The Romeo Observer - Romeo, Michigan: Northern Macomb County's weekly newspaper since 1866

Breaking News

CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
GERVASE KILEY	MARGARET ZIEMAN
MARIAN SUTTON	ORLO KIRKUM
SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
Browse Full Text...

» Inside

Public Notices
Links
About Us
News Stands
Subscriptions
Editorial Forms
Archives

» Deadlines

Friday, 2 pm
Inserts

Friday, 5 pm
Retail Display
Editorial

Monday, Noon
Classified Display
Service Directory Display

Monday, 2 pm
Service Directory Liners

Monday, 3 pm
Classified Liners

All Holiday Deadlines are One Full Workday Earlier

Contract approved for
Detroit Water in Bruce

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      A basic contract has been agreed upon to bring water to Bruce Township's industrial park.
       The Board of Trustees approved a 30-year contract from Detroit Water and Sewerage to have a water main installed at 33 Mile Road between McKay and Powell roads in the hopes that the area will be developed.
       The contract did raise warning bells, though. Language in the contract caused some officials to worry that the township would have to pay for the water if nothing is developed at the industrial site.
       The 26-page contract was approved with a 3-1 vote with Treasurer Deborah Obrecht as the dissenting vote. Trustee Mark Falker was not present at the Jan. 20 meeting.
       In order to help eliminate a $7 million sewer debt caused by not selling sewer taps, the township plans on installing a water main in the industrial area so businesses can start developing the land. In effect, this could bring more jobs to the area as well.
       The contract from Detroit Water and Sewerage gives a grace period in 2010 where the township will be absolved from minimum/maximum usage reports. Once the billing begins, it will start at a minimum usage of 175,000 gallons per year.
       Clerk Susan Brockmann said she went over the contract with Mike Boss of Boss Engineering, the company hired to handle the project. She said it was a standard document that the water company provides, and since no water use has been in the area, the company established the 175,000 rate as a starting point.
       "We don't buy 175,000 (gallons), we only buy what we use," she said.
       She said that she talked with various businesses about what they would use if they developed the area, with one company claiming it would use around 4.5 million gallons.
       "What I anticipated for the usage was more than what Detroit Water gave us," she said Thursday.
       She didn't, however, have a cost for the water rates, saying those wouldn't be ready until after the contract was accepted. She said the company will come back each year to look at the rates and usage.
       Obrecht was concerned that the township would have to pay for the usage if no water taps are sold.
       "The initial conversation was that there would be no minimums required, and the township is fully backing those minimums," she said Friday. "Maybe we should've adopted it pending us getting preliminary rates from Detroit Water."
       Supervisor Jim Tignanelli said going into the contract was no more risky than when the township brought sewerage into the area.
       "If nobody bought any water, we would have the responsibility to pay, but what they came in with as a minimum we should be able to do even if no buildings came in," he said.
       Like the sewer, the township would have to pay if no water was tapped. The difference between the water and sewer is that the township doesn't have a general obligation bond like it agreed to when it helped improve the Romeo wastewater treatment plant.
       Brockmann said the bid opening for the project was going out at the beginning of February. She said there were already a substantial number of bids collected, so approval of the contract was vital.
       "If we don't have that (contract), we might as well forget the whole thing," she said.