VBT board approves possible draw-down of Belleville Lake in 2019

Van Buren Township now has the right to ask the operators of French Landing Dam to draw-down the water level of Belleville Lake by three to seven feet for two weeks in September or October 2019 to give residents a chance to repair their docks and sea walls.
At its July 18 regular meeting the VBT Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the agreement with Eagle Creek Hydro Holdings, LLC, new parent company of STS, operators of the dam, that gives the township the right to request the draw-down.
Matthew Best, deputy director of planning and economic development, said Eagle Creek would take on costs of the draw-down, but that is not in writing in the agreement. The agreement states: “… STS shall take all actions reasonably necessary to timely accomplish the Drawdown…”
Also, the draw-down will be in accordance with everything required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and/or the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
VBT owns French Landing Dam and STS has been operating it. STS was sold to Eagle Creek, which has been buying up dams across the country.
Supervisor Kevin McNamara asked for this draw-down agreement in exchange for the township signing two documents needed by Eagle Creek: a landlord consent agreement and one to advance its refinancing.
Best said the two agreements do not change anything for the township, but the supervisor took advantage of the signing to get the draw-down agreement.
Best said between now and September 2019, people can save up and, “if we so choose, if we pull the trigger” the draw-down would proceed.
Trustee Reggie Miller said there are a lot of stumps and garbage in the lake. She asked how those would be cleaned out.
Best said the maximum depth of the draw-down would be three to seven feet, and it’s “more for exposing the shoreline.”
“That’s a shame,” she said, noting the trees and trunks impede the waterway.
Supervisor McNamara said community groups, with 300 to 400 people, can come up with plans to clean up the lake.
Best said they would not be taking it down to the original riverbed.
“Apply for as many grants as possible,” urged Trustee Sherry Frazier. She also recommended this plan to be communicated to the City of Belleville. Also, they should call meetings of lakeside residents.
Trustee Frazier said Trustee Paul White said when they let the lake down the last time, things fell into the lake.
“If we do decide to lower the lake, people need to know there is peril,” she said.
Trustee Miller said a lot of residents leave for the winter and she’d hate to see them gone.
“We’ll take our time,” Supervisor McNamara said of the planning.
“Thirty-five to 40 years ago, they drew down the lake and I went into a small boat in the river to look at it all,” Trustee White said. He said they should never request a stump to be removed from the lake because of the mucky bottom of the lake.
“A few seawalls did suffer damage and the causeway on the north side of the bridge broke away and dropped into the lake,” White said. “A lot of residents have requested a draw-down for repairs. It’s a catch-22. In the fall is the lowest rainfall. Residents can make plans to repair their shoreline … I think this will be great for the residents.”
Best said STS Hydro said 14 days draw-down would have negligible effect on the dam.
Trustee Frazier said the township needs to make contact with those who worked on the lake ordinance to get their input, as well as people from the City of Belleville. Also, VBT should consult with their new engineers.
Supervisor McNamara said he will work with the engineers and others. He said maybe the people who bring the 200 boats to the sandbar and make such a mess can join in to pick up the beer cans and glass there. Also, those who fish off Denton Road could have a fund raiser to help.
In other business at the two-and-a-half hour meeting, the board:
• Approved signing the Landlord Consent and Acknowledgement Agreement with STS Hydropower and Deutche Bank and the Consent and Acknowledgement agreement with Eagle Creek Hydro Holdings;
• Heard Plante Moran give a presentation on the 2016 financial audit and then voted to accept the audit. The auditors said the records are in good shape and the township is in great financial condition. They gave VBT a “unmodified opinion,” which is tops. There was some discussion about the $24 million unfunded health care liability. VBT, like many other communities, have been paying the health care costs as they go. Plante Moran said VBT has a fund balance of $5,979,000;
• Held a public hearing on the Assessment Roll for the McBride Road Improvement Special Assessment District and then approved the assessment roll for the SAD, authorized a loan from the landfill fund for $185,407 at an interest rate of 1.25% for the project, and approved re-authorization of Wade Trim to continue preliminary engineering services for the project. Richard Jurnigan of 46680 McBride was the only one speaking against the special assessment during the public hearing;
• Approved Edward Jones (Alicia McGovern) and One America (Mike Murphy) as service providers for all the township’s defined contribution plans and authorized transfer of all of the $11.7 million in plan assets. Human Resources Director Nicole Sumpter said the finance committee considered all the options for a year and Plante Moran did a $15,000 study of the situation and recommended this as a large, $77,152, cost savings for employees;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointments of Steve Partridge and Gerald Graf to the Water and Sewer Commission with terms to expire June 1, 2019;
• Approved the Downriver Utility Wastewater Authority Stipulated Agreement. DPW Director James Taylor said there would be no added cost to the township;
• Approved a new Township Vehicle Management and Replacement Policy, as recommended by Director Taylor. This project will be looking at about 40 township vehicles and, Taylor said, a lot of the fleet is not up to standards. He said VBT wants to look like a premier community not the Beverly Hillbillies;
• Approved the second (final) reading of an amendment to the General Code of Ordinances on general provisions of municipal civil infractions. Some violations will now carry fines instead of being misdemeanors with jail time;
• Approved the second (final) reading of an addition to the General Code of Ordinances on dogs and animal waste. Owners will have to pick up after pets in public and not have waste a nuisance to neighbors on private property;
• Approved the second (final) reading of an addition to the General Code of Ordinances on diseased or dangerous trees, shrubs, or plants;
• Approved the second (final) reading of an amendment to the General Code of Ordinances on collection and disposal of solid waste. This has to do with dumpsters and moving PODs. After seven days a permit is required and it is free. After 30 days there will be a charge;
• Approved the first reading of an amendment to the General Code of Ordinances that allows security at Wayne County Community College to be trained by the VBT Police to write parking tickets at the college. They will be in full uniform and will cite under VBT ordinances;
• Heard a proclamation by Supervisor McNamara to Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon thanking him for the new patrol boat for Belleville Lake. “We needed a new boat and Benny Napoleon came up with a boat … with a very fast engine,” McNamara said. He said its use will be a partnership between the Wayne County Sheriff and VBT;
• Heard McNamara remember the late Sumpter Township Clerk Clarence Hoffman. He said when he was a county commissioner, Hoffman called him every week. “He was a dreamer. He worked so hard to get things done. Dreamers often get what they want. He wanted a $300,000 generator for the seniors’ hot lunch program and the emergency shelter… and he finally got it”;
• Heard announcements of the 5 p.m., Aug. 3, annual meeting and picnic at Horizon Park of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts, before the weekly Music Lakeside event at 7 p.m.; and the Cultural Conversations at Wayne County Community College at 9 a.m. on the last Wednesday of every month; and
• Heard Gina Wilson Stewart, president of the Western Wayne County NAACP invite everyone to attend their meetings on the second Monday of each month, usually in Garden City. There are 23 cities in Western Wayne and she is visiting every one and is at #16. The regional meeting will be held at 7 p.m., Aug. 14, at the Romulus Recreation Center. She said one of the group’s goals is encouraging testing for HIV and they offer free testing. Trustee White said he wants VBT to host a NAACP meeting and board members agreed.