Road Closure Announcement

 

(click to enlarge)

Announcement from the Charter Township of Shelby:

Following the finalization of an independent structural engineer’s inspection of a bridge on Shelby Road just north of 22 Mile Road, the Macomb County Department of Roads decided to close the bridge Sept. 11 and facilitate a full fill of the span underneath the bridge with full reconstruction of a new roadway.

The bridge runs above an old railroad line that led into the former Ford Motor Co./Visteon plant near 23 Mile and Mound roads. After reaching an agreement with that property’s current owner, the MCDR finalized a plan to remove the railroad line and fill the area to facilitate the new road.

“Last week the Macomb County Department of Roads completed an independent engineering inspection of the bridge on Shelby Road over the abandoned railroad spur into the old Visteon complex north of 22 Mile Road,” MCDR Director Bob Hoepfner sad. “The inspection revealed significant deterioration, and it was determined that the structure must be closed to traffic.

“We have received permission from the owner of the old Visteon complex to remove the deck and fill the structure with earth and repave the roadway and hope to have this work completed in the next few months,” Hoepfner added. “Since this structure is located on a County Primary Road, the Macomb County Department of Roads will cover 100 percent of the project cost.”

Like all bridge replacement and reconstruction projects on primary roads in Macomb County, the Shelby Road bridge replacement falls under the MCDR policy in which the MCDR absorbs all construction costs associated with the project.

The closure on Shelby Road comes on the heels of the finalization of an agreement between the township and the MCDR to reconstruct roughly one mile of 22 Mile Road beginning 500 feet east of Shelby Road traveling west to Ryan Road.

The 22 mile Road project is independent of the Shelby Road bridge replacement, and, because 22 Mile Road is designated a local road, the costs associated with the reconstruction of the road and a box culvert over the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal must be split between the county and Shelby Township.

2015 Municipal Water Quality Report

Shelby Township issues a report every year regarding the safety and quality of our municipal drinking water.  The report is called "The Pipeline" and you can read the 2015 edition by clicking here.

Page 3 of the report discusses "Area Maintenance Meters" and suggests that all lawn watering take place between midnight and 5 am.  All of the municipal water used for lawn irrigation here at the Manors is supplied through "Area Maintenance Meters" and thus is not subject to any sanitary sewer charges.  Because of the large areas involved, we cannot confine all of our lawn irrigation to those recommended 5 hours, but be assured that when watering is required, our controllers are programmed to keep every water meter in use during those 5 hours.

Fireworks

Reminder - fireworks are not allowed on the limited or general common elements of the Manors at Central Park Condominium Association, which includes all of the land, sidewalks, driveways and streets.

The Association is a private, non-profit corporation that is registered with the State of Michigan.   The Association, through its Board of Directors, is responsible for, among other things, the management, maintenance, operation and administration of the common elements.

Article VII, Section 1, paragraph (c) of the Manors at Central Park Condominium Bylaws states that,

No unlawful activity shall be carried on in any unit or upon the limited or general common elements, nor shall any unreasonable noisy activity be carried on in any unit or on the common elements.  No member owning any residential unit shall do or permit anything to be done in his unit or on the common elements that will increase the insurance rate on the Condominium without the written approval of the Association.

The Michigan Fireworks Safety Act PA 256 of 2011, Section 28.462 - as well as Section 26-160 (c) of the Shelby Twp. Code of Ordinances -  state that fireworks may not be used on public property, school property or the private property of another person unless express permission is obtained to use the fireworks on that property.

Section 26-163 of the Shelby Twp. Code of Ordinances states that first-time violators shall be deemed responsible for a municipal civil infraction and subject to a fine of not less than $75.00 and not more than $500.00.

Shelby Twp. "Leash Law"

From the Facebook page of the Shelby Twp. Police Department:

***From the Chief's Desk***
Now that the weather has broken, DC Coil would like to remind our residents about our "leash law". According to Shelby Twp. Municipal Code, animals are not permitted to run freely or be "at large" on any property, public or private, except your own.
We get recurring complaints from residents about people letting their dogs run free in the parks and neighborhoods. When in the parks or walking on any sidewalk or roadway, animals MUST be leashed.

First violation of this ordinance will result in a written warning. Second violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Let's look out for our friends and neighbors, and keep our furry family members safe as well!

