VBT Supervisor: Now there is $10 million for the Denton Road bridge

Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara announced at the March 7 regular board of trustees meeting that state officials now have agreed to put $10 million in its budget for construction of the Denton Road Bridge.
The last amount announced was $7 million.
Supervisor McNamara said when the township realized the bridge was going to cost more than first thought, he said they went back to State Rep. Reggie Miller and State Sen. Darrin Camilleri and told them they will need $3 million or $4 million more for the project.
“Now, we’re getting $10 million,” McNamara announced. He said there also is $1.8 million coming from the Iron Belle Trail and there was a $1 million private grant for the bridge.
He said anything over $10 million Wayne County will pay.
McNamara also announced that IT Director Steve Rankin got a $50,000 grant from the MMRMA (Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority) for technology improvements.
“It keeps on coming in,” he said of grant funds.
A recent grant of $384,900 from Congresswoman Debbie Dingell and the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for All program will allow the township to study the entire roadway system and what needs straightening and will allow the township to go out for more grants, McNamara said.
He also explained that six years ago the township owed $29 million in OPED liability and made a 40-year plan to take care of it. He said now they are 37.5% funded and soon will be 40%, which means the township will no longer be on the state watch list. He said they are putting $125,000 into the fund each year and it’s working out “pretty good.”
In other business at the 25-minute meeting, the board:
• Was informed by McNamara that Police Officer Adam Byrd had just been appointed to the state board of the Police Officers Labor Council, which is responsible for the safety and livelihood of 400 agencies;
• Approved a subrecipient agreement for $20,000 of community development block grant (CDBG) funding with Wayne County for senior services;
• Approved an amendment to the METRO Act permit first approved in 2014 for Crown Castle to allow them to expand their fiber network in the township. The township should see an increase in the annual payment made by the state to the township for telecommunication fees;
• Approved a resolution transferring two feet of the west section of township-owned property at 45581 Ecorse Rd. to the neighboring property owner at 45667 Ecorse Rd. On Dec. 20, the board approved the sale of its 45581 Ecorse Rd. property to DTE Gas. During the finalization of the transfer of the property, a survey found that two feet of fence line from the neighboring property was encroaching on the western boundary of the township-owned property. In order to remedy the encroachment and finalize the sale to DTE Gas, the two feet of the neighboring property could be transferred to the neighboring property at a cost of one dollar;
• Approved the appointment of Jeff Jahr as the primary liaison from the planning commission to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Brian Cullin as secondary liaison to the BZA with terms to expire Oct. 1, 2024;
• Approved an agreement with the MEDC (Michigan Economic Development Corporation) to provide $11,250 in funding to complete a marketing plan and economic development strategic plan in support of the township’s efforts to become certified as a Redevelopment Ready Community. The township will provide $3,750 in general fund dollars in matching funds. McNamara said the new Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Merrie Coburn showed him how you can get more grants through this as she did in Romulus;
• Approved total cost of $15,000 from the above grant/matching funds for McKenna & Associates to complete an economic development strategic plan and marketing plan;
• Approved the selection of Fishbeck Engineering for Wildbrook Pump Station Construction Administration Services in an amount not to exceed $22,200 from the Capital Outlay Sewer Fund. Director of Water and Sewer Lawrence said the pump was put in in 1996 and is already failing. They will change it to a three-phase submersible pump. He said the township has 14 pump stations and two more need looking at;
• Removed from the original agenda the hiring of David Hall as superintendent of building and grounds in public services. Hall was said to have 26 years of experience in the fields of public works, environmental health and safety, and civil engineering. He would be coming from the City of Ecorse where he was lead supervisor. Before that he served the City of Southfield and Wayne County; and
• Approved paying for ten signs for the Hull Road and Surrounding Territories Neighborhood Watch program, that now has 218 members. Supporters said Police Officer Adam Byrd helped them organize the group. Signs will be $40 each and posts $20 each. McNamara said there were some blighted properties in that rural area, but some neighbor peer pressure cleaned up the blight. Trustee Kevin Martin asked if they could reach out to the township’s homeowners associations to organize neighborhood watches.