Harbor Impact Ministries expands services to help more people

Randall Chafin, of Port Huron, looks through clothing Tuesday in the “Man Cave” at Harbor Impact Ministries in Kimball Township. (Tony Wittkowski | Times Herald)

By Tony Wittkowski | Local Government Reporter | The Times Herald

KIMBALL TWP. – Harbor Impact Ministries has what Bridge Cards sometimes can’t offer.

The ministry that began as a typical food and clothing pantry five years ago has expanded into an operation that houses several different rooms filled with donated material.

The most recent additions in the past few months have been the pet food station and a birthday table.

“We are the only group that really provides pet food for our families that are struggling,” said Barbara Hanneke, director of Harbor Impact Ministries. “We have an area where people who have birthdays can celebrate their birthdays that month by choosing a gift. People who are struggling forget to celebrate sometimes.”

The ministry, which shares a building with Blue Water Free Methodist Church, operates out of what used to be Sparlingville Elementary School, 1963 Allen Road. Rooms that were once classrooms hold donated items.

The ministry helps an average of 500 people a month.

Pastor Randy Bennett said about 10 percent of those families they serve are new. Some get help and find a way to get over the hump, while others are repeat customers, he said.

“We think of ourselves as a clearing house,” Bennett said. “We receive it, organize it and give it away.”

The ministry opens its doors once a month from 9-11 a.m. for what’s called Impact Day, where pre-registered county residents go from room to room shopping for various items.

In one room, residents can access the food pantry which holds both nonperishable and frozen foods. A room called “Bear Necessities” offers laundry detergent, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products.

Hanneke said a new resource center provides adult tutoring, citizenship preparation, resume writing, financial and budget counseling and computer classes.

With a library of more than 3,000 books, some sit and read while their friends and loved ones find needed items.

The ministry also expanded its clothing department into three different rooms.

“We separated them and enlarged the clothing rooms tremendously,” Hanneke said. “We realize that we were not doing well by having everything in one spot. As we identify the needs, we add them.”

When families come for help, volunteers collect the names of all people in the household and their birth dates. Hanneke said no additional information is required.

“The only thing that we ask is that a person can look at us and tell us they are struggling,” Hanneke said. “We do not use income guidelines. We do not have a requirement of how much they make. We just ask they can make a statement that they are struggling.”

More than 60 volunteers worked Tuesday, during February’s Impact Day. Bennett said volunteers come from at least 10 area churches.

Kimball Township resident Iliene Balhoff has been volunteering with the ministry since it first opened in 2010.

Balhoff said the ministry has given her the solace no other place has been able to.

“It’s been a great help to me, because five years ago my husband passed away,” she said. “I could throw myself right into here and work with the church. They have benefited me more than I have for them.”

Amy Bolam, a Burtchville Township resident and volunteer, originally came to the ministry for assistance when she and her husband were out of work.

“I was stuck at one point going off and on with jobs, and was helped a lot with food here,” Bolam said. “Six months ago I began volunteering, just trying to give back.”

Port Huron resident Carolyn Parker is homeless and has been seeking help from the ministry for years now.

“Right now I am basically in need of help and it’s difficult being out in the cold right now,” she said. “The service and the gratitude I get from everybody here keeps me coming back.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at (810) 989-6270 or twittkowsk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Feb. 24, 2015)

Rescue crews respond to Port Huron Township structure fire

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By Tony Wittkowski | City Reporter | The Times Herald

PORT HURON TWP. — The cause of a fire that destroyed a home in the 1200 block of 36th Street is under investigation.

Rescue crews responded to the scene about 2:15 p.m. Firefighters from Port Huron Township, Port Huron, Kimball Township and Marysville worked to extinguish the fire.

Port Huron Township resident Joshua Sullivan noticed smoke four blocks away from his house around 2 p.m.

Sullivan said he drove by and called the police when he saw the flames.

“There was a mattress laying on the front steps,” Sullivan said. “Clothes were in the front yard and the front door and the garage door was open.”

Firefighters entered the structure and went down into the basement of the building but were forced to evacuate the building after the roof collapsed, said Port Huron Township fire Chief Craig Miller.

“We had to do an interior attack to go inside and fight the fire, but part of the roof had collapsed at that point, so we had to back our people out,” Miller said. “We will do a thorough search and investigation of the fire.”

