Republic Services Update

Hampton Charter Township Newsletter

What's New in The Hamptons

News & Updates

UPCOMING EVENTS - WEEK OF June 28, 2021

Consumers Energy Announces Plans to Speed Plant Closures

Please Attend

Board of Trustees Meeting

Monday, June 28th

7:00 pm

Large Hall - 801 W. Center Rd

Consumers Energy Representatives will be in attendance to explain accelerated retirement of Karn plants from 2031 to 2023

Consumers Energy announced on June 23, 2021, that if approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, the closure of the Karn 3 & 4 units, that run on natural gas and fuel oil, will retire in 2023, about eight years sooner than originally planned.

The Karn 1 & 2 coal-fired units was already scheduled to retire in 2023.

You can read Consumers Energy's 2021 Clean Energy Plan by clicking here.

As many of you may already know, Hampton Township has been implementing many cost saving changes in anticipation of this property tax loss. We have been working hard to continue to maintain and improve our infrastructure and provide the necessary services our residents need, all with fewer employees and a reduced budget.

We hope you will attend this meeting and get updated information about these plant closures as well as have your questions answered.

Republic Service Update

At the June 10th Board of Trustees meeting, many that attended asked for updates on Republic Service. Many of the questions from this meeting were answered in the previous email News & Updates sent.

I do need to make a correction regarding the increase in the rates each year. The correct rate increase is actually 3.5% per year:

Year 1 - $19.07 per month

Year 2 - $19.74 per month

Year 3 - $20.43 per month

Year 4 - $21.14 per month

Year 5 - $21.88 per month

The following statement was received regarding the collection services for Hampton Township:

"All pickups have been completed on schedule for the last two (2) weeks and we anticipate them to stay that way. We are in a better place with our staffing and we are still hiring. The only thing that could interrupt a scheduled service would be a truck breakdown at a time of day that I can’t get another truck there to help, but this would be only on rare occasions. I appreciate you guys working with us through this tough time." Brian, Operations Manager, Republic Services

American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Survey

Please plan to attend the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, June 28, at 7:00 p.m. as the board will be discussing the American Rescue Plan Act Survey. This survey will be used to seek your input on how you would like to see the ARPA funds be spent in our community.

Updated information now states Hampton Township will be receiving an estimated $982,105 based on new census numbers. There are restrictions on how this money can be used.

Please visit www.hamptontownship.org/arpa / for updated information about meeting dates and times.

Attention Farmers

Drain millage dollars (your tax dollars) have been spent making repairs to our drainage system by rebuilding and repairing pumps, installing floats, replacing the tubes and floodgate, etc. These floodgates are kept closed to prevent water from coming into the ditches due to high winds, high water levels, etc. to protect our community against flooding.

Our DPW recently found that the floodgates located at the end of Farley, Callahan, Nebobish, Cass and Halstead have been wedged open and left that way. If a farmer would like to irrigate from the ditch, PLEASE CONTACT THE DPW to open the floodgates and DO NOT OPEN THE FLOODGATES YOURSELF! These floodgates cost between $9,000 and $10,000 each and if you break it, you may be responsible for the repairs or the replacement.

Rarely does the person that wedged open the floodgate with a piece of wood or metal stake, come back to close them. This is a real problem as our pumps with floats will turn on and are working to pump the water out of the ditch but the water is flowing right back in. This results in astronomical electric bills for our drain account. We ask that you PLEASE STOP THIS!

Simply stated, the DPW needs to be the ones that open and close the floodgates. We appreciate your understanding and ask that you contact our DPW when you want to irrigate from the ditches.

Thank you!

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