By Susan Bromley
Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.- The township board has approved replacement of a fire station parking lot and addition of a parking lot at the Seymour Lake Cemetery for a total cost of just over a quarter of a million dollars.

At their April 4 meeting, the council approved Lacaria Concrete Construction, Inc. of Detroit as the low bidder for both projects. The company will replace the parking lot at Fire Station #2, 5050 Oakwood Road, at a cost of $179,250.00. Fire Chief David Kwapis told the board the costs were higher than anticipated due to a lack of skilled workers in the state and an increase in construction demand. The project will be paid for from the carry forward of the fire department’s E&H budget.

The council also approved Lacaria to construct a new parking lot at Seymour Lake Cemetery, at a cost not to exceed $73,876. The cemetery, located south and behind Fire Station #2, has never had a parking lot, with visitors parking on a singlewide dirt track. The 20-space parking lot will be connected to the Fire Station #2 parking lot by a driveway, and will provide much-needed parking during elections, as fire station #2 is the location of precinct 4 in the township.

“We have at least 10 election workers, and very limited space for voters to park currently,” said Clerk Candee Allen. “At this point, we need parking spots more than we need burial plots. People come to vote and almost block the drive for the fire department. They park on the shoulder of the road and it’s dangerous… We’ve been saving for this and are making it a reality.”