Port Huron resident Ed Forton, the homeowner’s son, said his father is on vacation in Florida.

“I already talked to him. He’s not too happy,” Forton said. “We were coming down the road and seen the smoke. I’m guessing someone was in there.”

The St. Clair County Fire Investigative Team will be investigating what took place, Miller said.

No injuries were reported in the fire.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at (810) 989-6270 or twittkowsk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Feb. 13, 2015)

County looking to bring in commercial greenhouses near landfill

Smiths Creek Sanitary Landfill manager Matt Williams points to property just east of the landfill where commercial greenhouses could potentially be built. (Jeffrey Smith | Times Herald)

By Tony Wittkowski | City Reporter | The Times Herald

KIMBALL TWP. – The county is looking at the Smiths Creek Sanitary Landfill as not just a place to dispose of refuse, but as a draw for new agri-business.

County officials are working with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the St. Clair County Economic Development Authority to attract commercial greenhouse developers in order to maximize the use of the landfill.

While plans are considered to be preliminary, Matt Williams, manager of the county landfill, said commercial greenhouses would be a good fit to be built near the landfill.

“We are exploring whether or not it makes economic sense for them and for us,” Williams said. “If a developer is interested and they will forward the capital, then we are willing to work with them.”

Since the landfill generates renewable energy from the excess amount of methane gas produced by its bioreactor, Williams said, a greenhouse could potentially use the energy for its day-to-day operations.

Without available water and sewer lines in the area, the field of possible businesses is slim.

Jeff Bohm, chairman of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners, said greenhouses are a good consideration for the area because they don’t require water and sewer, but do need large amounts of electricity.

“With the landfill, we are going to be producing additional power in time because we are expanding the bioreactor, which will break down more trash and create more methane gas,” Bohm said. “This gas can then be converted into electricity.”

However, the landfill’s two generators are not able to create enough power to run an entire greenhouse operation, Bohm said.

A 30-acre greenhouse uses about 15 megawatts of power a day. The landfill generators produce slightly more than three megawatts.

The scenario of bringing greenhouses to the landfill area is dependent on the ITC transmission line a quarter mile north of the landfill.

Bohm said the plan would be to have DTE Energy tap into the transmission line. There would be sufficient capacity in that line to provide the energy needed to power a commercial greenhouse.

Two generators use methane gas to produce electricity at the Smiths Creek Sanitary Landfill in Kimball Township. The facility produces about three megawatts of electricity when running at full capacity. (Jeffrey Smith | Times Herald)

The landfill could provide supplemental heating for greenhouse operations for a profit. The generators emit heat from its engines in the process of turning methane gas into electricity.

That heat is currently not being used for anything, Williams said.

The landfill already has a gas sale agreement with Blue Water Renewable — a subsidiary of DTE — which owns and operates the generators.

Blue Water Renewable is paid $99 per megawatt an hour by DTE. The county receives 25 percent of the gross sale in return for supplying the methane gas. The landfill would increase profits by using the unused heat.

“We provide them the fuel, and we get compensated a royalty of their gross sales in electricity to DTE,” Williams said. “It would be economically efficient capturing that heat to help heat a greenhouse.”

Dan Casey, chief executive officer of the EDA, said the produce would largely be used in local markets.

“We’ve worked with companies like Costco before, who like to have locally grown vegetables to service the market,” he said. “It would interest them to have a regional facility as opposed to a metro-Detroit region.”

Adding commercial greenhouses also would create jobs for county residents.

Williams said a one-acre greenhouse could provide as many as 10 to 15 jobs. Installing a 30-acre greenhouse would create hundreds of jobs.

However, the number depends on if the greenhouses are yearlong or seasonal.

“Some of the greenhouse operations use migrant workers and some don’t,” Casey said.

One hundred acres would be needed to attract bigger users for a greenhouse operation, Casey said.

Last year the county obtained a 72-acre parcel east of the landfill property.

Bohm said the county has met with some of the landowners around the landfill about purchasing property.

“Greenhouses require a lot of land,” Bohm said. “We own a portion of the property and would have to buy additional property. There are people who have expressed interest in selling.”

The county met with Kimball Township officials six months ago to discuss putting greenhouses near the landfill. Bohm said the county has kept Kimball Township involved because the landfill falls within its boundaries.

