Sept 9, 1999

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Monroe Evening News
September 9, 1999

2 Articles - Milan Township plans decision on railroad center Oct. 13
                   Dispute over fire near railroad still smoldering

Milan Township plans decision on railroad center Oct. 13

More than 100 people showed up at the township board meeting
   Wednesday night once again to protest the proposal.

by CYNTHIA RAMNARACE
Evening News staff writer

MILAN - Residents will have to wait another month before they learn whether 1,000 acres of farmland will be converted into a railroad distribution center.

The vote is scheduled for the board's next regularly scheduled meeting Oct. 13 said Milan Township Supervisor John Bruckner. The board is awaiting results of an impact study being done by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG).  The board hopes the study will be done by Oct. 13, but the board is "not necessarily" waiting for the results before making a decision, said Treasurer Sharon Jaworski.

Ann Arbor Railroad wants to build an automobile distribution center on 1,000 acres adjacent to US-23 between Cone and Sherman Rds.

The board had no intention of voting Wednesday, but that did not stop more than 100 people from filling the Milan Middle School auditorium.

The public was given 30 minutes to speak on the issue before the Milan Township Board called an end to the open comment portion of its regular monthly meeting.

Kurt Vander Voort, an attorney representing unnamed residents opposed the plan, spoke up against the time limit, saying it violated the Open Meetings Act.

Board Attorney Thomas Ready disagreed and said that the act only required that the public be given a chance to speak and that the board was well within its rights to limit that portion of the meeting.

'We've had numerous meetings," Mr. Ready said after the meeting. "Most of the remarks are from the same people.  We've had public hearings on the issue, and there was no vote scheduled for tonight."

Ann Arbor Railroad's attempt to build the land has spawned a war between neighboring residents who don't want it in their back yards, the railroad, which is pushing for the project and the Township Board, which will decide the fate of the property.

Most of the comments Wednesday centered on the deleterious environmental impact the depot would have on the surrounding community.

Olga Mancik, a Cone Road resident whose home borders the proposed site, brought an audio recording of trucks whose noise level reached the 75.4 decibel limit that would be imposed on the station.

"This sound would go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year," said the soft-spoken Ms. Mancik, her voice barely audible over the recording even though she was using a microphone.  She repeated the statement continuously through the minute-long audio recording.

"I may have to listen to this for the rest of my life," she said after the presentation.  "Do you believe hearing 75 decibels of truck noise will change the character of this area?  If so, this project cannot be approved."

Concerns also were raised about water usage.  If the amount taken from the ground cannot be monitored, some fear that wells in the area will dry up.

Township planner Kristine Currie said, if the project is approved, she will work to make the land use permit language as enforceable as possible.

"We will be endeavoring to create a monitoring system" for water usage, she said.

Dispute over fire near railroad still smoldering

Robert and Angela Powers say a fire that was started by a train heavily damaged their yard and sparked a five-month dispute that still continues.

By CHARLES SLAT
Evening News staff writer

When Robert and Angela Powers got home from work April 10, they didn't notice anything immediately out of the ordinary at their Lewis Ave. home in Temperance. Except for the smell.
Something had been burning.

Mrs. Powers took a tour of their backyard and she says it soon became obvious that their property had been hit by a fire.  Telltale ruts in the lawn were left by fire-fighting vehicles. Fire-fighting foam still covered much of remaining trees and plants. The fire had taken a toll of their property, the Powers say.  "It destroyed 30-year-old trees, shrubs. You name it, it did it, "says Mrs. Powers.

They say the fire was started by sparks from an Ann Arbor Railroad train traveling the tracks at the rear of their lot.  Now, five months later, the Powers still are smoldering about the rail line's response to their complaint.  The railroad says it's not sure their train was at fault.  The Powers say the fire caused $7,000 to $10,000 in damage, burning shovels, tarps, and treated lumber as well as at least a dozen trees.

The railroad says three trees worth a total of $150 were damaged.  Without acknowledging responsibility, the railroad offered to pay the Powers $1,000.   "With the price we gave them and the one they gave us, it was kind of like a slap in the face," says Mrs. Powers.  The Powers say they feel victimized by a rail company that claims to be a good neighbor, but really isn't.  Rail officials say the fire actually may have been started by kids playing on the tracks, and that the $1,000 offer was "a good faith effort" to satisfy the Powers.

The Powers say three fires occurred along the tracks on the same day, all at about 1 p.m. when kids were in school. They say fire officials considered it a rail line fire, probably caused by sparks
from a rail car.  The railroad says its estimate of $150 in damage was based on the findings of a third-party claims manager, who also consulted with a Michigan State University tree expert.

"They brought a tree expert down," Mrs. Powers says. "They said `your trees are coming back.' Yeah, they're coming from the roots of the ground."  But she says, "we'll never see those trees get up to where they were before."   Mariena A. Gould, the rail line's executive vice president, says that
except for the three trees, the MSU tree expert said there would be no permanent damage to any other vegetation or trees on the Powers property.

The railroad has given the Powers until Friday to file forms to claim the $1,000 offer.   Mrs. Powers says they'll probably hire a lawyer.  And she says she hopes other people will realize that if they're
going to live next to an Ann Arbor Railroad line, they shouldn't expect too much neighborliness.

"They are not a good neighbor," she says. "My dog would be a better neighbor. At least he'd look at you with those sad eyes that say he's sorry."

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