Posted by Shelby Township Police Department on Thursday, April 30, 2015

As a reminder, the streets, access drives, sidewalks and landscaping within the Manors at Central Park are general common elements belonging to the Condominium Association.  As such they are private property and the Association does not allow anyone, including our co-owners, to let their pets run freely or be "at large" on our property.   Unattended pets - even if leashed -  are not permitted to be kept on the common elements, limited or general.

Suspicious person & vehicle

A suspicious person and vehicle was observed in the vicinity of Lexington West between N. Central Park and Lexington South at around 1:25 AM, Friday, June 6, 2014. The car was either an older model Mercury Sable or Ford Taurus of undetermined color.  The driver was a man of slender build and about 6 foot tall. The Shelby Twp. Police Department was notified and they will step up patrols in the area.

Below is a summary of all Shelby Twp. Police incident reports within all of Central Park for the first five months of 2014.

Door to Door Solitication

Shelby Township has a "No Soliciting" ordinance which allows every resident the opportunity to put their address on a "No Soliciting" list that restricts most solicitors from knocking on your door.  

As mentioned in the April 2013 Newsletter, rather than each co-owner having to put their address on that list, the Board of Directors decided to have all of our addresses placed on that list.  The Shelby Twp. Clerk's office allows us to do it this way, providing we first inform all co-owners that they have the opportunity to opt-out, which we did in the newsletter.  

The Board received no opt-out requests, therefore as of Sept. 5, 2013,  all addresses in the Manors at Central Park have been placed on the Shelby Twp. “No Soliciting” list.  If you wish to have your address removed from the list, you may do so at any time by submitting your request in writing and mailing it to the Shelby Twp. Clerk's Office at 52700 Van Dyke Ave., Shelby Township, MI 48316.

The Board received 118 "No Soliciting per Shelby Twp. Ordinance 246" stickers from the Township Clerk, which will soon be distributed to each residence in the Manors. The use of the sticker is optional because you are already covered by having your address on the list. However, there is "strength in numbers" and the Board recommends that everyone place their sticker in a visible location at the front door, preferably on the side glass near the door bell (not on the painted door surface).

Please note that the "No Knock" Ordinance 246 does not apply to the following types of solicitors:

• out-of-state vendors
• scout troops
• religious groups
• charitable organizations and political groups protected by the U.S. Constitution.

Ford Field in Shelby Township Found Safe

From the Shelby-Utica Patch:

Ford Field in Shelby Township Found Safe

There are no signs of chemicals from the former Ford-Visteon plant at the Ford Field complex in Shelby Township. (click here to read the entire article)

"No Soliciting" ordinance

Shelby Township has a "No Knock" ordinance which allows you to put your address on a "No Soliciting" list that restricts most solicitors from knocking on your door.

According to the information provided on the Shelby Twp. Clerk's web site, there are three ways to put your name on the list:

1. call the Clerk’s Office (586) 731-5102, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and leave your name, address and telephone number
2. visit the Clerk's Office, which is located in the upper level of the Shelby Twp. Municipal Building on Van Dyke, just south of 24 Mile Road
3. use this form and email the information to clerk@shelbytwp.org

If you choose the second option,

Where Does Your Recycling Go?

WHERE, OH WHERE, DOES YOUR RECYCLING GO?

So you’ve decided to recycle. You proudly rinse out your cans, flatten your Cheerios boxes, toss those paper towel tubes into your green "We Recycle"  bin and roll it out to the curb for pick up. The giant truck comes by, some nice person picks it up and tosses it into the back of the truck …. And then what? Where does it go? Why is it that all of the sudden I can put all my recyclables into one bin when I spent the last decade meticulously separating my paper from plastic, my metal from my cardboard. Hold on to your horses, we’re off to see where your recycling goes…

Construction equipment south of Genisys Credit Union

You may have noticed the construction equipment that has recently been moved onto the vacant parcel on Van Dyke south of the Genisys Credit Union.  I have learned that this vacant parcel is being used as a staging site for the equipment and materials that will be used to construct the new sanitary sewer that will be installed along the west side of Van Dyke from 22 Mile Road south to a point about 1,000 feet past 21 Mile Road (approximately here).  The sewer project is expected to take six months to complete.  More information about the sewer project can be found in this article from the July 28, 2012 edition of the Source & Advisor.

Changes to our trash pick-up

Right-click on the image and
"open in a new tab/window"
to enlarge and read the letter.

