A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
June 21, 2018
P
LYMOUTH
Property sale ends
long tax ID dispute
CITY OF ROMULUS
NOTICE OF LETTING
BID NUMBER 18/19- 02
EXCESS CITY OWNED PROPERTY
Sealed Bids will be received in the office of the City Clerk, 11111 Wayne Road, Romulus, Michigan
48174-1485 until 2:00 p.m. Prevailing Eastern Time on July 17, 2018. Bids will be opened at 2:15
p.m. on July 17, 2018 in the City of Romulus Community Room (lower level of City Hall).
FOR SALE EXCESS CITY OWNED PROPERTY
PARCEL NUMBER
STREET LOCATION
ZONING
80 044 01 0744 303
Middlebelt
RC
80 044 01 0762 300
Farnum
RC
80 044 01 0812 300
Farnum
RC
80 044 01 0826 000
Hollywood
RC
80 044 01 0853 000
Hollywood
RC
80 044 01 0898 002
Dodge
RC
80 044 01 0936 000
Burton
RC
80 044 01 1174 303
Farnum
RC
80 044 01 1179 301
Middlebelt
RC
80 044 01 1209 301
Hollywood
RC
80 044 01 1217 300
Hollywood
RC
80 044 01 1248 000
Dodge
RC
80 044 01 1260 300
Dodge
RC
80 044 01 1269 000
Dodge
RC
80 044 01 1270 000
Dodge
RC
80 044 01 1271 301
Dodge
RC
80 044 01 1284 301
Burton
RC
80 044 01 1304 000
Burton
RC
80 044 01 1313 300
Burton
RC
80 044 01 1329 002
Kempa
RC
80 044 01 1336 300
Kempa
RC
80 044 01 1354 300
Kempa
RC
80 044 01 1397 300
Kenwood
RC
80 044 02 1757 000
Farnum
RC
80 044 99 0004 000
Hollywood
RC
BID PACKETS may be picked up at the City of Romulus Assessor's Office, 11111 Wayne Road,
Romulus between 8:00 am & 4:00 pm standard business days.
PUBLISH:
June 21, 2018
June 28, 2018
RM0307 - 062118 2.5 x 6.774
CITY OF ROMULUS
BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING
WEDNESDAY, July 11, 2018 7:00 p.m.
Notice is hereby given that the City of Romulus Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a public hear-
ing at
7:00 p.m.
on
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
at the Romulus City Hall, 11111 Wayne Road to con-
sider the following petitions:
1. BZA-2018-011;
Northfield Trucking
requesting a variance from Section 13.03(b)(3) Fences
and Screening Walls of the Zoning Ordinance to allow an electric security gate in the required
front yard. Fences and gates must be set back a distance equal to the required front yard setback
which is 40 feet. The subject property is located at 28800 Northline (Parcel ID #80-095-99-0026-
700).
2. BZA-2018-012;
Scott Simpson
requesting a variance from Section 3.04(a)(3)b. Detached
Accessory Buildings of the Zoning Ordinance to allow the height of a pole barn to be 21 feet
where up to 17 feet is allowed. The applicant is proposing the construction of a 1,728-sq. ft. pole
barn. The subject property is located at 16200 Inkster (Parcel ID #80-144-99-0019-000).
Copies of the applications are available for review at City Hall during regular business hours which
are 8:00 am - 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. All interested parties are encouraged to attend and
will be given an opportunity to comment on said requests. Written comments may be submitted and
should be addressed to Carol Maise, City Planner, Planning Department, 11111 Wayne Road,
Romulus, MI 48174-1485.
Ellen Craig-Bragg, City Clerk
City of Romulus, Michigan
Publish: June 21, 2018
RM0310 - 062118 2.5 x 4.375
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF PLYMOUTH
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
THURSDAY JULY 5, 2018
6:00 P.M.
