Village sends water and sewer resolution back to Holly Township

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Grange Hall Road corridor

HOLLY, Michigan – It was almost like déjà vu Tuesday evening, as Village Council members agreed to resend Resolution 2010-28 – a resolution setting forth the provisions for a proposed intergovernmental agreement between the village of Holly and Holly Township for extending water and sewer services outside of the village limits back to Holly Township.

The matter was first discussed in June of 2010 when business owners along the Grange Hall Road corridor between N. Holly and Fish Lake Roads asked township officials to strike a deal with the village for extension of sewer services only.

While village officials developed and approved a resolution, the details of the agreement were slightly different from what the township requested.

Among the village’s provisions was that the property owners agree to connect to both sewer and water, and that they pay the tap in fee at 200 percent of the connection permit fee charged to properties located within the village boundaries. Additionally, the resolution stated that the construction of the water and sewer systems be built to village specifications and inspected by village engineers, and that all costs associated with the water and sewer extension be borne by the property owners. The village further stipulated that it would not be responsible for any costs associated with the extension of services.

Not agreeing with the village’s provisions of 2010, the township board sent a letter back to village officials, informing them that they were no longer interested in the potential agreement at the time.

Holly Township Supervisor Jesse Lambert brought the issue to the forefront again last month, nearly two years after the first request, asking council members to consider sending the resolution back to the township.

Before council consideration, the matter was sent to the Public Works Committee where committee members Don Winglemire, Pauline Kenner and Jackie Campbell vigorously discussed the matter an hour prior to the Feb. 14 Village Council meeting.

“I think we should send the resolution back to the township and have them vote on it again without changing it in any way, shape or form,” Kenner said.

Campbell didn’t agree, asking whether the township would be responsible for the attorney fees involved in setting up the deal, and cautioning her fellow committee members against making any “hasty” decisions.

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Jackie Campbell

“There is a lot more that’s involved in this than just what you’re saying all costs and water and sewer,” she said. “You’ve got to get the two attorneys involved – if not, I’m sorry, but I feel like we’re going to get into another Pulte situation.”

Campbell said village attorney Richard Figura advised village officials to take no action on water and sewer extension possibilities until the contract penned in the original Silverman Properties agreement expires in September of 2012.

Additionally, Campbell said she was concerned that any action taken on sewer and water extension to the township might endanger the village’s current lawsuit against Silverman Properties whereby the village hopes to recoup in excess of $1 million in lost tap-in fees.

“We’re here to represent the people in the village, and I just don’t want us to make another hasty move without checking everything out first that’s going to protect our residents and our business owners,” Campbell said.

In a vote of 2-1, the Public Works Committee agreed to make a recommendation to council that the resolution as written be forwarded on to the township without any changes. Campbell cast the dissenting vote.

Former Councilman Bill Kuyk took the opportunity to speak to this issue during the public comment portion of the Village Council meeting.

“I was told by a commissioner of Oakland County who was an attorney and a former city manager in southwestern Oakland County to never approve sewer and water services outside of the village boundaries,” Kuyk cautioned. “In this case, if you continue on in this vein you are opening up the village to a lot of additional expense.”

Kuyk recommended council wait until the original contract with Silverman Properties expires in September of this year and only then, reconsider sending the resolution back to the township.

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Former Councilman Bill Kuyk

“If you do that, you will protect the village from the possibility from losing over I would think over $100,000 from what’s going on right now to try to get this money back that we should have had before from the Silverman group,” he said. “I would suggest that you protect the village’s interest and wait until that contract expires.”

Perhaps Kuyk’s biggest concern was whether the village would lose control of where the sewer and water lines go after extending outside of the village boundaries.

“Once that line is put in – if you’ll recall that there a sewer and water district that was passed by the township board.” Kuyk said. “ If that line goes into Fish Lake Road, it can go almost any place at the Department of Natural Resources’ whim, and one of the places they would like it to go is over on the east side of Bush Lake.”

Kuyk further speculated that the DNR may even want to run the sewer and water extension as far as I75. “I don’t think we have that kind of money to pay for that, so I suggest that you think through very carefully what you do,” he said. “Look at all the ramifications and dig up all the evidence to make yourselves very aware of what’s going on so that you do the right thing for the village residents.”

Village President Jeff Miller questioned Kuyk’s claims, asking Village Manager Jerry Walker if Figura had the opportunity to provide a legal opinion on the matter.

“I don’t think he’s issued anything in writing to us, but his opinion is that it is the village’s system, and the village makes the decision on to whom it provides services, and to whom it doesn’t.”

In an email dated Feb. 15 to Amber Lopez, an engineer with the Department of Environmental Quality, DPW Director Brian Klaassen specifically asked if the village expands water and sewer services into the township, whether it could then be forced to expand further at the expense of the village.

“There are no regulations that could force a municipality to expand services further, even in critical circumstances such as private well contaminations,” Lopez wrote. “On the contrary, we could prevent expansion based on insufficient water supply capacity.” Lopez confirmed that the situation was identical for the sewer system.

In a vote of 6-1, council passed the motion made by Winglemire to resend Resolution 2010-28 back to Holly Township with Campbell casting the dissenting vote.