Individuals involved in what Plymouth Township officials described as state funding of “urban sprawl” may soon face public scrutiny regarding the ethics of their actions.
The approval of a 2018 supplemental spending bill that included a $10 million grant to Salem Township is again being examined. The 73 projects placed on the spending bill were said to be missing documentation.The grant money was earmarked as funding to help Livonia builder Bobby Schostak install water and sewer lines for the construction of Salem Springs South, one of two planned subdivisions located in a 200-acre triangle bordered by M-14, Gotfredson Road, North Territorial and Napier roads on the northeast edge of Washtenaw County, just outside Plymouth Township.
Plymouth Township officials were guardedly critical
Legislators approved the funding on the last day of the lame duck Legislature session in December, 2018. The bill included $115 million for small projects across the state that were championed by Republican senators and representatives, including the project headed by Schostak, former chairman of the state Republican Party.
To date, the builder has received $20 million to start construction.
According to a recent Detroit News article,
Secret donors pumped money into the coffers of the former lawmaker who served two terms in the Michigan House and was later elected to the senate and served for eight years. Records show 2018 financial supporters included 11 donors who contributed at least $20,000 each. Accordingly, the group had to disclose under federal tax law how much it received from individual large donors, but not who they were.
“One donor gave $150,000, according to the tax filing. Another gave $125,000. There were contributions of $82,800, $75,000 and $60,000. And three gave $50,000 each.”
The Schostak project in Salem has now stalled for reasons unknown and Salem Township has not asked for the money, according to Township Supervisor Gary Whitaker.
Whittaker said Schostak approached former Plymouth Township officials a few years ago to negotiate a deal for water and sewer usage. He said Schostak representatives then asked Salem Township to borrow the money through a bond that would be paid off by developer fees. He said his township declined to participate. Whittaker added that he believes the developer of the subdivision land would be responsible for all of the cost, as dictated by the township master plan for the area.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at the time she was frustrated with the approval of the grant money just days before she took office-but could do nothing to halt the spending. The current total cost estimate of bringing water and sewer to the area is $40 million. Later the state attorney general's office said the grants were legal and should be funded.
According to Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the state Department of Technology and Management, the actual wording of the grant in the law is open to a broad interpretation. It calls for spending the money “to encourage economic development and future growth in a small portion of the township. There is no mention of water and sewer lines; with the language vague enough to suggest the township could spend the money on other things,” Weiss said.
Bridge Magazine reported in 2009 that Schostak's company asked Salem Township to ask the federal government to fund the project and the township declined. That decision added to the contentious relationship between the township and Schostak Brothers & Co., Inc., with the Schostak company taking legal action against the township. Whittaker later said the township would probably use the money for the utilities out of fear of more legal action.