PLEASE NOTE that the Zoning Board of Appeals will hold its Regular Meeting on Thursday, July 5, 2018 commencing at 6:00
p.m., to consider:
• Application 1576, R78-058-03-0038-000, 9480 Mayflower CT, R-1 zoning district: is requesting one variance:
1. To install a six foot (6') fence around the rear property line whereas a four foot (4') is allowed.
The variance
requested is two (2) feet of fence height.
The meeting will be held at Plymouth Township Hall, 9955 N. Haggerty Road in the Town Hall Meeting Room.
Posted: Eagle Newspaper June 21, 2018
PT0194 - 062118 2.5 x 1.866
The longstanding dispute between the
City of Detroit, Wayne County and
Plymouth Township has been settled with
the sale of the township land that was
once the site of the Detroit House of
Corrections prison farm.
Last week, board members approved
the sale of the 133.12 acres of land located
south of Five Mile between Ridge and
Napier roads within the guidelines of a
consent agreement between the township
and Wayne County. The land was
appraised at $4million.
Signature Associates broker David
Green along with buyer representative
Jaime Roth from Hillside Realty
Investments of Plymouth presented the
purchase agreement in the amount of
$3,550,000. Themotion to approve the pur-
chase agreement
made by Trustee Jack
Dempsey
was
approved by a 6-1
vote with Trustee
Chuck Curmi casting
the only no vote.
Curmi asserted that
the board should
have insisted on mul-
tiple quotations from
the broker before set-
ting on the Signature
Associates offer.
Under the consent
agreement, proceeds
of the sale will go to the Wayne County
Treasurer less $741,150 which the town-
ship will receive. An unpaid balance on
the bank installment purchase contract
for the land with the Bank of Ann Arbor
requires $17,000 per-month payments,
according to Township Treasurer Mark
Clinton. Clinton said the finalization of the
salewould permit the township to “almost
break even.”
Wayne County also agreed to deduct
$1,014,132 from the sale proceeds for the
construction of needed water main instal-
lation that will service the site. The town-
shipwill hold those funds in escrow.
The sold land was part of a 323-acre
parcel that was foreclosed on by Wayne
County when the recorded owners,
Demco 54, a subsidiary of DeMattia Corp.,
failed to pay taxes. The two parcels were
improperly recorded as both belonging to
Demco 54 in the Plymouth Township
assessor's office, when in fact, the City of
Detroit owned the 190-acre parcel and
had never sold or transferred title to the
land. The township reported a tax arrear-
age on the entire section of property to the
office of the Wayne County Treasurer
which then sold the land to the township
for $606,150 at a tax foreclosure sale.
Detroit was never notified of any tax
arrearage by the township or the county
as the notices went to Demco 54 which
never paid any tax on any portion of the
property. The land was once on the
Detroit tax rolls formore than $15million.
In April 2013, township resident
Richard Sharland, with the assistance of
WayneCounty legislative assistant Beverly
Kindle Walker, notified the City of Detroit
of the erroneous foreclosure sale that led
to protracted litigation and the eventual
return of the land toDetroit. Sharlandwas
prompted to find the true owner of the
property when a personal friend was leas-
ing the land, which is adjacent to
Sharland's property, to farm crops.
Sharland was curious about his friend's
requirement to pay Demco 54 a rental fee
for part of the land and another fee to
Detroit for the other section. When he
heard the entire parcel was sold to the
township for back taxes, he was even
more curious, he said.
Later in 2013, former Township
Supervisor Richard
Reaume, launched an
advertising campaign
attempting to sell the
property to prospec-
tive
developers.
Reaume, attempting
to sell the contested
land, met with
Chinese real estate
development firm
Third Wave Group
and discussed the
proposed develop-
ment during a three-
day Detroit confer-
ence after launching his advertising cam-
paign for the entire 323-acre prison farm
property.
In 2015, Wayne County Chief Judge
Robert Columbo ruled the entire foreclo-
sure sale transaction was improper and
ordered the land returned to Detroit.
Plymouth Township attorneys unsuccess-
fully appealed that ruling in the State
Court of Appeals, where a three-judge
panel again ruled in favor of the city.
