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No. 25
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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June 19 – 25, 2014
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
Senior citizens from 16
communities will be partici-
pating and celebrating the
10th Anniversary of the
Western Wayne County Senior
Olympics this summer.
See page 4.
Earth Day may have been
celebrated last month, but offi-
cials and employees in the City
of Romulus have found ways
to continue to apply "green"
concepts.
See page 5.
Members of the Plymouth
Canton Community Schools
Board of Education voted to
move the custodial work in the
district to a private firm last
week.
See page 2.
Registration is now under
way for one of the most popu-
lar Independence Day cele-
brations in the area.
See page 3.
The budget of the Belleville
Downtown Development
Authority for 2014-15 includes
$16,000 to support community
events.
See page 5.
Vol. 129, No. 25
Vol. 67, No. 25
Vol. 67, No. 25
Vol. 14, No. 25
Vol. 129, No. 25
Vol. 67, No. 25
Vol. 67, No. 25
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The 2014-15 budget adopted
by members of the Wayne
Westland Community Schools
Board of Education will
include a full range of pro-
grams for students.
See page 4.
The Canton Township
Board of Trustees adopted an
ordinance last week designed
to offer protection to people
who believe they have been
discriminated against.
See page 3.
Vol. 14, No. 25
LeannaHicks Inkster Public
Library will be starting its
Summer Reading Program
entitled "Fizz, Boom, Read!" for
Kids and "Spark aReaction" for
Teens onThursday, June 26.
See page 5.
Plymouth Township will not be selling the
190-acre parcel of land that was once home to
the Detroit House of Corrections purchased at
aWayneCounty tax foreclosure sale.
Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge
Robert J. Colombo, Jr. granted a restraining
order against the township last Friday request-
ed by attorneys for the City of Detroit, who
claimed in court filings that the sale was
improper and illegal.
Attorneys representing Detroit said they
were prompted to file the motions requesting
legal sanctions by news that township officials
planned to sell the land against which Detroit
has an unresolved legal claim of ownership.
The hearing in front of Colombo involved
Wayne County, Wayne County Treasurer
RaymondWojtowicz and attorneys and officials
fromPlymouthTownship.
Columbo will also preside at a pending case
in the Michigan Court of Claims demanding
damages by the City of Detroit resulting from
the same land sale. That case is scheduled to
beheardby the end of thismonth.
Township attorneys and board officials alike
were adamant the township had a right to sell
the land they acquired fromWayne County in a
tax foreclosure sale in 2011. The township paid
about $606,149 for the land, assessed at one
time formore than $15million.
Plymouth Township attorney Timothy
Cronin denied township officials were trying to
sell the disputed property and stated in court,
“The township is interested in all the
options…It's not an offer for sale.”
Earlier this week, however, Plymouth
Township Supervisor Richard Reaume met
with a delegation from the Chinese Association
of Automobile Manufacturers after launching
an advertising campaign for the entire 323-acre
prison farm property, located west of Ridge
Road. A newspaper advertisement placed
recently by the township stated the township
was seeking prospective developers and offers
of an acquisitionproposal.
In the advertisement, township officials said
there would be “legal challenges,” stating,
“Plymouth Township purchased the property
on September 22, 2011 as part of a Wayne
County foreclosure process.” The City of
The Northville Art House will shine a
spotlight on the imagination, art, talent and
cultural diversity of artists throughout the
region when the annual Arts and Acts
Festival returns for the fifth consecutive
year June 20-22 in historic downtown
Northville.
The Festival includes the 26th annual
juried fine art show “Art in the Sun”, featur-
ing more than 60 talented artists; the “Reel
Michigan Film Festival” at Northville's
Marquis Theatre; the “Sandbox Play
Festival” produced by Tipping Point
Theatre; the “Short on Words” Literary
Contest; musical entertainment featuring
some of metro Detroit's top musicians;
Children's Activities; the premier of the
Northville Art House Chalk Festival and a
large variety of festival food anddrink.
Arts and Acts is sponsored by DTE
Energy, Varsity Lincoln and Varsity Ford,
Leaf Filter, Yes Home Services,
WindowPRO, Renewal by Andersen,
Preservation Dental, Environmental Pest
Control, On the Avenue Marketing, Anne
Smith of Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel,
The Knickerbocker Group of Raymond
James, Mike Miller Building Company,
Town and Country Eyecare, Steve Rodgers'
Dr. Energy Saver, Genitti's Hole-in-the Wall
and D&M Art Studio. All proceeds of Arts
and Acts will benefit the Northville Art
House.
