CLINTON TOWNSHIP — A fire-damaged structure has entered the ownership of Clinton Township after a unanimous vote at the Jan. 27 township board meeting.
Trustees approved the acquisition of 21229 Vermander Ave. from the estate of John Brune, the homeowner who died inside after a fire broke out on the evening of Dec. 11, 2023. The home will come to the township after the estate abandoning it, through a petition in Macomb County Probate Court.
“If we waited for the county to foreclose on this property … it will take two to three years before the county will do the foreclosure,” Clinton Township Building Department Superintendent Barry Miller said. “In the meantime, we have a fire-damaged house with the gentleman who passed away in it. He’s gone, no heirs to it. The township … worked to force an estate. That estate has been forced and now they’re offering to basically give that property back to us.”
By acquiring the property through this manner, the township will take on the responsibility of paying the outstanding taxes tied to it. The ultimate goal of the purchase is to demolish the home and eventually get the land back on the market.
“That’s the whole idea here; it’s the revitalization of that area of town, of that lot (and) reuse of the property,” Miller said.
Miller expects the property will be a loss to the township due to the need to abate asbestos during the demolition.
Bathroom buildout
Trustees also awarded Fairview Construction Services LLC of Wixom the contract to remodel bathrooms and locker rooms at Fire Station No. 2 and Fire Station No. 3 for $203,382 after the waiving of permits fees and factoring in asbestos wrap abatement work.
The bathroom remodels update the facilities to reflect changes in the Clinton Township Fire Department’s personnel makeup since the stations were originally constructed.
“We have female firefighters that, at this current time, have no dedicated locker nor restroom facilities at fire stations No. 2 or 3,” Clinton Township Fire Chief John Gallagher said. “We have a process of locked doors, knocking, seeing who’s there, sliding doors, things of that nature, and just the appropriateness of a 21st century fire station is having those amenities available for all of our personnel.”
The remodel was first included in the 2023-2024 budget with a cost of $140,000. A total of seven contractors bid on the project.
Parliamentary procedures
An attempt to establish a set of board rules failed on a partly-line vote of 4-3 on Jan. 27.
The vote was a more decisive — though equal outcome — rejection of board rules than the 3-3 rejection-by-deadlock vote on the matter around the same time last year.