to deal with township ordinance violations, misdemeanors, and traffic offenses. He said the Sumpter police coverage of the township is very thorough and has become noticeably more professional.