A few days ago, every residential address in Shelby Twp. received this letter from the Township Supervisor regarding the fact that on July 1st, Rizzo Services will assume the responsibility of picking up all of the solid waste under the terms of Shelby Township's single waste hauler ordinance.

Per the terms of the single waste hauler ordinance, the selected provider is obligated to pick up solid waste from all single family residences and from those condominiums that consist of detached and duplex units.  However the ordinance does not require them to pick up yard waste from the detached and duplex condominiums since it is expected that the condominium association's landscape contractor handles all landscaping work and the disposal of the yard waste they generate.  That is why the solid waste hauler will not pick up bags of yard waste that Manors residents set out to the curb. 

Multi-unit residential complexes such as apartments and cluster type condominiums (such as Kensington) are not covered under this ordinance and therefore they must contract for their own solid waste hauling, as do all of the commercial and industrial businesses in the Township.

Because a unit in our condo association is not considered a "single family home", we will not be receiving the 95-gallon recycle cart mentioned in the Township's letter that went to all residences.  I am assuming that unless the Association is informed otherwise by Rizzo Services, there will be no changes to the types of containers we can use here at the Manors. Previously, each co-owner had the option to purchase (at their own expense) and use a blue 95-gallon trash cart, plus they were given a small blue bin to use for recycling items.  Our trash will also be picked up if it is placed at the curb in secured plastic trash bags or inside any other kind of covered trash container. 

I have been contacted by several Manors residents asking how they may apply for the senior discount and/or recycling incentives mentioned in the Township's letter.  The answer is that you cannot. You have not been an individual customer of the waste hauler and that does not change as of July 1st.  The Manors Condo Association holds a single account with the Township's single waste hauler and we pay the monthly fee for all 118 sold units directly to the waste hauler on your behalf using funds derived from your monthly Association dues ($60 per month for Units 1-14, $175 per month for all others).  The $1.93 per unit reduction in the monthly rate that begins when Rizzo takes over the contract means that your Association will have $1,366.44 less total expenditures for waste pick-up over the last half of 2012.

For additional information, visit http://www.shelbytwp.org/recycle - but keep in mind that a unit at the Manors is not a "single family home" under the Township's waste hauling ordinance and contract.

Remember - you are expected to do your part to keep the Manors looking clean and neat by making sure that your solid waste is placed securely at the curb!  That means that your trash must be placed at the curb inside either a COVERED container or within plastic bags that are tied shut.  The recycling items in your blue bin must also be covered so that they cannot be blown about by the wind  [click here for other important disposal information].  Your solid waste should be at the curb no later than 7 AM of pick-up day and no earlier than 6 PM the night before. Failure to follow these common-sense methods for placing your solid waste at the curb for pick-up can result in a violation and fine from the Board of Directors of the Manors at Central Park Condominium Association.

Protect yourself!

Sgt. Cazabon of the Shelby Township Police Department was unable to attend the annual meeting of the Central Park Master Community Association on April 18th.

Click here to learn what he had planned to present that evening.

Central Park Master Association Annual Meeting

The Central Park Master Association is holding the Annual Membership Meeting on Wednesday night, April 18, 2012 at the Shelby Twp. Municipal Building, beginning at 7:00 PM.

The purpose of this meeting will be to elect a representative from each of the Gardens and Meadows sub-associations to a new, two-year term on the Board of Directors.  The meeting notice letter you received incorrectly stated in the second paragraph that you could nominate a fellow co-owner for either the Manors or Kensington sub-associations. It should have read that members of the Gardens and Meadows sub-associations may nominate a fellow co-owner to run for a two-year term on the Board.  The enclosed nominating ballot correctly identifies the sub-associations which have the right to nominate their co-owners for this election.

At the annual meeting, members of all four sub-associations (Gardens, Meadows, Manors and Kensington) will be able to cast their vote to elect a representative from each of the Gardens and Meadows.  If you will be unable to attend the meeting, please fill out the General Proxy form you received with the mailing and either mail it in per the instructions or give it to a neighbor or Board member.  This will enable us to achieve a meeting quorum and also allow your designated proxy to vote on your behalf.

Please note that Sgt. Ken Cazabon of the Shelby Twp. Police Department will give a presentation on property crime prevention at the very beginning of the annual meeting.  He says that he will also present some crime statistics comparing the Central Park community with other areas of the Township.

