Julie Brown, Special Writer
“I do recognize this is a major problem, specifically for Canton,” the Democrat said at the Aug. 10 Canton Board of Trustees meeting.
Koleszar noted a court case before the Michigan Court of Appeals involving Escanaba and big box stores like The Home Depot. Too often, he told township trustees, those stores don't pay their fair share of property taxes.
He had good news on the budget allocation in state aid for the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. “A really good budget for Plymouth-Canton Schools,” the legislator said, noting additional eligibility for pre-K services.
Issues with students returning to the classroom in the pandemic also were addressed by the Legislature, Koleszar added. Currently, that decision is in the hands of local district officials, he noted. That could change, dependent on the severity of the COVID Delta variant infection rate.
He told the trustees that the state general budget beyond school aid is “going to be hashed out in September.”
In other business, Sam Caramagno of GFL returned to address the board of trustees' concerns about residents' complaints regarding trash not being picked up in a timely manner. He again referenced a tight labor market.
“We've got a dozen people (hires) in the pipeline. We're happy on that,” said Caramagno, adding yard waste can be dropped off at the yard on Van Born as well as the Salem Township landfill.
The (248) 204-6757 phone number is the direct line to the call center for Canton, Caramagno said. “We'll try to get that staffed on Saturday mornings,” in addition to the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday call center hours.
Director of Municipal Services Jade Smith told Trustee Kate Borninski when she asked the information is compiled and forwarded to GFL.
During the public comments part of the meeting, a resident expressed concerns about air show noise at Willow Run Airport recently. It's harmful to pets, he said.
Canton Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak said formal complaints have been filed with Willow Run Airport about that noise which shook windows as The Blue Angels and others practiced and performed for the annual air show.
