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tent beginning at 8 p.m.
Another change this year is the shuttle
service and free parking offered by Praise
Baptist Church.
There will be free parking at the church
located at 40500 North Territorial Road and
continuous round-trip free shuttles into
downtown for visitors to the festival.
According to James Hooper, a member of
the church, the effort to help alleviate some of
the traffic and parking problems during the
annual community event from the church
leadership group who arranged the shuttle
servicewith Joy.
The shuttles will run continuously, he
stressed, and he expects that the round trips
will take nomore than 15 or 20minutes.
While the shuttles from downtown to
Station 885 for the annual Civitans Taste Fest
have been discontinued this year, event
organizers are expecting even larger crowds
at the event.
More than 20 of the most popular area
restaurantswill be providing samples of some
of their best recipes during the annual Taste
Fest from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6 in the lower
parking lot at Station 885 restaurant on
Starkweather inOldVillage.
Station 885 owner Rob Costanza said that
this event was one of his favorites as it
seemed like everyone benefits from the
event.
"The Civitans just do so much good in the
community and give to so many causes," he
said. "I donate my time and help them organ-
ize the event, and try to help them with our
buying power, but these restaurants deserve a
real vote of thanks for what they do. They not
only donate the food, but the service staff,
labor all their equipment. It just speaks well
of their generosity," he said. "It just grows and
grows every year. Last year I think we had
more than 300 people."
After the Taste Fest, the Plymouth Canton
Band Boosters will be hosting Bingo Games
in The Gathering which players can join at
any time from 6-10 p.m. Proceeds go to help
the award-winning high school marching
band.
The Optimists Pet Show will take place on
the stage at Kellogg Park for all pets of any
type at 9 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, right after the
famous Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast at the
Gathering where pancakes, sausage, juice
and coffee are priced at $6 if purchased in
advance and $7 if purchased on Saturday.
Children younger than 5 eat free at the event
when accompaniedby an adult.
Breakfast will be served, as usual, from 7
a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at The Gathering, which
is across from Kellogg Park and next to the
PennTheatre.
The traditional Rotary Club Chicken
Barbeque will remain unchanged with the
famous secret barbeque recipe chicken, corn,
chips, roll, cookie and beverage dinners
served at The Gathering from 11 a.m. until
sold out on Sunday, Sept. 8 with carry outs
available atWestMiddleSchool.
Rotary Club members have tickets for the
barbeque meal which will be on sale at the
downtown ticket booths beginningFriday.
Joy said the festival could not take place
without the donations and help received from
toomany contributors to name.
"When I walk through town and see the
families all having a good time, well, that's the
most satisfying thing of all for me. That's what
reallymakes it all worthwhile," Joy said.
(A complete guide to the festival and all the
events and attractions will be included in the
next edition of TheEagle.)
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
August 29, 2013
Charter Township of Canton Board Proceedings-August 20, 2013
A regular study meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Charter Township of Canton held Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 1150 Canton
Center S., Canton, Michigan. Supervisor LaJoy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the pledge of allegiance.
Roll Call
Members Present: Bennett, LaJoy, McLaughlin, Sneideman, Williams, Yack Members Absent: Anthony Staff Present: Director Faas,
Jeff Goulet, Kristin Kolb, Bill Serchak, Bob Belair
Adoption of Agenda
Motion by Bennett, seconded by Williams to approve the agen-
da as presented. Motion carried by all members present.
STUDY SESSION TOPIC Item 1. SPECIAL ASSESSMENT DISTRICT
(SAD) POLICY REVISIONS.
The Board adopted a formal policy in 2008 outlining the administrative steps involved in handling spe-
cial assessment districts. Over the past few years, staff has identified a number of changes needed to the policy to reflect the current
practice. In addition, staff is recommending a few new steps be added for which they would request Board input on before finalizing
the policy revisions.
