Page 6/The Sun and News, Saturday, March 11, 2023Middleville Council considers reallocation of some
ARPA funds for lead service line replacement
James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
The first half of
Middleville’s American
Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
funding will be reallocated
from water system invento-
ry to lead service line
replacement if the village
council approves a recom-
mendation to do so at its
next meeting.The council’s Committee
of the Whole voted 5-0 to
place the proposal on the
consent agenda at the next
full council meeting.
The American Rescue
Plan Act of 2021 allocated
federal COVID-19 pandemic
relief funds to municipalities
across the country based on
their population sizes. The
money is intended to be used
for infrastructure or other
projects that will have a sig-
nificant long-term communi-
ty impact.
Middleville was allocated
$364,450 and, in 2022, vil-
lage council obligated the
first installment of village
ARPA funding, $181,861 to
pay for water system inven-
tory and identifying where
all lead service lines are in
the community.
However, village staff
applied for, and recently was
awarded, a Drinking Water
Asset Management (DWAM)grant through the Michigan
Department of Environment,
Great Lakes and Energy
(EGLE) to pay for a study
that would identify all lead
lines in the village.
So, village staff has sought
to reallocate the first round
ARPA funding to pay for the
replacement of lead service
and galvanized lines.
Middleville Department of
Public Works Director Alec
Belson said at Tuesday’s
Committee of the Whole
meeting he estimates the vil-
lage will have to replace
between 300 and 350 lead
service and galvanized lines
to comply with the Michigan
Safe Drinking Water Act of- Under the state’s Lead
and Copper Rule, communi-
ties with lead lines must
replace them in residential
units within about 20 years.
“Staff is estimating rough-
ly $3,000 to $6,000 per ser-
vice line to replace,” said
Belson, who is also the
Assistant Village Manager.
“We’ve been able to replace
about 13 lines over the last
year and a half.”
The Michigan Department
of Environment, Great Lakes
and Energy has mandated
that the village replace a
yearly average of 5 percent
of the service lines previous-
ly connected to lead. That
would keep the village on
pace to replace all the lead
and galvanized lines within
the 20-year time allotment.
With the approved funding,
the village will be able to
replace an estimated 30 to 60
service lines, depending on
the final pricing for each ser-
vice.
Government boards are
not required to dedicate the
ARPA funding for specific
projects until Dec. 31, 2024,
and they don’t have to
expend all the funds until
Dec. 31, 2026.STORE HOURS
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Kent County Prosecutor
won’t file charges after anti-
Semitic literature distributed
in Gaines Township
James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
Kent County Prosecuting
Attorney Chris Becker says
he won’t file charges related
to anti-Semitic literature
that was tossed onto the
yards of some homes in
Gaines Charter Township
recently.
The flyers thrown out of
the window of a minivan in
a subdivision near 76th
Street and Kalamazoo
Avenue contained hate
speech directed at Jews.
Although Michigan law pro-
hibits dumping garbage on a
person’s property, Beckersays his office cannot prove
that the flyers technically fit
the definition of garbage or
filth in order to support a
prosecution. Also, he said
the flyers did not make any
threats of harm or damage.
The Kent County Sheriff’s
Office had sought charges
of ethnic intimidation and
littering on private property.
But Becker said the offen-
sive material does not meet
the definition of “filth” or
“garbage,” which is illegal
to dump onto someone’s
property.
“Clearly, flyers are
attempting to convey a mes-sage. Unlike an individual
who drops a used candy bar
wrapper on the property of
another person, a person
who distributes a flyer con-
taining a message has not
discarded ‘garbage’ as the
term is generally understood
— even if the message con-
tained therein is offensive or
derogatory, as it was here,”
Becker wrote in a public
statement.
He described the litera-
ture as “reprehensible,” but
says he must follow the law.
Reportedly, the flyers
were distributed by some-
one from Genesee County.Middleville council members discuss lead service line replacements at the Committee of the Whole meet-
ing on Tuesday. (Photos by James Gemmell)Department of Public Works director Alec Belson
addresses the Committee of the Whole at its March 7
meeting. (Photo by James Gemmell)