City Commission to Hold Executive Sessions Monday on Water & Sewer Issues

City Wants Governor's Support to Include Middlegrounds in GM Settlement

June 13, 2010
By: Dave Rogers

The spotlight will be on Gov. Jennifer Granholm Monday night at the Finance/Policy Committee Meeting of the Bay City Commission.

Steve Black, assistant city manager, says in a memo to commissioners that "the governor's support of Bay City's request to have the Middlegrounds included in a General Motors environmental settlement is critical."

At the request of Commission President Chris Shannon (Pictured Right), the meeting Monday will include two executive sessions exclusively focused on water and sewer issues.

Attorney Timothy Ferrand of Cummings, McClorey, Davis, and Acho, PLC, of Livonia, will be present to discuss legal opinions on these two utilities, said Mr. Black.

"Staff has been working closely with Mayor Brunner and Matt Ward of The Ferguson Group to lobby the State and Federal Government for funding from the proposed GM Environmental Trust Fund to pay for the future operations and maintenance costs of the city owned Middlegrounds landfill," he added.

Honeywell and the City are the other two "principal responsible parties" (PRPs), he noted, adding:

"As Commissioners may recall, GM legally acknowledged responsibility for 61 percent of the landfill and was managing the landfill close out and Remedial Action Plan (RAP) up until their bankruptcy.

"At this writing, it is our understanding that the Governor's support of Bay City's request to have the Middlegrounds included in this settlement is critical as details of this proposed trust is ironed out between the bankruptcy court, Federal Government, and multiple states dealing with the legacy of GM environmental issues."

"Both staff and the Mayor are appealing to the Governor via multiple channels to highlight GM's clear responsibility to this site and to request this site's inclusion in the GM Environmental Trust Fund."

Mr. Black also notified commissioners "due to anticipated staff shortages, effective July 1 the Bay City Police Department?s customer service desk will only be open on Wednesdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. All requests for an officer should be made through 911." ###