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State Rep. Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth
Township, has introduced House Bill 5179
that will transfer the state-owned Detroit
House of Corrections (DeHoCo) prison site in
Plymouth Township to the Michigan Land
BankAuthority.
“It's time for this eyesore to go. Our resi-
dents deserve to see it developed and the
state has a duty to make it happen,” Heise
said. “The DeHoCo site is the heart of the
Five Mile corridor between Plymouth and
Northville townships, and the Michigan
Land Bank is the proper agency to see that
it's cleaned up and marketed for jobs and
economic development.”
The property in question is not the section
of land currently the subject of a lawsuit
between Plymouth Township and the City of
Detroit. Aparcel of land, sold to the township
for unpaid taxes byWayne County, was incor-
rectly recorded in the township assessor's
office andwas ownedbyDetroit.
According to Timothy A. Beckett, super-
vising assistant corporation counsel in the
governmental affairs section of the Detroit
Law Department, the property that is the
subject of this bill is in section 20, southeast
of Ridge Road. The city of Detroit property
is in section 19, west of Ridge Road and east
ofNapierRoad.
The DeHoCo site, formerly owned by the
City of Detroit as a jail facility, was pur-
chased by the state of Michigan in 1979 as
part of a regional prison reform effort. The
state built additional prison buildings on the
site, whichwas eventually closed by the State
in 1986. Studies done in 2004 confirmed that
substantial environmental contamination is
prevalent at the site.
“The Michigan Land Bank Authority are
the experts at turning around old, contami-
nated sites like DeHoCo,” Heise said. “They
know how to leverage grants, tax incentives,
and market these sites for development and
jobs. While the property will not be turned
around as quickly as Robert Scott Prison, it's
critical that we get started, and get the right
people onboardnow.”
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
December 19, 2013
PLANNING COMMISSION
CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CANTON
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Michigan Public Act 110 of 2006, of the State of Michigan, as amended, and pursuant to the
Zoning Ordinance of the Charter Township of Canton that the Planning Commission of the Charter Township of Canton will hold a
Public Hearing on Monday, January 6, 2014 in the
First Floor Meeting Room of the Canton Township Administration Building, 1150
S. Canton Center Road at 7:00 p.m.
on the following proposed special land use request as provided in Section 27.03 of the Canton
Township Zoning Ordinance:
CANTON RETAIL DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL LAND USE
- CONSIDER REQUEST FOR SPECIAL LAND USE APPROVAL
FOR A AUTOMOB ILE WASH ESTABLISHMENT AS REQUIRED IN SECTION 6.02D FOR PARCEL NO. 033 99 0009 718.
Property is located on the west side of Canton Center Road between Warren and Hanford Roads.
Written comments addressed to the Planning Commission should be received at the Canton Township Administration Building, 1150
Canton Center S. prior to January 2, 2014, in order to be included in the materials submitted for review.
SEE ATTACHED MAP
Greg Greene, Chairman
Publish: Newspaper-
December 19, 2013
EC121913-0854 2.5 x 8.671
CITY OF ROMULUS
CITY COUNCIL
NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING
Special Tree Rehabilitation Systems - 10909 Hannan Road/38976 Chase Road
Notice is hereby given that the City of Romulus City Council will hold a public hearing at
6:30 p.m.
on Monday, January 6, 2014
for the purpose of considering a proposed amendment to the Zoning
Map (rezoning) and preliminary PDA (Planned Development Area) site plan for Special Tree
Rehabilitation Systems Neurocare Campus East. The rezoning request from R-1B Single-Family
Residential District to R-M/PDA Multiple-Family Residential/Planned Development Area is for
36.24+- acres of property located at 10909 Hannan Road and 38976 Chase Road.
The public hearing will be held at the Romulus City Hall Council Chambers, 11111 Wayne, Romulus,
MI 48174-1485. Copies of the application are available for review at City Hall in the Planning
Department during regular business hours.
The City Council has set the public hearing to consider a preliminary PDA site plan and request to
rezone the following properties: Parcel ID #'s 82-80-071-99-0019-702 & 82-80-071-99-0024-000.
All interested parties are encouraged to attend and will be given an opportunity to comment on said
request. Written comments may be submitted until 12:00 noon, Monday, January 6, 2014 and should
be addressed to Carol Maise, City Planner, Planning Department, 11111 Wayne, Romulus, MI
48174-1485.
Ellen Craig-Bragg, City Clerk
City of Romulus, Michigan
Publish: December 19, 2013
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: December 19, 2013
EC121913-0853 2.5 x 1.557
P
LYMOUTH
Township recreation plan concerns 2 trustees
3 suspended police officers remain on paid leave
Senator moves to transfer DeHoCo property to State Land Bank
Plymouth Township Trustee
Bob Doroshewitz has expressed
concern that the opinions of town-
ship residents may not be taken
into consideration with regard to a
new township recreation center
proposed by Township Treasurer
RonEdwards.