Township officials then hired former
Michigan State Attorney Mike Cox and his
law firm to aid in the arguments and even-
tually agreed to fund an appeal to the
Michigan Supreme Court which ultimate-
ly refused even to hear the matter. The
township paid more than $80,000 to Cox'
firm to file the Supreme Court brief
requesting ahearing.
During the years-long litigation, Detroit
attorneys successfully argued that, “The
Township engineered the foreclosure by
failing to send property tax bills to the City
despite the fact that the City at all times
was owner...”
Throughout the legal proceedings,
attorneys and representatives from the
office of theWayne County Treasurer con-
sistently argued that the foreclosure was
based solely on the information provided
to their office by the township and that
they hadno legal exposure in thematter.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
The Township engineered
the foreclosure by
failing to send
property tax bills
to the City despite
the fact that the City at all
times was owner...
”
name, Soenen was obviously irritated by
comments made on social media by for-
mer Township Clerk Nancy Conzelman.
Just prior to the Tuesday board meeting
last week, a general letter was distributed
to media outlets by a Sandra Curtis pla-
giarizing much of Conzelman's verbiage
previously posted on social media. The
letter urged residents to contact their
township officials and “tell them not to
vote for this horrible proposal.”
“These people can't be allowed to
destroy the soul of our community…This
board is not making the determination to
raise your taxes-they're giving you this
opportunity to make the choice,” Soenen
exclaimed.
“This board will not be making the
case for PARC” said Bob Doroshewitz.
who at one- time along with his wife
worked for the arts and recreation com-
plex.
One concerned resident asked board
members why taxpayers should pay for a
business venture. PARC Vice President
Mark Malcolm and his wife, Patti, donat-
ed more that $3.5 million to save the old
high school building from destruction.
Private donations and additional
fundraising are planned to be combined
with tax money to complete the 3-year
renovation project. Costs are estimated at
$30 million, $6 million of which has been
raised to date.
Mary Weidel, a township resident, gov-
ernment worker andPARC criticwho has
attended many of the previous board
meetings has been vocal with her opposi-
tion. Weidel said she feels the board
should have conducted an independent
feasibility study to find out the financial
viability of building PARC and the pro-
posed theater.
“Where is the due diligence by the gov-
ernment we trust tomake the proper and
educated decisions on spending $20 mil-
lion of township residents' money?” she
demanded.
To make her point, Weidel compared
the time spent on establishing a township
citizens advisory committee to study the
viability of the township golf course that
reportedly loses $100,000 a year.
“Why are we spending so much time
on analyzing the township golf course
when the board is not conducting any
investigation or research on the financial
stability and viability of an orchestra hall
and the PARC commercial rental facili-
ty?” she demanded.
Weidel hammered-on saying township
residents deserve to know the facts.
“Mr. Soenen claims to have $6 million
in pledges for this project-this is not
money in hand-there should be a stipula-
tion that this funding be in hand and
turned over before any millage vote goes
on the ballot or authority is established,”
Weidel said.
Weidel compared the Canton smaller
400-seat Village Theater as an example of
a failed project. The theater constructed
in 2003 cost $11 million to build. She stat-
ed Canton is losing between $500,000 and
$1 million annually on that theater proj-
ect.
“How can we expect anything differ-
ent just a fewmiles away,” she said.
“Plymouth city and township residents
will soon wake up and realize we are
being misled by this losing venture and
the debt it will cause us all,” Weidel said
after themeeting.
PARA
FROM PAGE 1
Smart money
The Plymouth noon Rotary Club presented several scholarships to local students
last week including Sean Jacobsen; Ravneet Kaler, Abhishek Kapipuram, Richard
Johnson, Saba Mangla, Chase Cunningham, Alyssa Garland, Talib Haroon, Carly
Conrad, Amber Bell and Maddison Macyda. The scholarships ranged from
$4,000 to $500 and totaled more than $34,500.
Photo by Dave Willett
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