Lowell City Council and the Lowell Charter Township Board held a joint meeting last Wednesday. Seated at a long table in the township board room, they were joined by a full house of area residents and business owners.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a letter of understanding between the municipalities that would allow for the extension of water and sewer service to a 200-acre parcel by I-96. The Covenant Business Park has been proposed for the land, but that project cannot proceed without these utilities.
Clocking in at 90 minutes, the meeting provided an overview of the letter of understanding, allowed time for public comment and ended with votes by both Lowell City Council and the Lowell Township Board.
Also present during the meeting were Lowell City Manager Mike Burns, Lowell City Attorney Jessica Wood from the firm Dickinson Wright and attorney Jeff Sluggett from the firm Bloom Sluggett who was there on behalf of the township.
Brief Overview of Current Situation
The city and township have been discussing for years how to extend water and sewer services to the I-96 property. However, for those who need a brief refresher, here’s what you need to know.
- The City of Lowell owns both the water and wastewater (sewer) systems.
- Lowell Township is a wholesale customer of the water system and owns 18% capacity in the wastewater system.
- Neither system is equipped to handle the capacity needed by the proposed business park near I-96,
- Expanding the systems will cost millions although the exact amounts have not been definitively shared yet.
- The State of Michigan awarded a $17.5 million grant to the project which would pay to extend utility lines from the city to I-96, but the city and township still need to determine how to pay for the plant expansions.
- At an open house earlier this year, it was said that the Covenant Business Park expects to create its own water system onsite, meaning it will only need wastewater (sewer) service from the city. However, the letter of understanding discussed by city and township officials during the joint meeting referenced both public water and sanitary sewer systems.
What the Letter of Understanding Includes
The letter of understanding between the city and township is a non-binding document that lays out the terms that would be in place in order for the two municipalities to partner and expand the water and wastewater systems.
Named for a section of state law, a 425 agreement would give the city the right to assess and tax property on the parcel for 50 years. There would also be the option to renew the agreement for another 50 years. The city has long said that it would not provide additional services to the township without such an agreement.
The 425 agreement does not actually stipulate how the wastewater expansion will be funded, though. Wood mentioned bonds at one point during the joint meeting, which could imply that the municipalities are planning to finance the project.
As laid out in the letter, the township and city would share responsibilities for the Covenant Business Park in the following ways:
- Lowell Charter Township will retain control of zoning, planning, regulatory oversight, special assessment authority and any government services not spelled out in the agreement.
- The City of Lowell will assess and tax property, process tax abatement requests and provide police, fire and emergency services to the site.
Property on the site would be taxed at the city millage rate, which is current 15.7 mills. Of that, 6 mills would go to the township. If the city millage rate should drop below 13.9 mills, then the township would get 38.21% of what is collected.
All this hinges on the city and township coming to new sewer and water agreements. The current agreements – in which the township is a wholesale buyer of water and owns 18% capacity in the wastewater plant – will be expiring in the coming years.
“The township wants water and sewer agreements that are more clear,” Sluggett said. “The 425 cannot go into effect until the parties work out satisfactory water and sewer agreements.”
Also notable in the letter of understanding is a provision that would make the entire township a service area for city water and sewer services. Currently, only certain sections of the township near the city limits can hook into these utilities. As written in the letter of understanding, any township mixed use or commercial development that wants to use these systems may be subject to a 425 plan, meaning they would be required to pay the city tax rate for at least 50 years.
Public Comments on Agreement
After hearing an overview of the letter of understanding from Sluggett and Wood, the floor was opened for public comments. Nine people took the opportunity to speak.
Colleen Timpson was first and said that while she wasn’t a resident, she did own a business that was adjacent to the Covenant Business Park property. She asked if her business would need to be part of the 425 agreement if they wanted to hook into water and sewer services. Township Supervisor Jerry Hale replied that the property would need to be part of the agreement area.
Later, her husband, John Timpson, spoke and felt there had been a lack of communication from the township. He said he spoke to the owners of J&H Oil, who own the gas station near the highway, and they were as “in the dark as I am.”
“I’d like to be better informed,” Timpson said. He also asked if his property could hook into sewer without water since he already had a well on his parcel.
“You’re at the wrong meeting,” Hale responded, noting there would be open houses held later in the month when he could get answers.
Timpson returned to his seat, saying, “I don’t expect any answers anytime.”
A Lowell Township resident who introduced herself as Dr. Ginger was concerned about the use of fluoride in the city water system. She said many people with wells want to keep them to avoid fluoride. Later in the meeting, she also expressed frustration that paper copies of the letter of understanding weren’t made available to those in attendance.
Another township resident asked about the address of the new development. It is believed to be 4687 Alden Nash Ave., according to township officials.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” was the assessment of one man who identified himself as a city resident. He pays $108 a month for water and sewer services for a 3-bedroom condo with no outdoor irrigation and believes the planned expansion will only raise rates further.