Shelby Twp. Board Meeting of Feb. 7, 2012

An example of "Alligatoring" in
our base layer of asphalt.

The president and treasurer of the Manors Board of Directors addressed the Shelby Twp. Board of Trustees at their meeting of Feb. 7, 2012 on the issue of the final asphalt paving of the roadways at the Manors.

They spoke under the "Business From The Floor" agenda item shortly after 11:00 p.m., which was about four hours after the meeting started.   Video replays of the Feb. 7th Shelby Board meeting will be shown on Comcast channels 5 and 915 over the next week or so and it can also be viewed by going to the Shelby TV web site.

Since speakers under that agenda item are subject to a five minute time limit,  the Trustees were handed a letter with full details and the Manors Board president gave a five-minute oral synopsis of the letter and asked for answers to the questions that are also listed at the end of the letter.  None of those questions were answered by any of the Trustees, nor did they comment or ask any questions of the Manors Board president during his presentation.  However the Township Attorney did offer his opinion about what happened with the letter of credit.

The Manors Board treasurer then spoke extemporaneously to the Trustees and pointed out their lack of response to our prior communications and asked for the courtesy of a response to the letter we just presented to the Board of Trustees.   The Township Attorney responded that some sort of a response would be given within the next 30 days.

UPDATE, March 11, 2012: 30 days have come and gone without the promised response from the Township Attorney.  Also, we have not received any communications from members of the Board of Trustees, to whom we had addressed our letter.

Vehicle and garage break-ins

Nearly a dozen vehicle and garage break-ins have been reported this past week in the Central Park community, mainly in the Gardens and Meadows subdivisions.  They have been occurring during the daylight hours around 4 PM as well as in the 10 PM and later time ranges.  Most of the vehicles were not locked.  Access to some of the garages was gained by using the garage door opener they found once inside the vehicle.  The perpetrator(s) also watch for open garage doors and make a quick getaway with valuables from the garage and the unlocked vehicles parked inside the garage.  One of the daylight thefts involved a purse that was left in a vehicle that was briefly parked in the driveway while the owner went back inside the house to get something. The Shelby Twp. Police ask that you please be vigilant and proactive.  ALWAYS LOCK YOUR VEHICLE when it is parked in your driveway or on the street and keep your garage door closed unless you are actually in the garage, the driveway or front yard.  Also, it is best that you do not leave your garage door opener or other valuables in plain sight within the vehicle.

UPDATE: On Feb. 28, 2012, a local man plead guilty on charges of larceny from a building and receiving and concealing stolen property in connection with these break-ins. He was sentenced to 30 days in Macomb County Jail and 1 year probation. More details can be found here and here.

Nov. 2011 Newsletter

Message from your Board Member

2012 Annual Meeting

Our 2012 Annual Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday evening, Jan. 18, 2012 at the Shelby Twp. municipal building [this date has since been confirmed]. There will be two important elections held that evening. One will be to approve a final paving Special Assessment and another will be held to elect three co-owners to the Board of Directors.

During the meeting, the current Board of Directors will be asking Association members to approve a Special Assessment for the purpose of repairing cracked curbs and to pave the final asphalt layer on the remainder of our roads and private access drives. A Special Assessment requires the approval of more than 2/3rds of all "members in value" (as opposed to "members in number"), since it is levied on the basis of the percent of value assigned to each Unit. Per the Amended Master Deed, owners of Units 1-14 have each been assigned 0.17422 percent of value and owners of Units 16-167 each have 0.64185 percent of value (owners of all Units each have a vote that is worth 1/166 = 0.60241 percent when voting by number).

Pending the receipt of competitive bids, the current Board estimates that the final paving project will cost about $83,700 and that the Special Assessment levy will be about $145 for each of Units 1-14 and about $540 for each of Units 16-166. The Carpenters Pension Trust Fund owns (47) incomplete Units and they will also pay the Special Assessment amount for each of their Units.

The estimated Special Assessment levy amount is considerably higher than originally planned. That's because the Shelby Township Attorney informed me on Oct. 28, 2011 via this letter that the $29,600 Letter of Credit issued on Nov. 17, 2004 by the Greco Title Co. on behalf of "Sable Realty Ventures- Shelby I LP" and held by the Township to guarantee the final paving is not being honored by the title company that recently purchased the assets of the Greco Title Co.

