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Macomb approves land use for historical society - The Voice

The Voice (voicenews.com)

Life

Macomb approves land use for historical society

Friday, April 26, 2013 By Nicole Tuttle, Voice Reporter

The Macomb Township Board of Trustees approved a section of township property for a historical village on April 24. Macomb Township Clerk Michael Koehs asked Macomb Township Supervisor Janet Dunn if the request to use the property included a request to approve funds or construction. Dunn indicated that it did not. The Macomb Township Board of Trustees received a letter from the Macomb Township Historical Commission in their board packet which was marked that it was received by the Macomb Township Clerks Department on April 18. The letter was signed by Dunn and indicates that the historical commission is interested in the use of township property located directly north of the Macomb Township Recreation Center west parking area for development of a historical area. The recreation center is located near Broughton Road. The area will consist of an LFA Hall, a gazebo, a re-creation of the 25 Mile Road school, bathroom facilities and other buildings that may be donated to the township, according to the letter. The gazebo is to be constructed by Dakota High Schools industrial trade class and funded by the Run the Plank event, according to the letter. The re-creation of the 25 Mile Road school will also be constructed by a high school group, but the bathroom facilities will be shared by the townships parks and recreation department and will likely have to be funded by the township, according to the letter. The development of a walking path around the pond with trees, donated in memory of an individual or donated by a family with a marker stating the names, and benches also donated will be an asset to the park area and an amenity for the area, Dunn wrote in the letter. A concrete path can hopefully be donated by a cement contractor, according to the letter. The letter also indicates that the site will require electricity, water and sewer lines brought from existing nearby utilities. Volunteers can operate the area for events, and Macomb Township Trustee Dino Bucci has indicated he will offer assistance with drain relocation, according to Dunns letter. The projected budget for maintenance after the site is completed is $6,000-$7,000 per year based on Clinton Townships historical area as related by the Clinton Township DPW, Dunn wrote in the letter. A sketch of the project is on display in the lobby of the Macomb Township Hall. Information about the 41-A District Court was also brought before the board. Koehs summarized a report from the 41-A District Courts building committee. The committee met with Plante and Moran on April 17. On March 27, the Macomb Township Board of Trustees approved an inter-local agreement with Shelby Township to facilitate 41-A District Court relocation, although the agreement did not obligate Macomb Township to build a new court. The court is currently located in Shelby. The board also approved a second motion March 27, relating to legal counsels
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Macomb approves land use for historical society - The Voice

drafting further legal agreements with Shelby and Utica, who are served by the court in addition to Macomb, and a plan to take a closer look at the courts finances through a review to be possibly conducted by Plante and Moran. On April 24, Koehs said the cost for the Plante and Moran review would be between $13,500 and $15,500. As the board had just received the information on April 24, Koehs said no motion would be made the same night, but that the item would be on the agenda for the next board meeting. The board also heard a presentation from Medstar Ambulance CEO Koby Miller. Miller said Medstar was interested in managing the townships SMART transportation. Miller said the proposal would be that Medstar would assume responsibility for staffing and route management of Macomb Townships SMART program. The program would accommodate rider requests and route management, assign a program manager to the system and provide reports to the township in the areas of rider utilization, on-time performance, route efficiency and other items, according to Miller. This offer comes as a result of our looking at ways that we can add value to the communities that we serve, Miller said. One of the things that we recognize is that we have the infrastructure and the technology to handle transportation management. A contract would be set up for a three-year agreement, according to Miller. Of course that is all open for discussion when we get into the nitty-gritty of the contract, Miller said. Medstar currently offers staffing for SMART in Clinton Township and plans to make the offer to all of the municipalities that it serves that have SMRT obligations, according to Miller. I think that most of the communities who are doing SMART bussing on their own are doing it with spreadsheets or paper or some other system that really does not work to maximize efficiency, Miller said. I think the other thing is as we, much like in the ambulance business again, as we get into resources that can be shared, occasionally, across municipal lines. Let us take Macomb and possibly Clinton Township as an example. There could be two SMART busses a block away from each other, taking people to locations two blocks away from each other; and right now nobody has any awareness of that. In such a scenario, both municipalities would be paying for busses and fuel, Miller said. By using a common platform, we can start to recognize those things and also give you recommendations, Miller said. Macomb Township Trustee Roger Krzeminski requested the board table any decision on the matter, as the township recently entered into a contract with SMART. Krzeminski asked Miller for a meeting between Medstar and township board members for a comparison presentation in which the township could examine current SMART practices, which it implemented in January, and Millers proposal. The exact date was not discussed at the April 24 meeting. We physically just went into this thing back here in January, and we started back in October or November, Krzeminski said. We think weve got a pretty good system going, but if you can beat that system, that is something that we could get together on. It would be something I think that we should look at is all Im saying. In addition, the Macomb Township Board of Trustees: * Authorized the townships legal counsel, the supervisor and the clerk to sign an amendment to a consent judgment for Legacy Estates, which is located on the southeast corner of 22 Mile Road and North Avenue. The board had previously tabled the item on April 10, and township attorney Lawrence Dloski met with representatives of the developer. Dloski said that issues between the township and developer were resolved, including the re-insertion into the consent judgment of a
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Macomb approves land use for historical society - The Voice

lower density, specification of the number of units, minimum square footage for condos permitted and other items. * Denied a proposed lease agreement amendment with American Tower Corporation regarding a cellular tower located on the townships water and sewer department property. Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter. She can b e contacted at ntuttle.reporter@sbcglobal.net.

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