Referencing repeated comments by councilmembers that they couldn’t avoid rate increases because of the actions of previous councils, the resident noted current city leadership has been in place for eight years. He also noted that Councilmember Eric Bartkus, who was elected last year, had made suggestions to minimize rate increases, but his ideas were dismissed.
Sandy Graham, who lives in Lowell Township near the business park property, wondered about light population from the site. She also asked if she would continue to have fire protection from Bowne Township and whether she would be able to continue to hunt on her land.
Scott Rissi, who lives on Cascade Road, said he wasn’t surprised by the development but was concerned about police coverage for the proposed hotel on the site. He said hotels in Cascade Township have generated many police calls, and he worried about response times from Lowell Police Department.
Rissi also said he was happy to see that planning and zoning would remain with the township. “I don’t have a lot of faith in the city’s planning ability,” he said, referencing “smoke shops” and the city’s now defunct biodigester.
City resident Perry Beachum agreed with previous concerns about ratepayers having to pay for the system expansion. He asked whether there had been any thought to asking the developer to fund the expansion and then rebate back a portion of the taxes to compensate. Beachum thought the community would be taking on a significant risk to fund an expansion if the development should end up failing.
“I, as a township resident, would like assurances that this doesn’t fall back on residents,” said Dave Hoogenboom. He worried it would end up being a similar situation to the fire department, which resulted in the township requesting residents approve a public safety millage.
Council and Board Comments
After citizens had spoken, city councilmembers and township board members shared their thoughts.
Township Board Member Mark Anderson was concerned about how the provisions would affect youth sports and the Kent County Youth Fair. A reply was that these groups are non-profit and tax exempt so it shouldn’t affect them.
Bartkus questioned a section of the letter of understanding which said: “Integrated plant improvements for the water system will be paid for by the City through rate increases charged by the City based on actual flow.”
He wondered if the city could instead pay for plant improvements using tax dollars generated by the 425 agreement. Burns said that would be a policy decision for city council, but he did not advise it. He said utility systems should be self-sustaining and using property taxes for a utility could affect the city’s ability to borrow money in the future.
Councilmember Leah Groves asked where people should address their questions to ensure they receive answers. There was some discussion about setting up a website or frequently asked questions page to address citizen concerns.
Township Board Member Carlton Blough asked if the Lowell Police Department would have an officer stationed at the park-and-ride lot that would be on the parcel.
“One of the things we envision for this is to double the number of officers per shift,” Burns said.
However, there was some question as to whether that lot would be the responsibility of the Lowell police. Hale said the Michigan State Police were responsible for assistance calls there, to which Blough replied, “But the park-and-ride is in the (425 agreement) site.”
Blough also wondered how any tax abatements on the site would affect the number of mills the township receives. “We just don’t know,” Wood replied.
Township Treasurer Ronda Benedict wanted to know how much expanding the water and wastewater plants would cost and how that would affect utility rates. “When do we have numbers,” she asked.
Burns said the city had some preliminary numbers but needed to wait for an aquifer study to be completed before it could begin calculating costs.
“I have a problem with the township spending money so the developer can make money on this property,” Benedict said.
Township Board Member Andy Vander Ziel asked what would happen if the township formed its own police force and fire department in the next 50 years. He also felt the agreement wasn’t a positive for property owners who might want to hook into utility lines in the future but would need a 425 agreement to do so.
“It puts some of these property owners along that (Alden Nash) corridor in a unique situation that is not favorable,” Vander Ziel said.
Councilmember Marty Chambers, who chaired the committee negotiating the terms of the 425 agreement, said that members had worked hard to reach this point.
“This is very early in this,” he said. “We need everyone to be patient for a while.” Chambers said steps would be taken to ensure residents were kept informed, later adding: “We have two more corners out there that we can develop (so we) want to get everything right.”
Votes on Letter of Understanding
At the end of the discussion, both councilmembers and board members voted on motions to approve the letter of understanding.
The township motion passed on a vote of 5-2 with Benedict and Clerk Monica Burtt being the no votes.
The city motion passed on a vote of 4-1 with Councilmember Jim Salzwedel being the no vote.
The joint meeting adjourned at 8:30pm, and the following meetings will be held on the proposed 425 agreement:
- Aug. 20: Open house at Lowell City Hall from 6-8pm
- Aug. 21: Open house at Lowell Charter Township Hall from 6-8pm
- Sept. 3: Public hearing during Lowell City Council meeting at 7pm
- Sept. 16: Public hearing during Lowell Charter Township meeting at 7pm
- Oct. 7: Expected vote on agreement during Lowell City Council meeting at 7pm
- Oct. 21: Expected vote on agreement during Lowell Township Board meeting at 7pm
Leave a Reply