The festival will be open from noon until
8 p.m. on Friday, June 20, from 10 a.m. until
8 p.m. Saturday, June 21 and from 10 a.m.
until 5 p.m. Sunday, June 22 at Main and
Center streets indowntownNorthville.
Northville will be alive with music
throughout the Arts and Acts Festival. At 7
p.m. Friday, Ben Sharkey will be delighting
fans with old swing and jazz standards. At 7
p.m. Saturday, the Sugarees will take the
stage. The Sugarees are led by Billy Brandt,
a multiple-award-winning Detroit-area
singer-songwriter.
Sunday afternoon the town will come
alivewith themusic of Planet DNonet.
Many street performers will also fill the
air with tunes throughout the weekend, as
performers such as Alexa D and Nicole
Delia are donating their time and talents to
Arts andActs.
The musical entertainment is sponsored
by Varsity Lincoln and Varsity Ford, Anne
Smith of Coldwell BankerWeirManuel, The
KnickerbockerGroup of Raymond James
The weekend will also feature the
Northville Summer Carnival at Northville
Downs Race Track Parking lot at Seven
Mile Road and Center Street. The carnival
will be open from4-11 p.m. today and tomor-
row, from noon until 11 p.m. Saturday and
fromnoonuntil 8 p.m. onSunday.
The carnival is sponsored by the
Chamber of Commerce. For more informa-
tion about the carnival, call (248) 349-7640.
The City of Romulus has a new
four-year agreement with its local
214 Teamsters Union that will save
money for the city and still protect
employees.
Members of the city council
unanimously ratified the agree-
ment, which is effective from July
2014 to July 2018, last week.
Mayor LeRoy Burcroff said the
first major contract he helped
negotiate as mayor was relatively
free of contention.
“The talks were open and hon-
est,” he said. “They shared the
things that were important to their
membership, and we shared the
proposed changes. That's theway it
shouldbe.”
Both the union and the city gave
a number of concessions, accord-
ing to Council President John
Barden.
Under the agreement, current
employees will contribute 10 per-
cent toward their healthcare pre-
miums and new employees will
contribute 20 percent. The city will
be allowed to hire part time, sea-
sonal, interns or co-op employees
to help save funds and contract out
some services.
The city will reduce the number
of unpaid furlough days from 13 to
six. Rather than a defined raise in
each year of the deal, employees
will get a flat $1,100 bonus for the
first three years of the agreement
andno bonus in the fourth year.
“I think it's one of the best con-
tracts I've ever negotiated,” said
Kathy Ritter, a member of the
union negotiating team. “I'm very
happywith it.”
The Teamsters Local 214 repre-
sents the city department of public
works, the building department
and clerical employees.
Funding for schools and roads,
the future of the Detroit Water and
Sewer Department and the state of
Wayne County finances were
among the topics last week at a
candidate forum hosted by the
CantonRepublicanCaucus.
The informal group brought
together state and local leaders,
including Canton Supervisor Phil
LaJoy,
Wayne
County
Commissioner Shannon Price (R-
Canton), State Sen. PatrickColbeck
(R-Canton) and Mike Maloney, a
member of the Plymouth-Canton
Community School (PCCS) board.
Carol Ann Fausone, a candidate
for the state house district that rep-
resents Canton, also took part.
LaJoy talked about an issue on
the ballot asking voters to replace
the Personal Property Tax with a
different sort of taxing system that
would generate roughly the same
amount of revenue, but be more
reliable and business friendly. The
current system, he said, amounts to
a double tax on businesses-they
are taxed when they purchase
equipment and also taxed each
year according to the value of it-
and does not put Michigan in a
competitive business environment.
The state has tried to do away with
the personal property tax in the
past, but local officials have not
supported the bill because of the
hit to local revenue streams. This
version, he said, makes local gov-
ernments whole. He said he hopes
voters approve it, but was con-
cerned because the language on
Arts and Acts
Festival to fill downtown
Northville this weekend
Romulus ratifies new employee union contract
Candidates discuss issues at Republican forum
Don Howard
Staff Writer
”
Judge halts sale of disputed property
See
Land,
page 2
See
Forum,
page 3
Representation
was that it (the property)
was a single parcel
at the time of the sale.