February 8 - March 11, 2020 • Page 3GROSSE ILE GRAND Humbled and thankful for the unexpected coverage FROM THE SUPERVISOR

Let me begin by expressing my sincere thanks to Will Evans, publisher of the Grosse Ile Grand, for the front page story about yours truly.

Almost totally unexpected - a few weeks ago, Paula Neuman contacted me with a request for some personal background information with the advisory that she wanted to write a bio on me for the paper; could I answer a few questions? I have known Paula for many years and consider her a journalist with integrity (unlike some of the irresponsible journalists I continue to rail against) so I had no problem opening up. She had some more insightful questions during an interview but said she was ready to write.

A short time later, the Editor, Hank Minckiewicz, contacted me with a request for some pictures from my military days.

I stopped flying over 25 years ago so I was going to have to dig a bit but I sent him a few. I was truly surprised and humbled when I saw the finished product, Paula somehow managed to make me look good!

The picture was taken by my crew chief as I was departing on my last flight in an F-16, July 1994.

Shortly after that I left the 107th Fighter Squadron for staff duties and a promotion. Ann and I are warming up in Key West at the moment, and overhead I get to see the fighter aircraft from the nearby naval air station - can’t believe I used to do that.

Now on to more important news.

Our first months with our new refuse removal contractor, Priority Waste, have gone relatively smoothly, BRIAN LOFTUS

The contract for the repair of the ‘superstructure,’ the metal portions of the bridge, are currently being reviewed by the Michigan Department of Transportation, the department funding most of this portion of the repair project.

only a few missed pick ups that were quickly corrected. Our DPS Commission worked diligently to replace our previous contractor who demonstrated by their bid on our contract that they were not interested in servicing Grosse Ile at a price we could afford. One of the limitations with our new contract is the restriction in recycling, a restriction many are still adjusting to. It’s difficult to believe that there is no way to make glass recycling economically viable, but apparently that’s the status of today’s market.

We are looking into ways to return to recycling our glass products, although probably not the curbside service we had become accustomed to. DPS Director Derek Thiel has researched a possible centralized collection of clear glass only, but at an additional cost. With these new cost restrictions and logistical problems I do not currently see this as a viable option, but we will continue our research and hopefully a solution is out there. Please keep your ideas and suggestions coming.

*Some good news – Grosse Ile has once again been named one of the safest communities, not only in Michigan but in the entire country.

Security Baron, a home security information company, has run the FBI crime statistics for the previous year and ranked Grosse Ile the second safest community in Michigan, behind Iron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula.

Additionally, we placed No. 43 in their nationwide ranking. As other ratings come in from other sources I hope to see us in first place again, but overall we can be proud of the performance of our Police Department and the fact that this community just does not condone criminal activity. *Some news on our bridges, sort of.

The contract for the repair of the ‘superstructure,’ the metal portions of the bridge, are currently being reviewed by the Michigan Department of Transportation, the department funding most of this portion of the repair project.

This is referred to as “Phase 2” as it was originally planned to be accomplished after the repairs to the support piers, referred to as “Phase 1” or now “Phase 1A.”

Where the planning for this project becomes ‘messy’ is in the funding sources. State DOT dollars are funding the superstructure repairs while federal dollars are expected to fund the repairs to the support piers during the summer of 2021.

As the federal dollars are programmed for next year, the repair cycle has been reversed from the original plan, hence Phase 2 before Phase 1A.

County Commissioner Joe Palamara and I both raised concerns about this but, since we did not control the funding we had little input.

For what it’s worth, we have been informed that the repairs to the piers will not

require another extended closure of the bridge as most of the work can be completed from barges.

I have no developments on methodologies or contractors for Phase 1A, and I will release what I learn about Phase 2 when MDOT completes their review of the submitted bids.

*Other developments – we received the testing results from the Great Lakes Water Authority on the water samples that were collected downstream from the collapsed loading area on the Detroit River.

All tests came back negative for contaminants, specifically the radioactive contaminants erroneously reported by news outlets. We took our own samples, had them independently tested and came up with the same results - our water is safe.

As you are reading this in February (FYI, winter property taxes due by the 14th) we are entering a busy planning period at Township Hall, with budgeting for our next fiscal year taking up much of my time and all of our Finance Director’s time. I mentioned property taxes because we are certainly not collecting any more than absolutely necessary to provide the services you expect and the quality of life that made you (and me) decide to settle here.

Hopefully, that was a reassuring note after all the previous bridge news and I’ll wrap up my article with the caveat ‘more to come,’ especially with the Census.

Please contact me with your questions and concerns, as always you will get the best information I have, although it may not be the information you hoped for. Thanks for reading.