By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — The Independence Township Board of Trustees unanimously approved the purchase of property on Dixie Highway and an intergovernmental agreement with the Downtown Development Authority regarding the property at its meeting on July 8.
In May, the board approved a resolution which authorized the purchase of 5854 Dixie Highway and authorized the township’s attorney Dan Kelly to negotiate a purchase agreement and draft an intergovernmental agreement for lease of the property by the DDA.
“This is an intergovernmental agreement that allows for a lease between the township, who is basically fronting the money for the purchase at $175,000 for the lot. It will be paid back in three increments of $60,000 payments by the DDA and thereafter, leased by the DDA on $1 per year. It will be owned by the township but operated and maintained by the DDA for as long as the DDA exists,” said Kelly at the July 8 meeting.
The purchase on Dixie Highway is one that has been in the works for a while now with several members of the board expressing interest in investing in Dixie Highway which runs through the southwest of the township.
“This is something that we’ve been trying to get done for a long time. I know I’ve been working on it (for) 10 years. We’ve got to make an investment in Dixie Highway. We’ve got to change the look of it. We need to show that we’re investing in it. It’s one of the oldest U.S. highways. This is a unique opportunity. We have an opportunity to buy a very small parcel of land for a very little amount of money right at the entrance way of the township,” said Trustee Sam Moraco who sits on the DDA board.
Moraco also added that the funding for the property will come from taxes collected within the DDA district.
“So the residents know, the money that we’re spending on this property, half of it comes from taxpayers that live in the district and the other half of it comes from money that we would have given to the county, Oakland Community College and other amenities that we would have been giving money to which we’re capturing and keeping to reinvest in Dixie Highway,” Moraco said.
According to Moraco, the investment provides a way for Independence Township to distinguish itself from Waterford Township.
“(It) gives us an opportunity to put in some green space and a nice sign, a place to sit down, a pocket park hopefully,” said Moraco.