A strange vote at the Manchester Township Planning Commission

The Manchester Township Planning Commission seemed to
have an odd vote at last night's meeting. 

Last night's Manchester Township Planning Commission was filled with drama, accusations and walk-outs. This isn't out of the ordinary when an issue strikes at the heart of any community.

While the commission voted to approve the conditional use permit for the banquet hall on Tracey Road 4-2, the events right before that final vote (which effectively ended the meeting, as the board moved the rest of its agenda to next month and adjourned after many residents left very upset), were slightly interesting.

Confusion over what motion was made when the roll call made it to Lyle Widmayer, who also serves on the township's Board of Trustees. A motion to seemingly approve the permit was made by Trustee Pete Stumpo, seconded by Secretary George Daubner. As the vote went around the table, it got to Widmayer, who questioned what the vote was on. His claim was that the vote being made was for whether or not the commission would vote on the issue tonight, not to approve it. Even with planning adviser Andrea Bibby reading the proposed ordinance for approval, it was unclear to him what the vote was actually on.

Much discussion ensued, and then it seemed the previous motion was halted in its tracks along with the vote. That's something I've never seen before: a vote initiated by the body after a motion and second, and all of a sudden, it vanished during voting without a clear withdrawal.

Another motion was then made by Stumpo, this time to approve the conditional use. This went through like most motions do, and was eventually approved 4-2. But that lone vote continued to be on the floor.

Perhaps this means nothing, and perhaps there's something else here. I've just never seen a procedure for a vote taken like that at a public meeting, where the previous motion seemed to not be withdrawn.

Take a listen at the last few minuters of the meeting and see if you agree:

An open letter to MDOT on the Adopt-a-Highway sign on M-52 (updated)

Dear Michigan Department of Transportation,

I gotta get this off my back, it's bugged me since before I began working at Heritage Media: this year, is it possible you could work and change the Adopt-a-Highway sign facing northbound M-52 and correct the spelling on it?

The Manchester Men's Club has sponsored two miles of highway on the road in Manchester Township. But, the sign has the name spelled wrong. Here's what it looks like:

I remember seeing it, and thinking "that's a strange way of spelling a group." But after seeing the sign pointing southbound closer to the village spelling it correct, I realized it was an error.

Perhaps this year when M-52 is being worked on in the village later this year (more on that later this winter/spring), someone could go down and correct it. I know MDOT's fixed other signs on the stretch several times closer to the village, and I'm sure the Men's Club would love to see the village's name spelled correctly.

Sincerely,
David Veselenak, Heritage Media online coordinator

P.S. While out on the road taking the picture of the sign, a man stopped and asked if I needed any help or a ride; he assumed my car had broken down and I needed help. I told him no worries, but thought it would nice knowing Michigan still has some pretty friendly drivers.

UPDATE: MDOT tweeted back at us this morning, saying they'll look into it and get it corrected:

@davidveselenak @HeritageNews Thanks for pointing out the misspelled AAH sign - we'll get this taken care of as soon as possible!

— Michigan DOT (@MichiganDOT) January 3, 2012

Land acquisition by DNR in Manchester, Norvell townships recommended by Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund

The list of recommendations by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was tweeted this evening by the DNR, and the purchase of the Trolz family farm is listed.

Here's the tweet announcing all the recommendations statewide, which includes six projects in Washtenaw County:

Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board recommends 99 grant-funded projects totaling $39.6 million: ow.ly/7TwWl

— Michigan DNR (@MichiganDNR) December8, 2011

The recommendation of the acquisition, which is being called the River Raisin Recreation Area, is to cost $3 million on the area, which is "to focus on hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation."

The move was the next step in the land acquisition, the DNR told The Enterprise in September. The next step is to send the recommendation to the state legislature, a process that could go well into next year.

Other projects on the recommendation list in the county include:

Washtenaw County

• $2.275 million to connect to urban nature preserves

Ann Arbor

• $300,000 to Gallup Park for several improvements, including energy improvements and better access to buildings
• $300,000 to help fund the in-ground skate park at Veterans Memorial Park

Ypsilanti Township

• $300,000 to renovate Rutherford Pool

Ypsilanti

$289,400 for developing the Heritage Bridge over Michigan Avenue and a fishing pier

The M-52 sign to Bridgewater is busted again

Either someone is a clumsy driver, or they just don't like Bridgewater.

The sign along M-52 just east of the village in Manchester Township points to the hamlet's direction down Austin road right before you get to the light. But for the second time in several months, the sign has been destroyed, leaving half of it still upright and the other half on the ground.

I noticed several months ago the first sign had been broken a few months ago, but thought of it as accident. It took quite a while for it to be replaced, but was new just a few weeks ago. When I drove to Manchester from my home in Clinton Monday, the sign was damaged again. Now, since the second sign is broken in the exact same way as the first, I can't help but wonder if it's a target for vandals.

Kari Arend, the communications representative for the University Region (which consists of south-central Michigan) of the Michigan Department of Transportation, said MDOT repairs signs based on priority, and couldn't speak for the specific sign on M-52.

"We will go out there and replace it as needed," she said. "When we have time, we’ll get a road crew out there."

Until then, just remember: Bridgewater is east on Austin Road.