Good discussions at Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association meeting

Tara Guenther of CMS Energy speaks to the PLPOA members gathered at the Sept. 11 meeting at Freedom Township Hall. Photo courtesy Lon Nordeen.

submitted by Pleasant Lake Property Owners Association

More than 40 Pleasant Lake residents turned out for presentations and discussions on lake and safety issues at the Freedom Township Hall on September 11.

The kickoff presenter was Tara Guenther, Manager of the Consumers Energy Freedom Gas Pressurization Plant located at Pleasant Lake Road and Reno Rd. One of five pressure stations owned by CMS in the Michigan area, the plant in Freedom Township is near the end of a $250M modernization project. Ms. Guenther reported her focus is on completion of the upgrade, safety planning, and being a good neighbor to the residents. There were many questions from the audience on safety issues, plant operations, emergency planning, and concerns for venting of gas. Guenther added CMS is working closely with the Washtenaw County Emergency Management Safety team to provide local government officials and residents regular reports and is holding a safety exercise at the facility to test safety plans. She encouraged residents near the plant to get signed up on Everbridge at http://washtenaw.org/alerts for immediate alerts to phones and computers, plus contact 911 or CMS at 800-477-5050 if you see anything suspicious.

Also, there were questions about the recent sale of 18 acres of protected farmland to Consumers Energy. Ms. Guenther said they were just starting the plan for this land and are working with EGLE, Freedom Township government, and residents to improve the property, protect Mill Creek, and manage the CMS lakefront area.

Theo Eggermont, Washtenaw County Director of Public Works, provided education data on ways to protect the lake and status of the ongoing Pleasant Lake Special Assessment District (SAD) program where lake residents pay an annual fee to manage the assessment and treatment of invasive aquatic growth in Pleasant Lake. Residents agreed that they would like to see a stoplight “Windshield Survey” for the lake and evaluate other upgrades for the program such as water testing that have proven helpful with other county lake management programs on the other six lakes they manage.

Jaclyn Bates, Washtenaw County Environmental Health Administrator, gave an informative briefing on well and septic issues. She reported that her team worked on more than 500 well permits and 450 septic permits last year. She added that Freedom Township is unique in having a wide mix of soil types which makes it harder to secure septic success. For the Pleasant Lake area, she reported that 54% were new permits for systems installed after 1972, and 23% had older permits, but some 23% had no or unknown septic system. Washtenaw County has a required inspection and approval of septic systems at the time of sale to assure compliance and safety; the goal is to work with all owners to find a way to correctly meet county regulations.

Kristen Schweighoefer, the Washtenaw County Environmental Health Director, discussed the importance of maintaining safe water with a focus on early identification of blue green algae outbreaks in lakes and the spread of e coli. Any sightings of serious algae outbreaks in lakes should be reported to her office immediately.

Chris Scharrer of DCS Technology Design is a consultant with Washtenaw County to achieve high speed internet expansion and Jaren Mauch, Washtenaw Fiber Properties LLC, talked about the near-term process of bringing high-speed broadband internet to Freedom Township and throughout Washtenaw County.

The PLPOA meeting included discussion of recent issues seen with zoning around Pleasant Lake, as well as enforcement. Residents were encouraged to attend Freedom Township Planning Commission meetings (first Tuesday of each month Town Hall, 7:30pm) to voice their opinions and support for improving and updating Lake District zoning, plus the Township Board meetings (Second Tuesday of the month, 8pm) for upgraded zoning and enhanced enforcement.

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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.