Robert Usakowski, supervisor of Kimball Township, said the greenhouses would fit into agricultural zoning.

“That area is our rural area of the township, and we would prefer to keep it that way,” Usakowski said. “The greenhouses would fit in with that. The county wanted to make sure the township would be OK with that type of development.”

Bohm said he got a clearer idea after visiting the commercial greenhouses near Leamington, Ontario, a year ago.

Leamington has the largest concentration of commercial greenhouses in North America, totaling 1,969 acres.

“They were impressive,” Bohm said. “It’s 30 acres of land under glass. You can’t see from one end to the other.”

While there is no timeframe for developing the greenhouses, Bohm said the county has met with the state.

“We met with MEDC officials three weeks ago at the EDA office to discuss the potential site and the infrastructure capabilities,” Bohm said.

The county and the EDA are in discussions with greenhouse operators from Canada and Michigan.

Casey said the county has courted the operators — whom he would not name — but the landfill was not a consideration until now.

Contact Tony Wittkowski at (810) 989-6270 or twittkowsk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Feb. 11, 2015)

Range and Griswold roads to receive roundabout at intersection

The St. Clair County Road Commission plans to construct a roundabout at Range and Griswold Roads at the border of Port Huron and Kimball townships. (Jeffrey Smith | Times Herald)

By Tony Wittkowski | City Reporter | The Times Herald

KIMBALL TWP. – After talking about it for several years, the St. Clair County Road Commission says it is ready to bring the county its first roundabout.

The roundabout will replace a four-way stop at Range and Griswold roads on the border of Kimball and Port Huron townships.

The $600,000 project will be paid for with federal dollars for projects that improve air quality.

Kirk Weston, road commission director, said construction is expected to begin in late summer and be completed in the fall.

“We did a study to determine a need there based on traffic volume, safety, traffic patterns and how much idle time the intersection sees,” Weston said. “The intersection sees quite a bit of congestion in the afternoon and has more to do with traffic delays.”

Weston said the roundabout is being built because of the number of backups at the intersection when there are train delays or during rush hour.

“If you go there at 4 p.m., there are six to eight cars backed up,” he said. “If there is a train delay, there are 15 to 20 cars backed up. It’s to help keep that traffic moving.”

An overpass to alleviate train delays won’t be done until until 2016 or 2017, Weston said.

“We’ll build the overpass after this is done depending on where our funding is,” Weston said. “We are continuing to work toward getting the rest of the funding needed for the overpass.”

That means motorists still will have to wait for trains until the overpass is built.

“It will still affect traffic at the intersection if there is a roundabout there or not,” said Bill Hazelton, director of engineering for the road commission. “No matter what we do there, the train will affect the intersection until we get the overpass built. We are looking at the future to get this done so everything runs smoothly in the area.”

The roundabout is in its design stage and was originally pitched as part of one project that was phased into two pieces. The first phase of the project, which included the construction of the Michigan Road overpass in Port Huron Township, was completed last year.

After the design for the roundabout is completed, it will be sent to the Michigan Department of Transportation, which reviews the plans and makes comments or revisions.

“MDOT will then bid the project for us and then they basically have oversight on that job since it is federally funded,” Weston said. “Design would be ready some time before June.”

Hazelton said installing a traffic light at the intersection would not have qualified the project for federal clear air funds.

“It wouldn’t have qualified for funding if they had put a stoplight at the intersection,” Hazelton said. “We wouldn’t have gotten funding from that grant because a traffic light wouldn’t improve the air quality.”

The road commission is also in negotiations for property acquisition where the overpass would go. Weston said the commission hopes to acquire the 70 acres that are needed by spring.

Weston said the project was discussed with Kimball Township and Port Huron Township officials, as well as fire departments and emergency medical services.

In that discussion the road commission explained that the roundabout would not only cut down on car emissions, but would also reduce fatal car accidents.

According to a traffic crash report by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, there was one fatality from the 24 crashes at the intersection from 2009 to 2013.

“It’s a different way of moving traffic in a safe and more efficient manner,” Hazelton said. “If someone is hesitant about a roundabout it’s because it’s something new.”

Kimball Township Supervisor Rob Usakowski said he expects the roundabout to limit collisions.

“It’s a very busy intersection to just have stops signs there,” he said. “We’ve had some crashes there in the past.”

