LSRC know the village is interested in leasing railroad...

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Village assures county streets can be closed for expansion

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 2906&rfi=6

The Roscommon Village Council Monday night agreed to put in writing its willingless to close portions of two streets to allow for expansion of the Roscommon County Building.

Councilmen directed Village Manager W. Michael Freer to draft a letter to county commissioners, reiterating their desire to “fully cooperate” with expansion of the county building in Roscommon. That includes closing portions of George and Third Streets if necessary.

Architect John T. Meyer of Wigen, Tincknell, Meyer & Associates, Saginaw, earlier this month told commissioners building a new court complex behind the existing Roscommon County Building probably would be “less costly than starting over with a new campus.” Meyer proposed a new two-story, 45,000-square foot secure court building that would be connected to the existing structure. Meyer said the expansion would require closing Third and George Streets in the block surrounding the county building.

In other matters, the council instructed Freer to let Lake State Railroad know the village is interested in leasing railroad right-of-way for parking. The council also will investigate insurance costs and have its attorney review the railroad’s proposed lease, Freer said. The lease would be for 50 feet on either side of the railroad tracks between George and Shelly Streets. The railroad proposes to lease the land for an initial fee of $5,000, plus $400 per year. The right-of-way has long been used for parking, but Lake States recently installed a safety fence which blocked parking near the Tin Fish Cafe and Ace Hardware.

The council also agreed to continue discussions with Higgins Township about the possibility of disposing of septic tank waste from township residences at the village sewage treatment plant. The township planning commission asked to discuss the issue in view of increasingly stringent restrictions on disposal of septic waste.

Feb. 24 was set as the date for a public hearing on a request from Lear Corp. for a 12-year industrial facilities tax exemption for proposed expansion projects at Lear’s Roscommon plant. Kirk L. Fisher, tax manager at Lear’s headquarters in Southfield, in a letter to the council said Lear plans to purchase $8.5 million worth of equipment to produce manual seat adjusters for General Motors vehicles. He said the equipment will allow the employment at the plant to increase from 390 to approximately 440 workers.