Van Buren Township DDA to detail plans for Belleville Road widening

During a 38-minute meeting on Feb. 28, the Van Buren Township Downtown Development Authority agreed that no time should be wasted on plans for widening of the one mile of Belleville Road between Tyler and Ecorse roads.
The DDA’s new executive director Merrie Coburn, in office at her first meeting, reported to date the DDA has obtained 20 right-of-way acquisitions and an additional 14 are needed.
The DDA finally has received contact information for a house on the west side of Belleville Road that had been a sticking point in the right-of-way project and more information should be forthcoming.
There was discussion on whether to seek bids for a consultant to acquire the final 14 rights of way, but chairman Craig Atchinson said the Commonwealth Associates consultant they had did good work and they should stay with them.
He said he didn’t want to waste time with going out for bids when it isn’t needed.
Susan Ireland, the retiring DDA executive director at her last meeting, said after the first land appraisal, they had to get a second appraisal and it took time.
Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara agreed with chairman Atchinson about moving quickly. He said they could get land appraisals from a real estate representative and then another and give the property owner the high bid without discussing it.
McNamara said the water main is 20-30 years old along that stretch of Belleville Road and DDA secretary Chris Brown, a builder, said it was more like 40 years old. Brown said you don’t want to put a brand-new road over old infrastructure and have things start falling in.
Atchinson agreed that they don’t want to put a brand-new road over something that will start crumbling.
McNamara said the stretch being discussed on Belleville Road is one mile long and the road being redone on Haggerty is also one mile long and there is a $2.5 million cost for Haggerty.
McNamara said the DDA has to discuss how much money it wants to put up front for Belleville Road to get the project moving.
“I think we should go ahead,” Atchinson said of serious plans.
McNamara suggested a full board workshop, including Director of Municipal Services Ron Akers, Wade Trim engineers, Merrie Coburn and others.
McNamara asked Coburn to contact Akers and they can talk about it. He said he, Coburn, and Akers have a meeting each week.
The DDA was informed of the $384,900 grant for the SafeVB Roads and Streets Action Plan and another meeting has been set with consultants to discuss upcoming SEMCOG Transportation Planning and Transportation Alternatives Program grants.
Also, staff has been informed that Belleville Road from Tyler to Ecorse Road has been placed on the Wayne County FAC, TEDF Category C funding for $2,111,000 for the 2025 funding year.
McNamara stressed that the county will want to see funds coming from the township, as well.
In other business at the brief meeting, the DDA:
• Unanimously approved allocating $44,264.22 of the previously approved $64,660.08 to the 2023 DDA streetlighting line item in order to correctly align the budget to the year parts are received. Some replacement parts were received in 2022 and some in 2023 from Great Lakes Electric;
• Heard Coburn report that the two parcels within the DDA district that had filed petitions with the Michigan Tax Tribunal for 2022 have been dismissed; and
• Heard McNamara reply to questions about the hazardous waste from the Ohio train derailment that had been headed to a Van Buren Township landfill. He said while he doesn’t like to have hazardous waste in the township, this is the best place for it. He said the Wayne Disposal facility at the US Ecology site is the finest facility in the state, if not the nation or the world. He said they adhere to very strict guidelines and are very good at what they do. While the hazardous waste shipments to Wayne Disposal have stopped for now, he expects they will be reinstituted because this is the very best place for them to go.