The Lowell Charter Township Board held a short special meeting on Monday night to take a vote on a 425 agreement with the City of Lowell. They also approved 2024 charges for streetlight assessment districts for residents living in certain township subdivisions.
All board members were present for the meeting.
425 Agreement Approved 5-2
Lowell Charter Township and the City of Lowell have been discussing a 425 agreement for months. It would conditionally transfer a parcel of property near the I-96 interchange for a period of 50 years with the option to renew the agreement for another 50 years.
The benefit for the township seems to be the extension of water and sewer lines to the parcel which will allow it to be developed into an industrial park. The benefit for the city seems to be the opportunity to renegotiate water and sewer agreements with the township ahead of schedule.
City of Lowell councilmembers approved the agreement on a 4-1 vote at a meeting last month. Last night, the township board voted 5-2 to do the same.
Prior to the vote, three individuals spoke on the agreement.
Township resident Ray Benedict said he didn’t see the benefit for township residents and thought giving the city control of a property that could be seen as a township gateway “is a bit much.”
“Fifty years seems like a heck of a commitment,” Benedict said. “I have a problem with current water customers footing the bill for someone’s profit,” he added, alluding to the developer who owns the parcel in question.
City resident Mark Ritzema said he had been asked to come to the meeting and share some reasons why the agreement would benefit the township, but he did not say who had asked him to do so.
Ritzema said the agreement would mean more money for water and wastewater system repairs and improvements, more utility customers to share the costs, and more tax revenues for the township. He added that realtor Todd Pearson said many buyers don’t consider coming to Lowell anymore because of the issues with the water system here.
Township business owner John Timpson spoke on his concerns as an adjoining property owner to the parcel in question. He said he would like to have the option to hook into the water system but didn’t want the city re-assessing his property value.
He also worried that his business – which includes concrete recycling – would be “squeezed out” of the location. “If I can’t survive up there, where do I go?” he asked. He felt there were too many unknowns in the agreement.
Township Clerk Monica Burtt agreed that there were too many questions for her to feel comfortable voting for the proposal. She noted that most discussion about the agreement details happened within a special committee and did not include the whole board.
“I would have liked to have seen more transparency and discussion from board members,” she said. “I need more information to convince me this is and will be a good thing for Lowell residents.”
Trustee Mark Anderson disagreed though, sharing: “I really liked what Mr. Ritzema said.” Anderson thought that the city and township were better when they worked together. However, he did note that there were many details to work out and those could take months or even a year to work though.
After the meeting, Supervisor Jerry Hale said he thought the new water and sewer agreements – which must be signed prior to the 425 agreement going into effect – could be ready as soon as the new year. But first, local officials need to wait for the completion of an aquifer study to determine the pumping capacity of the city’s groundwater.
Trustee Carlton Blough also spoke during the meeting to say that he thought too much time and effort had been put into the 425 agreement to discontinue talks with the city now. “It’s no time to stop the process at this time,” he said.
The Lowell Township Board voted 5-2 to approve the 425 agreement with Burtt and Treasurer Ronda Benedict being the two no votes.
Streetlight Assessment Districts
The other piece of business on last night’s agenda was the approval of streetlight assessment districts for various subdivisions in the township. The board unanimously approved the following per-property assessments to be added to winter tax bills:
- Twin Oaks: $27.50
- Stony Bluff (phases 1 and 2): $46
- Stony Bluff (phases 3 and 4): $16
- Eastgate: $39
- Whispering Hills: $16.50
The meeting adjourned at 6:23pm. The next regular meeting of the Lowell Charter Township Board will be Monday, Nov. 18, at 7pm in the Lowell Township Hall.
Note: This article was updated at 2:55pm on Nov. 12, 2024 to correct the vote tally for the 425 agreement. The motion passed 5-2, not 4-2 as originally reported.
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