By: Nick Powers | Fraser-Clinton Chronicle | Published December 17, 2024
FRASER — A once controversial project to improve roads in the Fraser Industrial Park roads sailed through the Fraser City Council’s Dec. 12 meeting.
The difference this time was a sharing of the burden. The estimated total cost of the project is $16 million, according to City Manager Elaine Leven. The state will pick up $4 million of the tab, and the city will contribute $4 million from its general fund. Businesses in the industrial park will cover 25% of the total project cost through a special assessment district, not to exceed $4 million. The remaining amount, approximately $4 million, would be paid for through a bond over a 15-year term. The term of the SAD for the businesses in the industrial park would also be for 15 years.
In order to get the 15-year term for the SAD, the council needed to amend its ordinance to expand its previous limit on SADs from 10 years. The new 15-year term limit was unanimously approved by the council.
At the council’s Nov. 14 meeting Jeff Siciliano, representing the businesses in the industrial park, said the businesses preferred a SAD over a 15-year term.
The Dec. 12 meeting set the industrial park’s role in the funding for the project. The next step will be to set a public hearing where the precise costs to each business for the SAD based on front footage would be provided. This would allow business owners to protest the tax assessment on their property for the district. The public hearing is set for the council’s regular meeting on Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. Prior to this meeting, Fraser Mayor Michael Lesich said letters would be sent out to the businesses stating what they will pay out.
Ken Imler, a business owner in the industrial park, praised the work of the council on the project during public comment.
“I’m excited with the progress we’ve made at this point,” Imler said.
The city had applied for additional funds from the federal government, through U.S. Rep. John James, R-Shelby Township, but there are no new updates on that potential funding source, according to Lesich.
The project fell through last year. Business owners attended a meeting on June 8, 2023, to speak out against taxing residents to fund the project, according to previous reporting in the Fraser-Clinton Township Chronicle. Following a public hearing at the council’s meeting on Aug. 10, 2023, the tax funding for the project fell through.
“If you work with your partners and you continue to listen to them, then you find common ground, you can get things done,” Lesich said after the meeting. “And we did that. I appreciate the council’s support in doing that because a year ago that was not in the cards at all.”
Roads to be improved in the Fraser Industrial Park include Malyn Boulevard, Commerce Road, Riviera Drive, Doreka Drive, James J Pompo Drive, Cross Drive, Mike C Court, Vermander Drive and Bennett Drive.
“It feels great that we’ve actually moved forward investing in that industrial park and making it, at least for the road, state of the art,” Lesich said after the meeting.
New water rates get set
The council unanimously approved increased water and sewer rates for 2025 at the Dec. 12 meeting. The increase comes following a study by Municipal Analytics.
“We’re actually spending this money to directly improve the reliability and safety of the system,” Lesich said after the meeting. “To make sure we can put out fires where we need to put out fires.”
In March, rates will increase by an average of 8%, with subsequent increases occurring each July. While the increase starts in March, residents would see the changes on their April bill. Residential rates for 1-inch and 5/8-inch meters were combined.
John Kaczor, Municipal Analytics’ founder and principal consultant, provided the council with information about needed increases to the rates at the council’s September and November meetings. Kaczor outlined several ways this could be done at each meeting. The need for the increases is to fund capital improvement plans to update aging infrastructure.
According to Kaczor’s presentation at the Nov. 14 meeting, rates in July of 2026 and 2027 would increase by a similar amount to 2025. In 2028, the increase would go down to 5.5%.
At the Nov. 14 meeting, Councilwoman Patrice Schornak suggested starting the hike next March and for subsequent increases in July. In her motion, Shornak also included a $22 million cash investment over seven years by the city, adding no new debt. By doing this, some capital improvement projects will be deferred. This is what the council approved, following a public hearing, at its Dec. 12 meeting.
One audience member, David Chevela, participated in the public comment portion of the Dec. 12 meeting. Chevela questioned why the increase needed to take place and why the rates are so high. He asked for an explanation of the fees.
Lesich said the fee increases will help cover the costs of $22 million in capital improvement projects over the next seven years. He said the rates have not increased in four years. He said, on average, rates have increased about 1.5% each year since 2018.
“We have a large capital improvement project ahead of us,” Lesich said. “The Great Lakes Water Authority, who we buy our water from, and the county, who we send our dirty water to, take up over half of our budget and then the capital improvement plan is ($2 million to) $3 million over the next seven years. All of these things are expensive and that’s why the rates are proposed as they are.”
Councilwoman Amy Baranski urged residents to watch Kaczor’s presentation at the Nov. 14 meeting for a detailed look at how the rates were arrived at.
Later, Chevela questioned how much the city is charged for the utilities.
Lesich explained the city contracts out its water services to the Great Lakes Water Authority, which sets the rates. He said the city’s recourse is minimal, since it doesn’t produce water and doesn’t have wells.
“We are a distributor of water that’s clean and we’re a distributor to water elsewhere when we’re done using it,” he said. “In between we maintain all of the water mains and sewer mains, everything within the city. That is only about 12% of our annual budget.”