Macomb Township Board of Trustees kicked off 2025 with a swift meeting that saw approval for a resolution to commit financially to a public recreation project, pending a grant award.

According to Treasurer Leon Drolet, Macomb Township is “in the process” of applying for a grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) for the purpose of making improvements to the Town Square, or the lawn area adjacent to the Macomb Township Hall. The township is eyeing a project that will “significantly advance” the goal of transforming the Town Square area into an “anchoring public gathering and recreation space” for residents.

The resolution approved by the board authorizes the MEDC grant application as well as the acceptance of any matching costs associated with the project, up to $1 million. If the grant is not awarded, the township will not move forward with the project as related to the resolution.

That area was designated as “Town Center” in the 1999 update to the Macomb Township Master Plan and has seen substantial investment, including the completion of the Macomb Township Hall administrative building in 2002, a public recreation center in 2004, the creation of the plaza memorializing and honoring first responders and military service personnel in 2010, the relocation of historic Old Township Hall to the campus in 2023, the opening of a branch of the Clinton-Macomb Library Authority in 2022 and the completion of trails connecting Town Center Park to the main campus last year.

The board considered approval for Deneweth’s Garden Center to hold a special hiring event “that exceeds the maximum length of time for a special event,” a scenario that requires Board approval. According to Township Engineer James Van Tiflin, Deneweth’s has held the hiring event each of the past three years in order to round out their staff for the summer season. It’s a two-month event, while the township-designated “special event” length is five days.

Officials also approved the spending of $38,000 for 47 Lenovo laptops based on a request from the township’s IT Department. They will be used specifically for elections as the electronic poll books and for other general election use, said IT Manager Jason Lipari.

The laptops currently used for elections will be used for a “training laboratory” needed for training more than 70 election inspectors, and the cost of these laptops will be reimbursed through a grant the clerk’s office has been awarded. Currently, there are no elections scheduled for 2025. The next scheduled election is the August 2026 primary election.

In the last action of the evening, the board, subject to attorney review, approved awarding a publishing contract to Drive Creative Services, a Warren-based marketing agency, over two other proposals. The contract pertains to the Supervisor’s Office and Parks/Recreation Department’s joint REACH catalog, a compilation of recreation events, activities and recreation center happenings. Currently, the township publishes the REACH catalog three times a year and it is mailed to every household in the Township. According to Supervisor Frank Viviano, the current cost is approximately $17,000 per issue. In its current format, the REACH only contains Parks and Recreation programming information, which limits its audience, said Viviano.

The contract with Drive Creative Services will allow the township to “more than double the pages of content,” said Viviano, allowing Town Hall to “take on eight-to-ten” of those pages to share township news, notes and other relevant information to residents. Through ad sales in the catalog, Viviano said it’s the hope that eventually, each issue will cost the township less after ad revenue sharing with the vendor.

All votes were unanimous with Clerk Kristi Pozzi excused. The meeting saw Deputy Clerk Roger Cardamone handle clerk duties.