Sumpter Twp. board seeks way to replace crumbling water main

A water line that has had a reported 18 breaks in the last ten years was the focus of a 20-minute discussion at the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees regular meeting on March 25.
“That section of water main is a pain,” said Trustee Tim Rush, who also serves as deputy supervisor. “It’s nickle and diming us to death.”
He referred to the 1.4-mile piece of iron pipe on Willow Road from Sumpter to Haggerty roads, with about 1,600 feet beyond that. The rest is AC (asbestos/concrete), which he said is strong and isn’t a problem.
Township Manager Tony Burdick said the engineers have estimated a $3.33 million cost to replace the pipe.
Manager Burdick said the soft cost of each repair has been for DPW workers overtime and the pay for the lost water, which he estimated was from $8,000 to $14,000 beyond the cost of the piping.
“Infrastructure is very important to a township,” Supervisor Tim Bowman said.
Trustee Matthew Oddy said the township has to come up with a plan to upgrade the pipes. He pointed out the township just paid off a 30-35-year bond for infrastructure.
“We have to start looking for grants,” he said.
Supervisor Bowman said the township could apply for grants for this, but it has in the past and got turned down.
“We can try, try again,” he offered. He asked if there is money in the budget that could be loaned to the enterprise fund for this.
“How do we do it?” Oddy said. “Hopefully we’ll have a finance director soon.”
Supervisor Bowman said all of those at the board table are businessmen and are able to see what needs to be done.
Trustee Rush said they have to finance this with the least impact on the residents. He said this was put on the agenda by Supervisor Bowman so board members could think about it and offer suggestions.
“It’s not something we can put off,” Supervisor Bowman said.
Treasurer Bart Patterson said there is $2.6 million in the enterprise fund and that could be used.
Supervisor Bowman said they need to determine how bad it would hurt to take money from that and they couldn’t deplete it completely.
Township attorney Rob Young said grants for water and sewer lines are hard to get because everybody needs them. He said in the past they used consultants on bonds. There are lots of details and it’s very complicated, but very do-able.
“One of these days the whole line will collapse,” Young said. “This one needs attention.” He said maybe they should put it on the agenda for each meeting until a solution is found.
Trustee Oddy said maybe they should look into other pipes that are failing and add it to this one so they don’t keep going out for bonds.
Clerk Donald LaPorte said he would like to see a map of the ages of pipes the township has in the ground to get a bigger scope of what we’re trying to do.
Supervisor Bowman said they could talk to longtime DPW employee John Krushlin. He said he recently learned Krushlin has a bible on every break for the last 30 years and his notes include dates, weather, how long it took to fix.
Burdick said the permeations in the iron lines aren’t just leaks, but holes about the size of a softball. He said he would get to work on getting information for the board.
In other business at the 70-minute meeting on March 25, the board:
• Approved the amended 2024-25 Sumpter Township Operating Budget and the 2025-26 Operating Budget. A 20-minute public hearing was held before that night’s regular meeting when Burdick presented the budget details instead of Cari Ford, whose name was on the agenda. No public spoke at the hearing;
• Approved the employment agreement for Ken Marten as the Sumpter Township Manager. He was present at the meeting;
• Approved the retirement notice and employment extension of Anthony Burdick;
• Approved the annual cost of $169,006 for the Acrisure MTPP liability-related insurance coverage effective April 1. Jon Johnson gave a 33-minute presentation on the insurance coverage at the beginning of the meeting. He apologized for having incorrect information in the document on township properties, which he said he would correct and send to the township the next day. Also, Johnson said his records show the township has 39 vehicles and with the new fire truck coming April 1, that will make it 40;
• Approved the renewal of the annual Fire Department AD&D Policy with Provident for $791 effective April 1;
• Approved revisions to the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority sewer use ordinance as prepared by attorney Young;
• Approved the Parks and Recreation Committee’s Easter Celebration on April 19 at Graham Park;
• Approved the Parks and Recreation Committee’s Earth Day Celebration and clean-up of Banotai/Sherwood Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 26;
• Approved the employment agreement with Ronald Tabor, the new Department of Public Services director;
• Approved the final payout of Kevin Scott of $2,659.20;
• Heard Clerk LaPorte announce that the quarterly Wayne County Hazardous Waste Collection Day starts at 8 a.m., April 5, in Harper Woods, with details on the township website;
• Heard Burdick announce the fire department’s new fire truck is to be delivered April 1 and will be at the April 8 township board meeting for inspection;
• Heard Burdick announce that Wayne County has a proposal for paving projects where the county will pay 1:1 with a township up to $1 million. There is $7 million to share among the Wayne County Townships on the three-and-a-half-page application is due April 11. Clerk LaPorte said the county commission will look at the reasoning behind the request. LaPorte had been advocating for completion of the paving of Judd Road so the fire department would have easier passage to the many calls at Rawsonville Woods;
• Also heard Burdick say he would like to reestablish the Martinsville Cemetery Committee, since the only two members no longer work for the township. He said they have to pay attention to upkeep of the cemetery so they don’t lose what headway they have. He would like to put the cemetery in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Trustee Oddy said he’d like Parks and Recreation to do spring cleanup at the cemetery before Memorial Day. He also volunteered to serve on the new cemetery committee. Treasurer Patterson said Karen Armatis, a former member of the committee, has volunteered to help set the engraved stone when it is delivered. It had been ordered for the cemetery; and
• Heard Rush remind everyone that the Skywarn Training, with him as instructor, will be given beginning at 9 a.m. April 5 at the fire hall. He said it will be 60-90-minutes long and “could save your life.”