By David Fleet
947-244-2647
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Atlas Twp. — On Monday night the Atlas Township Board of Trustees voted 5-0 to approve moving forward with the Kearsley Creek Interceptor project. The board approved the contract for the KCI and the KCI financing resolution. Atlas Township share of the bonds will not exceed $2,086,000 of the estimated $36,402,000 project.
“I understand a $2 million commitment will get your attention,” said David Lattie, township attorney. “It is being done about as cheaply as it could be done. I know if I did not and it turns out the township needs the capacity, you’d have a hard time getting it and certainly not this cheap. It’s a bit scary.”
Atlas Township is purchasing 800 units. Financing is through the State of Michigan State Revolving Fund, 40 years at 1.85 percent interest rate.
The $36 million (KCI) Kearsley Creek Interceptor project, projected to begin soon, will provide public sewer service to some areas and add sewer capacity to other communities where it may be insufficient. Several communities in Genesee and northern Oakland counties are participating including Goodrich (3.6%), Grand Blanc (74.5%) Davison (12.2%) and Atlas townships (9.7%).
The cost of the project facilities of the KCI will require local financing estimated at $15,090,000.
“Once they start this project we have to be able to budget for this money,” said Shirley Kautman-Jones, township supervisor. “There will be a lag period before any of the sewers are extended to the areas that need it that are in somewhat critical situations. Those people would start paying. Those payments would then pay on the bond.”
The project will bring sewer lines down from Grand Blanc into Oakland County via Dixie Highway, then over to Brandon Township and the village of Ortonville. The project will take several years, and cost around $80 million total.
The lines from Grand Blanc already have capacity for the area, but the next phase is the Northwest Oakland County Interceptor connection, which would bring the line down Dixie Highway.
Within the village of Ortonville, Hemeyer outlined 16 collector districts, which had a total of 665 parcels.