Manchester Township board discusses broadband potential

Manchester Township Hall

submitted by Sybil Kolon

All board members were present at the August 17 township board meeting. Also present were fire chief Bill Scully and county commissioner Shannon Beeman.

Beeman provided an update on Washtenaw County's broadband task force. Several townships have requested that the county dedicate $15 million of the county’s American Rescue Plan funds to fund broadband access to the remaining households in the county not included in recently-awarded grants. A vote by the county was delayed until September 1, to allow proponents to provide additional support for the request.

Beeman explained that the timing of this request is critical. The bid to complete the work is good only through September, and this phase will be an extension of the larger project, meaning the contractor will not need to re-mobilize. A delay to this additional phase would result in much higher costs to complete the project at a later date.

There was concern on the part of some board members about the role of the county Equity Officer. Beeman explained that the officer's role is to evaluate how funding requests impact high- and low-opportunity residents, and she supports this review. Concerns have been raised that many of the areas that would be covered by this request are considered high-opportunity and don’t provide much benefit to low-opportunity areas. Beeman indicated that the additional funding would extend broadband equity to every resident in the county, including rural areas where the cost to individually connect to broadband can be higher than $20,000 per residence, making it unattainable by most residents who will be left out if this request is denied.

Beeman is committed to doing everything she can to help the county commissioners understand the importance of this project to the entire county.

Scully provided the fire department's monthly report for July. There were 49 calls for service, including five fires and 23 EMS responses. The department was present at recent community events, including the Manchester Community Fair and the Run Manchester 5K event.

The board discussed the 1946 fire truck, which is still used for special events, and has been stored by Ron Mann since about 1989 at no charge to the township. Treasurer Kim Thompson had researched the value of the truck. There are very few on the market, and it is estimated to be worth a few thousand dollars. The fire department continues to insure it. After discussion, the board voted to offer to sell the truck to Ron Mann for $1,001, including a credit of $1,000 for storage.

Zoning administrator Carl Macomber was not present. Milkey indicated that two zoning permits were issued; Macomber continues to address neighbor complaints in various areas.

John Seefeld, the township board representative on the planning commission, reported on the planning commission meeting. The planning commission is now considering language to allow short-term rentals only in low density residential and urban residential districts. Currently there are small areas of low density residential zoning, but no urban residential district. A joint meeting between the township board and the planning commission is now planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 pm.

Milkey is still investigating the cost of obtaining a speed sign for West Austin Road. The township and village are working with Washtenaw County to apply for funding to assist in the development of the trail between the village and Watkins Lake State Park & County Preserve. A special meeting will need to be set to support the application before the end of August.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.