VBT board signs resolution for left-turn signal

Both Van Buren Township Trustee Kevin Martin and Clerk Leon Wright said they got in accidents at the corner of Tyler and Belleville roads and that corner needs a left-turn phasing signal.
At the last township board meeting, Trustee Martin asked the board to sign a letter asking Wayne County to put in the signal – and then to keep sending the letters until the county acts.
Municipal Services Director Ron Akers prepared a resolution and at the July 18 meeting the resolution was passed unanimously as presented.
In the agenda item, Director Akers included the information that the board could add language stating that it is willing to share the cost. He said an estimated cost for the turn signal is between $200,000 and $300,000. This language was not included.
Clerk Wright said there are left-turn signals on Belleville Road at Aldi’s, Tim Horton’s, and the I-94 Service Drives and so he doesn’t know why there couldn’t be one at Tyler Road.
“We don’t want to get into a fight with them,” Wright said of the county.
“This has been a bee in my bonnet for some time,” Trustee Martin said, adding that he had an accident at that intersection. He said south-bound left turns are dangerous, especially from 4 to 6 p.m.
“I asked for a letter and I hope it will not fall on deaf ears,” Martin said.
In other business at the 47-minute meeting on July 18, the board:
• Approved the personal services agreement of Kathryn Hood as Building and Grounds Superintendent. She recently retired from the City of Romulus where she spent more than 30 years in public services. She holds a S-4 license, was chief union steward, and retired as assistant of public works. She said she was to begin work on July 24;
• Approved entering into a five-year contract with Motorola Solutions for Body Work Cameras to purchase 34 body cameras and three in-car cameras using a five-year subscription plan to be expensed from State Forfeiture and Technology Purchases accounts. Deputy Police Chief Joshua Monte said the existing body cameras are six years old and at the end of their lives. He said officers now are sharing cameras. Deputy Monte said the cost is $54,987 in 2023 and then $47,002 per year, which includes training. Total cost is $242,995;
• Approved a $40,000 addendum to the agreement with Fishbeck Associates for the design engineering for the Denton Road Bridge. This expenditure is expected to be reimbursed by the county. Director Akers said the bids on the bridge project are expected to be opened in May of 2024 and construction to begin in July 2024. Survey work has been done, he said;
• Approved special land use by Donyeal Sizemore to change her existing Day Care-Family Home use to a Day Care-Group Home use, as recommended by the planning commission. The home is in Country Walk subdivision and approved by its homeowners’ association;
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone Van Born Road property, east of Sheldon on the north side of the road, from M-1 Light Industrial to M-2 General Industrial as requested by Robert Sloan and recommended by the planning commission. Sloan said there are no plans for a specific use of the property and Supervisor Kevin McNamara said he would like to talk to Sloan about the use;
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone 16355 Haggerty Rd. from R-1B Single Family Residential to AG-Agricultural and Estates, as recommended by the planning commission. Dan Power, director of planning and economic development, said the Master Plan supports “Rural Settlement” use in the area and there is a lack of sanitary sewer facilities in that section of the township. Property owner Cameron Smyth wants to expand his agricultural use of the 10-acre property and someday have a pick-your-own apple orchard;
• Approved the first reading of an ordinance to increase the maximum allowable height for detached single family dwellings to 2.5 stories or 35 feet in height from the current 2.0 stories and 30 feet. Director Power said this change will bring the township more in line with other municipalities and there are eight parcels, almost nine, in the township that already have 2.5 stories;
• Approved purchasing two vacant parcels from the Wayne County property foreclosure list. The parcels are located along Denton Road and are needed for the path of the Iron Belle Trail. Costs are $1,225.93 and $2,478.12;
• Approved Amendment No. 3 to the FY 2019-22 intergovernmental agreement with Wayne County Parks for improvements to French Landing Park, adding a millage allocation of $35,997 to the previous allocation of $99,261 for a total of $135,258;
• Approved the Senior Alliance Annual Implementation Plan;
• Approved the upgrade and migration of the township’s email application to Microsoft 365 Exchange On-line which would reside on Microsoft’s Government Cloud Servers. In a memo, IT Director Steve Rankin said, “This is another step in ensuring that the township has the best cyber security protection available to service residents in our Premier Community without interruption”;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointments of Leonard Armstrong, Alex Dine, Dave Schreiber (representing Wayne County) and Scott Medlen to the Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA) with terms to expire Aug. 12, 2027;
• Approved the supervisor’s appointment of Peter Creal to the Planning Commission with a term to expire Oct. 1, 2025. Creal is leaving his seat on the Environmental Commission, where he served for five years;
• Heard Supervisor McNamara announce that as of July 19 and to October, parts of Ecorse Road will be closed near Stack’s as DTE brings a second gas line into the township; and
• Heard Supervisor McNamara announce the community center is 51% complete and is on time and on budget. Clerk Wright congratulated Director of Community Services Elizabeth Renaud and Deputy Director Tammy Dohring and thanked them for their hard work on this project.