VBT OKs study of proposed sewer route from Salem Township

“We’re the luckiest people in the world,” Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara said at the March 18 regular meeting of the township board of trustees.
He said Salem Township is asking the township for a resolution supporting the feasibility study of a proposal to run a sewer line through Van Buren Township. Van Buren could piggyback on it to the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority (YCUA) on the west side of Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, he said.
Supervisor McNamara said there are more than 1,000 acres of land in the northwestern part of Van Buren that could be developed if it just had sewers. The township has been considering building pipes to the Rouge Valley Sanitary Sewer District treatment plant, but it has limited capacity.
McNamara described Salem as a 36-square-mile township that doesn’t like government. He said they have no cops and pay for public safety coverage. They have one clerk and a deputy treasurer. They make money from the landfill there, but the landfill smells and developers want to build subdivisions across the township border.
Salem is sitting on land with no sewer and no wastewater treatment, said McNamara.
In his memo to the board, municipal services director Ron Akers said Salem has received about $35 million from the state of Michigan to construct a wastewater treatment plant in its township. Due to environmental and run-off concerns, EGLE is encouraging them to study an alternative option which would involve running a pipe to the YCUA plant. Due to issues related to this sewer pipe in Washtenaw County, they are exploring the feasibility of completing this in Wayne County, Akers said.
A wastewater treatment plant in Salem would have discharged into Fellows Creek that runs through Canton, McNamara said.
“We’re stuck with having it come right down Denton Road,” McNamara said. “We’re the luckiest people in the world.”
Director Akers said YCUA reports it has capacity and Salem has leased and reserved capacity there since 2017, in case it was ever needed.
When McNamara asked Akers how much Van Buren had spent on trying to solve the drainage problem for property in the northwestern area, Akers said they’ve spent $199,000.
Under the law, Salem has to have resolutions from the municipalities it plans to run its pipe through. In Van Buren it will be in the public right of way on Denton Road north of Willow Run Airport.
Plymouth and Canton already have passed resolutions of support and Akers said Van Buren was the last resolution they needed to move forward.
The resolution is only to complete a feasibility study of installing a sanitary sewer pipe in the area of Denton Road, north of Willow Run Airport.
The board unanimously passed the resolution.
Clerk Leon Wright was the only board member absent.
In other business at the 39-minute meeting, the board:
• Held a moment of silence in memory of longtime resident Gerald McKelvey who died March 9. Treasurer Sharry Budd listed some of his accomplishments and said, “He did wear many hats and he will be missed”;
• Heard Supervisor McNamara read a letter from a man who said his wallet and phone were stolen at Meijer and the wallet contained a small piece of his late mother’s hair and ashes. He praised Officer Andrew Fedel for working to find a picture of the person responsible and he obtained a license plate number. He said the case is not resolved and they have to find the person and bring him to justice. He said he just wants the township to know he appreciates the police officer going the extra mile;
• Congratulated director of recreation Nicole Gerhart for getting a Recreation Leadership Award from the Michigan Recreation and Parks Association. She has worked for the township since 2000;
• Approved the promotional personal services agreement with Brandon Patton as Water and Sewer Superintendent at a salary of $84,667;
• Approved the first reading of an amendment to the zoning ordinance to rezone the property at 10401 Belleville Rd. from RM Multiple to C-1 General Business, as it is designated in the Master Plan. Second reading and approval would be on the April 1 agenda. Only the northern 100 feet is RM zoning and needs to be rezoned. The El Car Wash owns the property and plans on building a car wash on the property. C-1 zoning lists car washes as needing special land-use approval and board members told the representative they think the traffic is too busy at that location and there is a car wash less than a mile away and another car wash under construction. The representative said when he comes back to the planning commission with their plans he will bring a traffic study, which has already been ordered;
• Heard McNamara ask the representative to tell them about the El Car Wash business and he said it is located in Florida and the last three years has been building in Southeastern Michigan. It opened two or three so far and plans ten more. It is the the official carwash of the Detroit Lions, he said.;
• Awarded the contract for the Beckley and North Shore Lift Station Improvements to JK of Michigan LLC. It was the lowest bidder and highly recommended. It was noted the lift stations were built in 1970 and while there is nothing wrong with them now, the township wants to stay ahead of the game, since it sees what is happening with the weather. The lift stations keep the sewage from backing up into basements;
• Approved the Fishbeck Engineering proposal for professional engineering services for Beckley and North Shore lift stations construction administration, at a cost not to exceed $29,700; and
• Received an update on construction of the Denton Road Bridge from director Akers. He said they have been drilling shafts and there has been a slight delay, but they will be back on schedule by the end of the month. He said for only a handful of days over the summer the boat traffic will have to be completely shut down. McNamara said they have been advised of Lakefest and other events.