The current Board of Directors recommends a "yes" vote on the Special Assessment. If approved, the curb repairs and final layer of asphalt paving will be completed before the end of 2012.

The 2012 Annual Meeting will also be the Transition Meeting at which time the Carpenters Pension Trust Fund will transfer control of the Board of Directors over to the co-owners. Therefore, we will be electing three co-owners to the Board at this meeting.

If nominated, I intend to run for another term on the Board of Directors. Please give some serious thought about who else you’d like to see nominated for election to the Board of Directors and discuss it with your neighbors. I know that we have many co-owners who are capable of serving on the Board and the more nominees we have, the stronger the new Board will be. If you have any questions about what is expected of a Board member, please contact me and I'll be more than happy to answer your questions.

In early December you will receive a mailing that will confirm the time and place of the 2012 Annual Meeting and provide full details about the two elections and the nomination process. A second mailing will arrive in January with the names of those who have been nominated thus far along with proxy forms for those who might not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person. If you are not sure whether you can attend the Annual Meeting, please fill out and return the proxy prior to the meeting (your proxy will be returned at the door if you later decide to attend in person). It is important that we have enough voting members present in the room and via proxies so that we can properly conduct the Special Assessment and Board of Directors elections.

Parking Reminder

Overnight parking (Midnight to 6 AM) is not allowed on our streets and private access drives from November 1st through March 31st.

What's wrong with this picture?

What's wrong with this picture? The trash was placed at the curb way too early!

The Rules and Regulations of the Manors at Central Park Condominium Association state that refuse and recyclables shall be placed at the curb no earlier than 6:00 PM of the evening before collection day. They also require the empty containers to be removed from the curb no later than 6:00 AM of the day following the collection day. Since our regular collection day is Tuesday, that means that trash and recyclables may go out to the curb after 6:00 PM on Monday evening and empty containers need to be stored away by 6:00 AM on Wednesday.

The Shelby Township waste services web page asks that you have your trash and recyclables at the curb by 7:00 AM on collection day.

Allied Waste has asked our duplex residents to place their trash and recyclables at the curb on the side of their driveway nearest the closest neighboring driveway so that their drivers can pick up from both addresses with only one stop. Click here to view a drawing that shows the preferred placement location.

Your cooperation is very much appreciated.

Demolition of the Visteon Plant

On May 25, 2011, the Shelby Twp. Planning Commission approved the demolition permit for Ford Motor Company's contractor to begin tearing down most of the manufacturing buildings on the Visteon property that is located along the east side of Mound Road, south of 23 Mile Rd.

I attended the public hearing and took notes and also received a copy of the conditions the Planning Commission placed on the demolition contractor.

You can read all the details on this web page that I created.

Minutes of the Annual Meeting held on Jan. 19, 2011

Click here to read the unapproved minutes of the Annual Meeting.

Shelby Twp. water rates to rise - again

According to this article in yesterday's Macomb Daily, the Shelby Twp. Board of Trustees voted on Tuesday night to raise the rates they charge us for water and sewer service by almost 10%%.

This is the second consecutive year that the Board has given their residents this kind of a "Christmas present". Last year at their Dec. 15, 2009 meeting the Board approved a 9% increase that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010.

Tuesday night's vote means that the Shelby Twp. water rates will rise from $2.873/100 cu.ft. to $3.157/ 100 cu. ft. - an increase of 9.9% that will go into effect on January 1, 2011 [details here on pages 110 and 111].

What is driving the latest 9.9% water rate increase here in Shelby Twp? By comparing the information provided by the Shelby Twp. DPW to justify the 2010 and 2011 rate increases, it appears to me that the cost of water purchased from Detroit is anticipated to rise only about 5.7% in 2011. However, revenues associated with new construction are estimated to be down by about 14.9% in 2011 and must be made up by the existing water customers to help cover the fixed operational costs of the Shelby Twp. water department.

With this latest increase, Shelby Twp. residents will be paying a water rate that is 1.65 times higher than their neighbors in Macomb Twp. [source].

This is the second consecutive year that I failed to anticipate a last-minute water rate increase when I prepared the annual budget for the Manors ("fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me").

What this rate increase means to our Association's budget is that in 2011 (as in 2010), we will again spend about $3,000 more on water for lawn irrigation than we would have otherwise spent and will therefore have to find offsets elsewhere in the budget to cover any overage in the budget's water line item.