At a regular meeting Tuesday, the Three Rivers City Commission approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding sewer service for the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) dairy in Constantine. The Village of Constantine currently runs its wastewater to Three Rivers for treatment through a pipeline. However, the arrangement has been contentious, and the Village is considering building its own wastewater treatment plant. Regardless of whether that comes to pass, MMPA would like to continue having its wastewater treated in Three Rivers.

The MOU approved Tuesday outlines the terms under which Three Rivers would continue to provide wastewater treatment service for the MMPA, including details about how a capacity expansion at the Three Rivers wastewater plant would take place. Three Rivers City Manager Joe Bippus said there are several issues to be resolved before the City and MMPA enter into an actual contract for service.

Bippus said expansion of the Three Rivers plant is a key part of the arrangement. MMPA intends to expand capacity at its dairy, which means its wastewater output will also increase. The expansion would equate to just under 20 percent of the Three Rivers plant’s current treatment capacity. Bippus said that by retaining the MMPA, the city will “keep a large customer, but they need reassurances that they can expand” and that the wastewater plant will serve the company’s future needs. 

Therefore, he said, the MOU includes a proposed expansion of the plant’s capacity. Bippus said a grant program under the U.S. Economic Development Administration has been expanded under pandemic relief measures. Previously, the grant covered a 50 percent match of a project’s total cost, but that has expanded to 80 percent. To enable the expansion, the City would apply for that grant. MMPA would fund the greater of $200,000 or 10 percent of the expansion project’s cost. MMPA would also pay for 50 percent of the city’s engineering and legal costs to pursue the grant.

The MOU also calls for a 10-year service agreement between MMPA and the city for wastewater service, with a clause allowing cancellation by either party with two years’ notice. Under that agreement, MMPA would be permitted up to 600,000 gallons of discharge per day. Each party will pay 50 percent towards a study to confirm that capacity exists for possible increases.

The City will also forgive accumulated fines that the MMPA owes over previous excess capacity violations. Bippus said the outstanding fines total close to $2 million. Regarding inclusion of that forgiveness in the MOU, Mayor Tom Lowry said, “I digest that painfully, but OK.” Wastewater Treatment Plant supervisor Doug Humbert said the plant expansion justifies the forgiveness, given the increased use fees the expansion will include, and Lowry said it removes uncertainty over the potential loss of MMPA’s business if the Constantine wastewater plant goes through. That loss would spread the Three Rivers plant’s fixed costs over fewer payees, Lowry said.

Humbert said the MOU and the proposed MMPA service expansion will not negatively impact the Three Rivers plant’s current reserve capacity, which includes room for growth at the city’s industrial parks.

Some potential changes in MMPA’s relationship with the Village of Constantine are not covered by the MOU and will have to be negotiated by those two parties as Constantine’s wastewater planning plays out. For example, if the Village does proceed with its own plant, MMPA will have to negotiate for ownership of the pipeline to Three Rivers. The village currently owns the pipeline. MMPA would also have to negotiate with the Village for use of the pumps that send the wastewater through the pipeline from the Constantine end.

The relationship between Constantine and Three Rivers over wastewater has been fraught. Bippus said the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has encouraged the Village to reach out to Three Rivers as part of its current process. However, Bippus said, the village “is pretty adamant they want to be on their own.” He said the MOU includes measures that would require the Village to adopt its own fee structure before the city enters into a contract with MMPA, which would better clarify MMPA’s liability for future fees and fines.

Bid Approved for Armstrong Park Trail

A walking trail encircling the Armstrong Youth Complex will be the next feature built at the park after a City Commission vote Tuesday. Commissioners approved a purchase order in the amount of $270,535 to Thompson Construction, whose bid was just under $100,000 less than the next-lowest bid of $217,500 from Brussee-Brady. Northern Construction also submitted a bid at $313,960.

Commissioner Clayton Lyczynski II asked about the difference in bid prices. Department of Public Services Director Amy Roth said the difference was mainly attributable to lower materials costs. Roth said the city conducted post-bid interviews to make sure each bidder understood the project’s parameters and “to make sure they didn’t miss anything.” Bippus said they were also given an opportunity to back out. As a result, Bippus and Roth said they are confident the winning bidder understands the project’s quality expectations. 

Roth said the winning bidder expects to complete the trail “before snow flies” this year. Funding for the work comes from a pool of donations toward the park project. Commissioner Pat Dane said she is “so excited we’re doing this.” As an original, promised component of the park, she said she expects the trail to be popular, especially since she has seen people using the park for walking, jogging, and bicycling already, event without the trail in place.

Also in City Commission business:

• Commissioners approved a purchase order in the amount of $71,700 to Flies and Vandenbrink, the firm selected for design engineering on the upcoming reconstruction of Railroad Drive. Commissioner Chris Abel said he wanted to see more competitive bids for similar projects going forward. Roth said the firm was selected because the city has a long history of working with them, and it has all of the city’s design standards already in place.
• Also approved was the sale of 4 acres of property on Garfield Court to Edwin Allen Homes for $35,000. The developer plans to build between nine and 12 high-end rental retirement homes on the land over roughly the next year and a half.
• Commissioners placed on file for 30 days a resolution to sell a tax-delinquent property to the adjacent landowner at 705 Madison Place at a price of $500. The lot was previously donated to the city by St. Joseph County. The property owner purchasing the land had his own outstanding tax balance, but Bippus said he has now paid that balance in full.
• The annual road salt purchase order was also approved. This year’s purchase order authorizes up to $25,000, which covers up to 350 tons’ worth of salt plus a five percent contingency.
• Partly due to projects carried over from the previous fiscal year and partly to pandemic-related uncertainties on certain figures at the time this year’s budget was adopted in the spring, commissioners adopted a budget revision that is adjusted for current, actual figures. Those figures reflect a revenue total of $4,951,367, which is $65,569 higher than the original figure, and an expenditures total of $4,966,278, representing an increase of $80,480. The change requires use of $14,911 in general fund reserves.
• The commission approved election of hard cap limits on employer contributions to employees’ medical benefit plans at $1,029,090, with anticipated net employer premium costs at $961,396.
• A public hearing has been set for October 20 regarding establishment of a Special Assessment Roll for delinquent accounts in which the city addressed hazards and nuisances in violation of the city code and subsequently billed the property owners. The outstanding accounts total $14,407.79. An additional public hearing has also been set for the same day to addressing $7,806.87 worth of delinquent water and sewer accounts.
• Commissioners accepted and budgeted a $5,000 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life that funds a variety of costs associated with planning and administration of safe and secure elections.
• During public comments, a citizen who recently had a bicycle stolen in an incident he witnessed and in which he said the perpetrators were captured on camera asked Bippus to follow up on the incident with the Three Rivers Police Department. He said he had recently spoken to presumptive County Prosecutor-elect David Marvin about addressing a recent “catch and release” trend in criminal apprehensions.
• City Attorney J. Patrick O’Malley said Walmart, Kmart, and the Super 8 Motel each have tax claim cases pending before the Michigan Tax Tribunals. A ‘dark stores’ initiative permits certain businesses to have their property’s assessment reevaluated on the basis that their buildings will eventually become obsolete and lose their resale value. Despite its pending case, O’Malley said the Kmart building is currently for sale at an asking price that is similar to the challenged value placed upon it by the assessor.

Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.