Port Huron Township Supervisor Bob Lewandowski hopes the roundabout will prevent the long backups and keep traffic moving at a steady pace.

While he has been in touch with the road commission, Lewandowski knows residents will have to get through construction at one of its busiest intersections.

“The construction will have an impact, but that’s part of what you have to deal with to get new roads put in,” Lewandowski said. “It will be an inconvenience for a while, but we will get through it.”

Jennifer Schuyler, who lives on Griswold Road just west of the intersection in Kimball Township, said she has been stuck at the intersection a number of times during the week.

Schuyler said she is in favor of the roundabout, but understands if other residents have their concerns.

She is worried about the summer construction.

“It will probably be a headache for us,” she said. “The construction is what I’m most worried about. But it will be a good thing in the long run.”

Weston said a construction detour has yet to be established.

“We normally design these things to see if we can do it under traffic or if we need a detour route,” he said. “That comes after the completion of the design.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at (810) 989-6270 or twittkowsk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 29, 2014)

Road commission to finish road projects with 2014 state funding

By Tony Wittkowski | City Reporter | The Times Herald

Drivers on Lapeer Road will be dodging orange barrels again this year.

The St. Clair County Road Commission plans to complete some 2015 road projects from a state fund, which awarded the county $4.2 million in January 2014.

Money from the risks and reserves fund has already been used to fund several projects in St. Clair County as part of the road commission’s transportation plan.

Kirk Weston, road commission managing director, said there is a section of Lapeer Road and one intersection in Kimball Township that will be completed using 2014 reserves fund.

“They are last year’s funds, but we are having a carryover,” Weston said. “The state basically cuts you a check to only be used for the projects that were submitted. We have already received the funds for this, we just have to complete them.”

Work on Lapeer from Allen to Wadhams in Kimball Township will begin in May with an estimated completion date of July.

Crews finished work on Lapeer between Beach and Allen roads in November, but the project won’t be closed until May, Weston said, until work including grass seeding is completed.

Those two projects will cost the county $2.8 million.

“It’s all one project, but because of the time constraint we broke it up into two,” Weston said. “They both come from the reserve funds. One portion is just not closed out completely.”

Work on the intersection of Wadhams and Lapeer will begin in May, and will require $500,000 from the reserves funds.

Weston said the work will include storm sewers and repaving the intersection.

A project to repave Lapeer Road from 24th to 32nd streets in Port Huron Township was completed with the use of the reserves funds. It cost $270,000 to take off two inches of asphalt and repave the section.

Shea Road in Cotterville and Ira townships, which was started and completed in June 2014, used $620,000 of reserve funds and $450,000 of the road commission’s funds.

“The receipt of these funds assist the road commission in providing a safe, efficient and cost-effective transportation system for the county,” Weston said. “The road commission worked closely with our legislators and provided them information on local transportation needs.”

The road commission has received similar funding before. In July 2014, the county received $1.2 million from the state’s Priority Road Investment Projects Fund worth $1.2 million.

The state also has distributed general surplus funds, with the road commission receiving $945,000. Those funds will be used for ditch digging on local roads and a chip seal program for road preservation in the county’s townships, Weston said.

“A lot of these funds we’ll apply four or five years ago,” he said. “What we do is submit projects within the county that need to be done. They want projects that are in your transportation improvement plans.”

The commission did not have to apply for money from the risk reserves fund. Projects the road commission considered important were submitted to the county’s state representatives — Dan Lauwers and Andrea LaFontaine, Weston said.

“We were selected for the risk reserves fund and the priority road fund out of a large group,” he said. “These were unexpected funds. They weren’t in our plans at the beginning of the year, so that’s why it is a carryover.”

Weston said the decision about whether the commission will receive similar funding is up to the state.

“We are going to apply for any grants as long as they are available,” Weston said. “With the reserves fund, that’s up to the state.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at (810) 989-6270 or twittkowsk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Jan. 14, 2015)

Residential vacancy rates in St. Clair County expected to decrease

A home sits vacant Wednesday at 2015 Elk St. in Port Huron. (Jeffrey Smith | Times Herald)

By Tony Wittkowski | City Reporter | The Times Herald

Officials are projecting the number of empty homes in St. Clair County is trending down.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments estimates the vacancy rate dipped to 10.4 percent in 2013, down from a peak of more than 11 percent of homes in 2010.