Local Road in Canton: Repair, Maintenance and Reconstruction
. Subdivision Roads: Wayne County provides
basic maintenance only using P.A. 51 Funds (gas tax funds). No funding fromWayne County for major repairs or reconstruction of local
roads. Private Roads: all maintenance, repairs and reconstruction by condominium or owners of private road.
Roads in Canton: Major
Repairs or Reconstruction – Options. Self-Funded
HOA assesses homeowners and establishes funds for maintenance and repairs.
Special Assessment District
(SAD) through petition to the local government. For an SAD bonds are typically sold by Township, and
paid back by Assessments to property owners. Current Township Policy has been revised. This policy is targeted at SAD petitions for
road repairs and replacement.
SAD POLICY CHANGES
Often bonds are sold by the township to fund an SAD. The new policy
reduces the total project amount required for bonding purposes to $500,000 from $1,000,000. Typically, SAD projects are financed over
a 10-year period. However, if individual property assessments are estimated to be greater than $10,000 per property, the Township may
extend the payback period to 15 years (for road projects). The proposed policy require that the group requesting a petition for a road
repair project submit a $2,500 deposit to retain an outside pavement/road engineer to develop an engineer’s estimate prior to circulation
of the petition. The old policy a preliminary petition with 30% signatures prior to arranging for a presentation to the HOA. This has
been eliminated. The proposed policy requires collection of the required number of signatures within 6 months of receiving the petition
forms from the Township. The Assessor’s staff is included in the procedure. Several of the required Township Board actions have been
consolidated. The Bond Counsel and the Financial Advisor are included in the process. The policy has been revised with assistance of
counsel to reflect the P.A. 188 requirements and the process we have developed in 2012-2013 with the two pending SAD projects.
NEXT
STEPS
Incorporate Board input. Review of Final Policy by Bond Counsel. Board approval in September. Update of handouts, presen-
tations and marketing materials for residents.
Item 2. LANDSCAPING BUFFER REQUIREMENTS ALONGMAJOR ROADS
The
Planning Commission and Board adopted amendments to the subdivision ordinance many years ago. Recently one of the Trustees
requested that staff re-evaluate these requirements. Staff presented some comparisons of codes and some examples of existing devel-
opments with photographs to help guide the discussion.
Item 3. CITYWORKS CITIZEN SERVICE REQUEST SYSTEM DEMO.
Last year the Board approved a project that involved: 1.Integration of the service requests generated in the Water & Sewer Billing office
with those processed in Cityworks and 2. The development of an on-line customer-friendly public portal for entry of service requests
by business owners and residents. Both components are complete and staff demonstrated the Citizens Service Request System to the
Board before public launch of the application. This system offers a tool to residents and business owners to assist staff in doing their
job.
Public Comment
George Miller, 1946 Briarfield had several questions regarding power/cable lines, road repairs, Homeowners
Associations and the cleaning of ditches within Canton.
Other
The next Board meeting is scheduled Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 7:00
p.m. in the administration building, first floor, Board room, 1150 Canton Center S., Canton, Michigan.
Adjourn
Motion by Bennett, sup-
ported by Yack at 8:30 p.m. to adjourn. Motion carried by all members present. – Philip LaJoy, Supervisor – Terry G. Bennett, Clerk –
Copies of the complete text of the Board Minutes are available at the Clerk’s office of the Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton
Center Rd, Canton, MI 48188, during regular business hours and can also be accessed through our web site www.canton-mi.org after
Board Approval. Publish 8/29/13
EC082913-0804 2.5 x 4.949
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
ACCESS TO PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Charter Township of Canton will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and services, such as signers for the hearing impaired
and audio tapes of printed materials being considered at the meeting, to individuals with disabilities at the meeting/hearing upon two
weeks notice to the Charter Township of Canton. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should contact the
Charter Township of Canton by writing or calling the following:
Gwyn Belcher, ADA Coordinator
Charter Township of Canton, 1150 S. Canton Center Road
Canton, MI 48188
(734) 394-5260
Published: August 29, 2013
EC082913-0800 2.5 x 1.557
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Charter Township of Canton, 1150 Canton Center S., Canton, Michigan will accept sealed pro-
posals at the Office of the Clerk up to 3:00 p.m. Thursday, September 12, 2013 for the following:
COMMERCIAL DOOR SERVICE, REPAIR AND INSTALLATION
Proposals may be picked up at the Finance & Budget Department, on our website at www.canton-mi.org, or you may contact Mike
Sheppard at: 734/394-5225. All proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the proposal name, company
name, address and telephone number and date and time of opening. The Township reserves the right to accept or reject any or all pro-
posals. The Township does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability in employment or
the provision of services.
