GRANT FUNDING LIKELY TO COVER MULTIPLE BERRIEN COUNTY PROJECTS

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – Last week’s Berrien County Board of Commissioners meeting featured good news on a number of fronts. Commissioners also honored retiring Building and Grounds Superintendent Robert Ray.
County Commissioner and Administration Committee Chairman Jim Curran reported that the new south county communications tower is expected to go live Dec. 1. The tower is being built on land behind the Buchanan Township Fire Department station on North Main Street in Buchanan Township.
The $8 million project is funded in part by a $5 million state grant the county received in 2021 to pay for the bulk of the costs of erecting the tower. The tower project was delayed somewhat when the original site on land near the former AEP office building in Buchanan was found to contain Native American artifacts. County officials then looked for a new site and found the land adjacent to the fire station.
Once the 800 MHz frequency communication tower is up and running, emergency and other communications in the southern part of the county and along the Indiana-Michigan state line should improve. The new tower replaces one at Bertrand Crossing.
Curran also reported that the county board will be asked this week to approve a resolution accepting a grant to help pay for the nearby AEP center project. The county purchased the building two years ago and has renamed it the 500 Circle Center. When renovations are complete, it will house the county’s 911 and Emergency Operations Centers.
The county has already received a $3 million federal grant to pay for part of the renovations. The total renovation cost is expected to be $10 million with the work done over the next two years.
Other good news came from County Administrator Brian Dissette. He said the county has learned of an available grant opportunity to fund $3.5 million worth of infrastructure work at the Berrien County Juvenile Center in Berrien Center. The county board approved a contract with Wightman & Associates and Ignyte Mechanical and Electrical Design for design work.
Currently, the center is connected to the village of Berrien Springs’ sewer system. The water well onsite now is one shared with the nearby Sacred Heart facility, which is housed in the former Berrien General Hospital. County officials had contemplated building a new juvenile center in Benton Township but cost estimates now are too high.
“We’re working with Wightman and Ignyte to develop a new water well and new septic system for the juvenile center,” Dissette said. “We had planned for the money to come from our deferred maintenance budget and then the state opened up a new grant program. It’s due in early November, and we will bring it to you next week.”
“If we get it, we will move the $2 million we were going to use from the deferred maintenance budget back to that fund to do other projects…we will have $2 million we can spend on other deferred maintenance,” he added. “ If we don’t, we are still going to progress and do the work. Cross your fingers.”
Commissioners also learned the county has been awarded a $2.6 million grant to pay for the demolition of the former Modern Plastics complex in Benton Harbor. County Commissioner Mamie Yarbrough told fellow commissioners that the funds are coming from the Michigan Land Bank Authority.
She noted that the county had applied for a grant for the demolition from the Land Bank Authority but had previously been rejected. She said that Land Bank Authority officials then contacted the county when they had money left over at the end of the year.
Dissette said that a resolution formally accepting the funds will come to the county board this week. The county sold the property to Harbor Shores earlier this year but can still accept funds for the cleanup of the blighted property.
In other news, County Equalization Director Warren Parrish presented the annual equalization report to commissioners last week and the board later approved the millage rates for taxing entities in the county. He said there are more than 200 millage rates set by 71 taxing entities including townships, cities, villages, school districts and others.
The highest millage rates in Berrien County are in the cities of Benton Harbor, Buchanan and Watervliet. The lowest rates are in the village of Shoreham and Bainbridge and Berrien Townships. A few rates could change after the November election as millages are on the ballot in Niles city, Galien Township and Berrien Springs.
In other action last week, commissioners authorized the Berrien County Health Department to apply for a grant to fund the development of a new south county health facility in Three Oaks. The site of the new center is the former Three Oaks Elementary School on Oak Street in the village.
The Pokagon Fund has signed a purchase agreement to buy the school building and the facility will be home to other organizations in addition to the health department. Other organizations that will be located there include an early childhood center as well as social organizations that provide food and shelter and domestic violence assistance.
If awarded, the Health Department’s grant would pay for the construction phase of the building renovations.
Commissioners approved a resolution honoring Robert Ray who recently retired as the building and grounds superintendent. He has worked for the county since 2009 and is retiring because of health concerns.
Commissioners all thanked Ray for his dedication to the county. “Whereas, he approached his job with a positive attitude and completed the tasks before him with proficiency, precision and enthusiasm,” the resolution stated.
The resolution further stated that Ray’s leadership had served the county well over the years, including during the courthouse shooting of 2016 and pandemic of 2020. His staff noted that “his commitment to Berrien County is on every painted surface, every plowed parking lot, every comfortable and safe workplace” and that he never asked staff to do something he wouldn’t do himself.