Board members recently
approved a $13 million spending
plan and announced that $1.9 mil-
lion in bonds were sold to help pay
for recreation expenditures.
Edward's plan calls for a town-
ship-operated recreation center
and the use of $50,000 from the
2014 general-fund budget to con-
duct a survey of the residents
regarding recreation needs.
Edward's proposed a 2-mill proper-
ty tax increase to fund the recre-
ation plans which would include
multi-purpose fields, walking and
bicycling trails, a dog park, skate-
boarding areas, a gymnasium,
swimming pool, and a fitness cen-
ter patterned after Lifetime
Fitness.
Township
Clerk
Nancy
Conzelman is also supporting pub-
lic recreation facilities within the
township and some of the board
members have been less than
enthusiastic about the efforts of a
volunteer community group, PARC,
to develop a similar program on
the site of Central Middle School,
which is slated to be closed by the
Plymouth Canton Community
Schools Board of Education.
Doroshewitz is a member of the
PARCgroup.
“Lots of people say…we'd like to
have a Summit in the township,”
Conzelman said.
Doroshewitz said, when dis-
cussing the budget, that he wasn't
happy that “the single most impor-
tant duty of the board was held
until the last item on at the agenda
at the lastmeeting of the year.”
Doroshewitz said that if the
township is going to conduct a sur-
vey all of the park improvement
projects, as Edwards proposes, the
residents should be asked what
they want. He said that any survey
should be conducted at arm's
length from members of the town-
ship board to ensure absolute
integrity in the survey results.
“The 2-mill tax proposed (is) for
construction only and does not
include an endowment to cover
start up and first year's operating
expenses. Those would have to
come from the general fund budg-
et, a budget which is running a 2-
year deficit. We are spending more
than we take in and that will only
get worse.”Doroshewitz said.
Doroshewitz said replicating
Canton's Summit is, “a very bad
idea.”
“A recreation center funded by
the township, instead of by an inde-
pendent authority, means that the
subsidization losses could be
unlimited. For certain that would
result in either higher taxes, cuts in
services, or both.” Doroshewitz
said.
Trustee Chuck Curmi agreed
withDoroshewitz.
“We need to reallocate our pri-
orities, Curmi said after the board
meeting last week.
Curmi labeled the expenditures
for the proposed recreation
improvements as, “a done deal.”
His biggest objection, he said, is the
$650,000 warming/picnic pavilion
for the townshippublic park.
Curmi and Doroshewitz voted
no on the budget, which included
funds for employee pay raises and
a minimal expenditure for the fire
department and facilitated the hir-
ing of a new public safety dispatch-
er. Supervisor Richard Reaume,
Edwards, Conzelman and Trustees
Mike Kelly and Kay Arnold sup-
portedEdwards' budget.
Three Plymouth Township
police officers on paid administra-
tive leave since October have yet to
be charged with wrongdoing or
crimes, according to Township
SupervisorRichardReaume.
The officers, a sergeant and two
patrolmen, were suspended or put
on paid administrative leave, in
early October after information
discovered in emails and text mes-
sages revealed violations of town-
ship and police regulations. The
emails and texts were discovered
following a subpoena for those
records from the attorney for for-
mer police officer Brittany
DeFrain, who is suing the township
forwrongful termination.
One of those suspended is
allegedly an officer with whom
DeFrain was romantically
involved. The sergeant, who super-
vised both DeFrain and the officer,
was also suspended, along with a
thirdpatrolman.
Hired in February of 2012,
DeFrain, 24, sued the township last
February after Police Chief
Thomas Tiderington extended her
one-year probationary period as a
disciplinary measure. DeFrain
then resigned under protest.
DeFrain's attorney, Jeffrey J.
Ellison, subpoenaed records from
the police department as part of
her lawsuit.
Her suit alleges that only she
was singled out for disciplinary
action and that no such action was
taken against the male officer with
whom she was sexually involved.
She alleges that Plymouth
Township, as her employer, com-
mitted sexual discrimination and
marital status discrimination
against her by extending her pro-
bationary period for an extra six
months.
The township's legal response to
the lawsuit denied that DeFrain's
extended probation was because
of the sexual relationship, suggest-
ing she was not performing up to
job standards as a rookie police
officer.
Reaume said Tuesday that
while he could not comment on the
suspensions, he could acknowl-
edge that the investigations were
still underway.
“When you have three police
officers suspended, it's a lot differ-
ent than when you have one.”
Reaume said.
“Their status is unchanged.”
Tiderington added.
The lawsuit, has been moved to
federal court where a trial has
been scheduled in July.
Bob Doroshewitz