Sirisha Uppalapati, a senior planning analyst for SEMCOG, attributed the high vacancy rates to a loss in population countywide. The vacancy rate in 2000 was 7.5 percent.

“The loss in population resulted in an increase in vacant units and as a result there was an increase in vacancy rates,” Uppalapati said. “While growth is happening, it is at a very slow pace and at very modest numbers. The region’s population growth is very much dependent on in-migration.”

Port Huron city manager James Freed said a high vacancy rate directly impacts homeowners as the values of their homes can decrease.

“It’s an indicator of a sluggish economy,” Freed said. “If there is a high vacancy rate, it’s because people can’t afford homes. Adversely, that would mean less taxable value.”

Greater demand on the housing market equates to housing values increasing. In the past 12 months, Freed said housing values have increased 4 percent in Port Huron.

Since 2010, the job market and economy in southeast Michigan has been improving, Uppalapati said. In addition, the region has also seen growth in population since 2011.

As a result of the population growth combined with a lack of new construction during the latter part of this decade, the housing inventory in the market is being absorbed resulting in fewer vacant units and lower vacancy rates since 2010.

When prospective businesses look at regions they wish to start at, the vacancy rate comes into play, Freed said. When the number of vacant houses is down it benefits the region, which sees a better quality housing stock along with more building permits and investments in the current homes.

Kathleen Lomako, executive director for SEMCOG, said the organization collects home and residential vacancy numbers in the effort of forecasting the future.

“We collect data because we think it’s the foundation for making good decisions,” Lomako said. “We work with elected officials in each region and as a result this information is used by private developers and businesses who are thinking about moving to a specific area.”

Uppalapati, however, warned that, “if there isn’t significant in-migration, there is a possibility that the county will lose more and more people and as a result vacancy may again increase in the coming years.”

Across the county

In Clay Township, the estimated numbers from 2013 projected a 30.7 percent vacancy rate.

However, the numbers for municipalities like Clay Township are skewed.

Chris Mazur, survey statistician for the U.S. Census Bureau, said in order to determine whether a residence is vacant, mail forms are sent out which are followed by phone calls through their telephone centers if no one is reached.

At that point, a field representative is sent out to determine if anyone lives at the specific location.

Mazur said the census also enacts a two-month rule on these visits. So, if the homeowner does not live at the house for more than two months, it is considered vacant by their standards.

Because Clay Township has many cottages and summer homes, the vacancy rate balloons larger than other municipalities.

Artie Bryson, Clay Township supervisor, said the community is making as much progress on the housing market as any other municipalities in the county.

“I know as far as the real estate market, the houses on the waterfront have gone up substantially the last year and a half,” Bryson said. “I know we have a trailer park that has 20 percent in capacity. That could also be taken into account for the abnormal vacancy rate.”

Port Huron has an 11.7 percent estimated vacancy rate for 2013 — down from a 12.2 percent rate in 2010.

Port Huron Mayor Pauline Repp said that people “have lost jobs and have moved away.

“Houses weren’t selling quite as quickly, so people were not getting the price that they wanted for their homes and held onto them. I think it all comes back to the economy.”

Freed said the economy has grown since 2010 and argues that the occupancy rate is less than what SEMCOG currently projects.

“I sincerely question the SEMCOG numbers overall, but it is the best way to gauge the trends,” Freed said. “We are seeing buildings being purchased.”

He said a 30 percent vacancy in the city’s industrial park in 2010,has fallen to less than 10 percent. Port Huron is running out of room for incoming businesses and the companies that made it through the recession are expanding, Freed said.

Kimball Township has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the county at an estimated 4.1 percent.

Rob Usakowski, township supervisor, said Kimball has a low tax rate that attracts home buyers.

“When you look at neighboring towns, we have a much lower tax rate,” Usakowski said. “From an owner’s standpoint, you don’t have to charge as much to make back what you paid for.”

He said the numbers are encouraging.

“We actually had 13 housing projects that had gone through the planning stages,” Usakowski said. “However, with the decline in the market none of it happened and it all fell through.”

Contact Tony Wittkowski at (810) 989-6270 or twittkowsk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @tonywittkowski.

(Author’s Note: This article was originally published on Dec. 25, 2014)