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CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Officials have a plan to expand the township’s park space, but will they get the grant funding needed to make it happen?
On March 17, the Clinton Township Board of Trustees approved the submission of a grant application to buy the property at 21272 Belleview St., located within the boundaries of George George and Woodrow Woody parks. Appraised at $380,000, the grant request calls for $400,000, factoring in a match from the township and additional purchasing costs.
“The acquisition of this property would be an addition to George George Park and Woodrow Woody Park for future recreation opportunities,” Township Clerk Kim Meltzer said. “The current property owner is a willing seller, which is a requirement of the (Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant) land acquisition application process.”
Documentation within the meeting packet states the intention post-sale would be to demolish the residence on the site. After demolition, the near-future plans involve having the land be an open space with a picnic area while longer-term plans call for possibly adding a fishing pier to the parcel.
A public hearing held for the grant application did not see any comments from attendees.
Budget approved
Trustees also approved the township’s budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Some changes were made to the budget following its introduction at the prior meeting:
An appropriation of $50,000 was added to the fire fund in order to increase available overtime.
Though there was no net change to the fund balance, $115,000 in expenditures and revenues were added to the police fund budget to account for the addition of the grant-funded social worker
Expenditures of $250,000 were removed from the police fund budget at the request of Police Chief Dina Caringi after renovations to the gun range were found to be “substantially higher” than expected.
Upon questioning from Trustee Bruce Wade, Finance Director Mary Hein confirmed the police are still planning on making the renovations.
“They’re going to push it along as far as they can and try (to) find some grant funding to pay for it,” Hein said.
Treasurer’s quarterly report
The quarterly report from treasurer Mike Aiello was included in the meeting covering the third quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year, or Oct. 1 through Dec. 31.
The report states the rate of returns on township investments declined during that time, running from 4.70% in October to 4.46% in December. The average rate was 4.57%. This performance echoed the three-month U.S. Treasury rate decline in this time, which went from 4.51% in October to 4.27% in December for an average rate of 4.40%.
As of Dec. 31, the township had $57.4 million in bank deposits, about $56 million across four pooled funds, three certificates of deposit expected to yield around $133,700 upon maturity, around $6 million in treasury bills and a fixed income investment portfolio valued at $13.5 million.