TERRY G. BENNETT, CLERK
Publish 8/29/2013
EC082913-0802 2.5 x 2.082
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION REPORT
(Program Year 2012 CDBG "CAPER")
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
The above named document for the Canton Community Development Block Grant Program is available for inspection at the Finance
Department, 1150 S. Canton Center Road, Canton, Michigan 48188, 734-394-5225, during regular business hours. The document
describes the performance of the CDBG program from July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012. Comments on the CAPER will be accepted for 15
days, beginning September 2, 2013. Comments received during the public comment period will be forwarded to the Department of
HUD and will become an addendum to the CAPER.
Publish: August 29, 2013 Terry Bennett, Clerk
EC082913-0801 2.5 x 1.704
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
PUBLIC HEARING
CDBGADVISORY COUNCIL
On September 18, at 3:00 p.m. in Meeting Room "D" in the lower level of the Administration Building, 1150 S. Canton Center Road,
Canton, Michigan, the Canton Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Advisory Council will hold a public hearing on the FY
2012 Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report ("CAPER"). Written comments or requests for information should be
directed to: Mike Sheppard, Financial Analyst, Finance Department, 1150 S. Canton Center Road, Canton, Michigan 48188, (734)
394-5225.
Publish: August 29, 2013
Terry Bennett, Clerk
EC082913-0803 2.5 x 1.437
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that The Charter Township of Canton will be holding a public hearing regarding the
property tax mill-
age rate proposed to be levied to support the 2014 proposed budget
on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the township
administration building located at 1150 Canton Center S, Canton, MI.
TERRY G. BENNETT, CLERK
Publish 8/29/2013
Post 8/29/2013
EC082913-0805 2.5 x 1.275
I
NKSTER
- P
LYMOUTH
Bond sale is questioned
Janie Grosse celebrated her 100th
birthday this week with a family recep-
tion at the Inkster Recreational
Complex. Grosse was born Sept. 19,
1913 and moved to Inkster from
Barnesville, GA in 1940. She moved
into the Thompson Tower in 1984 and
just recently moved to the home of her
oldest granddaughter, Nicole (James)
Reid, inClintonTownship.
She and her husband, the late
Robert Grosse, who died 1968, had one
child, Ethel Louise Shaw. Mr. Grosse
was employed by Chrysler Motors at
the McGraw Glass Plant following his
service in theU.S.Army.
Following her husband's death,
Grosse adopted two daughters, Betty
Bell and Mary Grosse. She has eight
grandchildren and 11 great-grandchil-
dren, all of whom helped her celebrate
her centennial.
Centennial birthday
marked by former resident
Janie Grosse
A letter from Plymouth Township resi-
dent Duane Zantop, published in several
newspapers, prompted his neighbor, Isaac
Bishop, Jr., to attend his first meeting of the
Plymouth Township Board of Trustees last
Tuesday.
Bishop, who described himself as a fis-
cal, social and political conservative,
addressed the board members with ques-
tions about their spending practices.
Bishop, an electronics-engineering tech-
nician who has lived in the township for 7
years, said he first learned of the board
members' plan to spend $1.9 million on a
recreation project from Zantop, who said
the board was spending like “they had an
open checkbook of borrowedmoney.”
