Macomb Township Board of Trustees recognize firefighter, approve water main plan

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — The Macomb Township Board of Trustees began its March 13 meeting honoring the work of a firefighter.

Sgt. James Peterson, of the Macomb Township Fire Department, was recognized for being the first member of the department to complete the National Fire Academy’s Managing Officer Program. The two-year program aims to improve fire service professionals’ ability to be effective leaders, promote safety within the community and fire departments and gain a better understanding of incident management. A peer-reviewed capstone project demonstrating a student’s understanding of the program and its benefits for their fire department is required for graduation.

“Sgt. Peterson’s capstone project consisted of developing and implementing a comprehensive firefighter mental health program for our department,” said Macomb Township Fire Chief Robert Phillips. “The program consists of mental health focused training delivered on a quarterly basis to all fire department personnel and the entire month of September dedicated to the prevention of firefighter suicide.”

Peterson received praise for his work from each trustee during the board comments session of the meeting.

 

Water main master plan
On March 13, trustees approved $89,900 to undertake an update to its township’s water main master plan. Work for the plan will involve examining how proposed developments in the northern end of the township will affect system pressure, examine the need for additional emergency connections and determine if the system has the capacity to support large-scale industrial users.

“The hydraulic model was updated last year. … So yes, we do need to go back and look at the water usage,” said Jim Van Tiflin, the township’s land development director. “When we change the density in the use on any particular piece of land, that may affect not only the water system but the sewer system. We’re just finishing up the master plan on the sewer side, that should be coming up probably mid this year, because if you add more flow, it affects not only the water lines and what they have to provide, but the sewer lines as well. They go hand in hand.”

The water study will take place over the year and recommendations on capital improvements will likely be made in February 2025.

 

Senior center renovation
Trustees also approved the second phase of the Marvin Blank Senior Center renovations, awarding Meridian Contracting Group a $187,091 contract for the work. The work will involve replacing three exterior doors at the back of the building and renovating the bathrooms at the southern end of the building. Most of the funding came from Community Development Block Grants with $145,141 being covered by the program, reducing the township’s direct costs to $41,950.

Township Supervisor Frank Viviano said the contractor is ready to start by the end of March and expects the work to be completed within four weeks.