Manchester Township Board Meeting: speeding on Austin Rd, progress on Watkins Lake Trail

Manchester Township Hall

by Sybil Kolon

All board members were present at the July 9 board meeting except Lisa Moutinho. Also present were fire chief Bill Scully; deputy fire chief Mike Kouba; planning commissioners Carl Werner and Mike Walter; and a few other members of the public.

Fire chief Bill Scully provided the monthly report for May. There were 51 calls for service, including 17 EMS responses and one fire and one HAZMAT incident. For the fiscal year just ended there were 581 calls compared to 660 the year before. Efforts to hire new firefighters are ongoing; another interview will be scheduled soon. The old fire truck has not been sold yet. The board voted to decrease the asking price from $28,000 to $22,000.

Supervisor Ron Milkey reported that zoning administrator Carl Macomber had issued one permit for a new barn/garage and one for a swimming pool. Milkey and Macomber had met with the resident of the home on Lakeview Drive regarding blight and unlicensed cars. Significant improvements have been made. Enforcement efforts remain on hold as the clean-up continues. Follow-up on other blight issues continues.

Milkey reported on other items: There is $33,000 remaining from the upgrades to Schleweis Road. The board voted to hold those funds in reserve for future projects. Teijin Stamping on West Austin Road informed Milkey of continued speeding along Austin Road that resulted in near misses. The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s office was contacted and monitored the area the next day, issuing three citations, including one for speeds up to 96 mph. Additional patrols in the area are planned. The ability to change the speed limit and passing lanes, as Teijin would like, is dependent on the county. Milkey will continue to explore additional options with the Washtenaw County Road Commission.

The board approved a five percent raise for all non-elected employees.

Milkey discussed the proposal from Stantec Consulting to apply for a Connecting Communities grant for the design and construction of Phase II of the non-motorized trail to Watkins State Park & County Preserve for the stretch of the trail from Teijin Stamping to Grossman Road. The board approved Stantec’s proposal to submit the grant, which is due on August 29. The Phase I portion of the trail from Grossman Road into the city was sent out for bid on July 1. When complete, these two phases of the project will allow for safe travel for bikes and pedestrians between the city and the state park.

The board went into closed session to consider materials exempt from discussion or disclosure by state or federal statute.

There was more discussion about blight concerns and how to determine when a blight concern should be addressed by the zoning administrator. There was significant public comment about how to address blight. Milkey will research how other townships address blight issues.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.