Zantop, who described himself as a con-
tributor and political supporter of the cur-
rent officials during the last election, is
“furious and embarrassed.”
“Many of my friends and I campaigned
hard to help elect this board, including the
four that voted for the loan…” said Zantop
in a published statement.
The plan that has drawn the ire of
Zantop, Bishop and several other residents,
includes the sale of bonds to pay $625,000
for a picnic pavilion, $270,000 for an out-
door amphitheater, $350,000 to make
improvements at themunicipal golf course,
footbridge, playscape, spray-scape and
other projects that Zantop called, “waste-
ful.”
“This does not look like fiscal conser-
vatism,”Bishop said.
“Right down the street, less than 20 min-
utes away, we're looking at one of the most
major cities in this country going into bank-
ruptcy and I'd really hate to see an EM
(Emergency Manager) come into Plymouth
Township….”Bishop said.
He was most critical of the board's deci-
sions regarding public safety.
“Regarding the fire department, I used
to be in the army-Military Police, I know
what these people have to do and I think it's
unconscionable these people should have
to take a pay cut…just as I think it uncon-
scionable the fire department has been gut-
ted, and on top of that we see a $100,000
loss from a golf course that should not be
run by a private government…There are
plenty of firemen that canbe hired for that.
“I am not coming here to be accusatory
and a firebrand,” Bishop said, “But I would
like to find some answers.”
The board members remained silent
and did not address any of Bishop's ques-
tions or concerns.
After the meeting, Bishop said he felt
that a recall of the officials might be the
only recourse of township residents. “I've
heard of a lot of municipal governments
have been fired.” Bishop said. “It really
seems like they don't care.”
Festival
FROM PAGE 1
Edwards made a lengthy and detailed pres-
entation to the seven-member commission
Wednesday as a “staff request.” He told the
commissioners that the board of trustees was
not aware of the law until the previous
evening and that the approval of the plan-
ning commissionwas needed before any con-
struction couldbegin.
He prefacedhis remarks about the project
by telling the commission members that
should they not approve the project, it would
“go back before the board andwe could over-
ride” their decision. He detailed the projects
included in the proposed plan, including an
amphitheater, a year-round pavilion, parking
lot improvements, a newentrance for the golf
course, a footbridge and path and several
other items. He explained that most of, but
not all, the improvements were included in
the approved recreation and open space
plan adopted by the township. No reference
was made during the meeting to the project
in relation to the township master plan, as is
requiredby state law.
“We are trying to create a great image in
this town,” Edwards said. He also character-
ized some of the proposed expenses as main-
tenance items the township would have to
fund, and said, “Basically, we are going to put
in about $2 million in improvements for
about $1.5million.”
The planning commission approved the
project as presented at themeeting. Edwards
also told the commission that he expected to
be back before themwith the issue of the golf
course entrance presently under discussion.
“We are trying to make it look like a coun-
try club turn in,” he said. “We'reworkingwith
the county trying to put an island in and
expand the parking lot, but those plans are
not complete.”
TheMichigan Township Association inter-
prets the MCL 125.386 this way: “The
Michigan Planning Enabling Act prohibits a
townshipwith an approvedmaster plan from
constructing or authorizing for construction,
in an area covered by the master plan, a
street, square, park, playground, public way,
ground or other open space, or a public
building or other structure unless the town-
ship board first submits the proposed public
improvements to the planning commission
for approval of the “location, character, and
extent” of the proposed public improvement.
This often-overlooked requirement is intend-
ed to ensure that the proposed public
improvement conform to the master plan
and that the planning commission is aware of
the improvements before they are construct-
ed.”
Commissioners questioned the scope of
their involvement and the exact parameters
of their approval prior to their vote on the
issue.
Theywere informed that their votewas an
acknowledgement of the planned improve-
ments and construction and they did not
need to consider the financial aspects of the
plan.
Plan
FROM PAGE 1