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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
2
January 29, 2015
P
LYMOUTH
- W
AYNE
Wayne will ask voters for 3 mills to fund pensions
County reveals plans to repair, upgrade Lilley Road
A highly anticipated fund-rais-
er for the Salvation Army will
return next month, to the delight
of both artists and food lovers in
the area.
Soup Swap will return to
Plymouth for the third year and
this year, the Rotary Club of
PlymouthA.M. is teaming upwith
the Belleville Rotary Club and
the Kiwanis Club of Colonial
Plymouth to offer this popular
community art project. The Over
the Grill Gang Chefs' Club along
The
Plymouth
Canton
Educational Park Culinary Team
will again be providing the soup
for the “Swap” March 7 to sup-
port this event.
The art portion of the festivi-
ties will begin Feb. 5. All aspiring
or experienced artists are invited
to go to the Plymouth Salvation
Army Church located at 9451 S.
Main St., to decorate a soup bowl
handmade by members of the
Village
Potters
Guild.
Participants will use colored
clays to paint their favorite
design on a bowl that they have
chosen from a large selection of
shapes and sizes. Members of the
guild will then glaze and fire the
bowls. There are several sessions
available beginning at 4:30-6 p.m.
or 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5.
Painting sessions continue from
10-11:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
on Saturday, Feb. 7; from 4:30-6
p.m. and 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday,
Feb. 12; from 10-11:30 a.m. and
11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday,
Feb. 14; and from 3:30-5 p.m. and
5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 when
schools are closed for the mid-
winter break.
The cost of the painting ses-
sion is $15 per person. To get fam-
ilies involved, the cost is $15 for
the first twomembers of the fami-
ly and $10 for each additional
family member. If one person
would like to decorate more than
one bowl, the cost is $10 for each
additional bowl with a limit of
four bowls.
On Soup Swap day, the Over
theGrill Gang Chefs' Club and the
Plymouth
Community
Educational Park Culinary Team
will be serving soups for partici-
pants when they come to pick up
their bowl, again at the church.
“The Chefs' Club is excited to
collaborate with these great serv-
ice organizations in giving back to
the community, especially the
Salvation Army,” said Mike
Stepan, amember of the club.
The Salvation Army food
pantry will benefit from the event
with all proceeds going to the
church. In addition to the money
generated from the sale of soup
bowls, participants are asked to
bring a canned food item to help
restock the shelves at the pantry
when they come to pick up their
bowl and swap it for some soup.
“I've gotten so many calls from
past participants asking when the
Soup Swap will be held again.
This is wonderful project for the
community, for the Salvation
Army and for our local service
clubs. We're excited to bring it
back and see this much support,”
said Leslie Greeneisen, a mem-
ber of the Rotary Club of
Plymouth A.M. and the Village
PottersGuild
To register for the Soup Swap
Bowl Painting sessions at the
Plymouth SalvationArmy Church
or for more information, call
Sandy Kollinger, the volunteer
and special events coordinator, at
(734) 453-5464.
The Soup Swap from 11 a.m.
until 1 p.m. March 7 is open to the
public and no reservations are
required.
Wayne voters will be asked to
approve the levy of 3 mills for five
years to fund police and fire pen-
sions in the city.
Last week, members of the city
council directed the city attorney
to prepare the ballot language for
May election in the city after a
recommendation
from
Councilman Al Damitio who said
that the city had been taking
money from other city budget
funds, such as risk management
and equipment rentals, to pay a
portion of the pension obligation
payments. Damitio said that the
city has taken about $1.2 from the
general fund to make the pension
payments in recent years and that
the 3 mills would generate the
amount needed to make the pay-
ments.
The city council is still dealing
with a budget deficit of about
$500,000 and an even larger short-
fall is predicted for next year. In
an effort to findways to cut spend-
ing and bring the budget in line,
individual council members were
assigned to specific departments
to devise solutions. Damitio was
assigned by Mayor Jim Hawley to
the public safety budget, prompt-
ing his presentation to the council
last week.
Damitio said that the 3 mills he
suggested would generate enough
to make the pension payments. A
mill in Wayne generates about
$370,000 at the current rates for a
total of $1.1million from3mills.
Damitio cautioned the council
that without an increase in rev-
enue, such as the newmillage, the
city could run out of money to
make the pension payments.
Voters inWayne rejected amillage
in 2013 that would have taken the
pension fund out of the general
fund.
Councilwoman Susan Rowe
said the city needs to have a plan
in place should the millage be
rejected by voters for the second
time. She said the council should
have a plan in place and tell vot-
ers what the specific conse-
quences of a rejection of the mill-
age would include. She said that
residents need to understand that
steps such as closing the commu-
nity center or a reduced level of
trash collection are distinct possi-
bilities in the city without added
revenue.
Wayne County has announced a
plan to resurface Lilley Road
between Ann Arbor Road and Ann
Arbor Trail in theCity of Plymouth.
The $700,000 project will
include the 1 mile of roadway
between Main Street and Ann
Arbor Road, according to county a
spokesman. Included in the plan
will be the installation of improved
undergroundwatermains and san-
itary sewer repairs by the City of
Plymouth and improved drainage
along the roadways.
Funding will come from the pri-
ority road fund of the State of
Michigan.
Plans include the removal by
milling of 1 ½ inches of asphalt
which will be replaced by a 3-inch
new asphalt coating. The project
will not begin until July or August,
but officials said it is hoped the
resurfacing will be complete by the
time school begins inSeptember.
The utility work, which must be
complete before the resurfacing,
will cost about $1.55 million. The
city of Plymouthwill fund the work
with a bond sale set for early this
year.
Plymouth City Commissioners
approved a $124,800 contract with
Wade Trim to provide design serv-
ices on the utility project.
”
The Chefs' Club is excited
to collaborate with these
great service organizations...
Soup Swap set to benefit Salvation Army pantry