Lowering Costs for Seniors

Posted on by Carolyn Demates

Making Water Bills Fairer

I once had a boss that hung a sign on his door that said: ‘When entering this office, never utter the phrase, “Well, we’ve never done it that way before!”’ 

When first elected to serve on the Clinton Township Board of Trustees, I learned that when Clinton Township issued water bills, the minimum bill was five units of water.  Use five or more units, you pay for what you used. If you used two or three units of water, you paid for five.  

“Really?” I asked.  “That doesn’t seem fair.”  

It was explained that the Township had to cover three different costs: 

  1. the amount of water that our community purchases from the Great Lakes Water Authority, 
  2. the amount of sewage we sent to their wastewater treatment plant, 
  3. the cost of maintaining a reliable network of underground water and sewer lines.  

This five unit upcharge on those that used less, was then used to cover the fixed costs of maintaining the system.  That meant that one or two-person homes were subsidizing me and my family that used more, by covering our share of the fixed costs.  

I live in a four-person household.  My short-and-rapidly-thinning hair is low maintenance, so I have the luxury of steering clear of the bathroom used by my wife and daughters, where shelf-space is lined with multiple variants of shampoo, conditioner, lotions and potions!  Family dinner means running the dishwasher almost daily…and for whatever reason, if an article of clothing hit the floor, it required a return trip to the laundry room.  

We have a lot of one and two person families in this community.  That means less showers, less dishes, and less clothes to be washed. Residents, who use less, should pay less.

When I questioned this, I essentially received a response that sounded a lot like ‘this is the way we’ve always done it!’

Finally, in 2019, we hired an accounting firm, to study the five-unit minimum bill and explore other models that allocate costs more fairly.     

This led to reducing the per unit amount of water and sewer used.  Regardless of all other factors the per unit charge is the same for everyone and you pay for the number of units used.  Use less this month than last month, expect a lower bill. 

To cover the maintenance costs, a ‘ready to serve’ fee was created, with the fee based on the size of the water line coming into your home.  Older homes that tend to be smaller, generally have a ⅝” line coming into the house.  Newer and larger homes generally have a 1” line. 

Under this new system, almost all households that use less than five units of water in a month, saw a significant drop in their water bill.  Most people with a ⅝” water line coming into the home also saw their water bill drop significantly.  Those with a 1” line coming into the house saw a plus or minus bill, depending on usage.  

Paul & resident, Nancy Ventimiglia
“I only use two or three units of water at most, but the Township was charging me for five units a month. I know Paul Worked to change that. I was grateful when I saw my water bill go down.” – Nancy Ventimiglia, Woodward St.

The reality of serving in government is that if you raise a bill, expect the phone calls to come in.  Lower one….crickets!   

When my friend Nancy Ventimiglia, from Woodward Street called, I was very pleased to let her know that the five-unit minimum bill was gone and the new system would lead to some very real savings for her and many other seniors.  

As Clinton Township Supervisor, I will re-examine all township charges to make sure they are fair for all of our residents.

Spectacular Update on the Spectacles for the Next Solar Spectacle Program!

Posted on by Carolyn Demates

Paul Gieleghem with box to donate Solar Eclipse Glasses On April 8, 2024, many residents of North America witnessed a total solar eclipse.  Some traveled to better spots around the country for viewing, but for those who stayed in our area, we had a pretty good view too.  With the benefit of co-workers who planned ahead and had their eclipse glasses in hand, I was able to appreciate the natural spectacle from the Clinton Township parking lot.

Soon after, a friend shared a link to a solar eclipse glasses collection program that would clean and sanitize the glasses, then ship them off to South America so that students in the South of that continent would have the opportunity to witness a Ring of Fire eclipse that will occur this October.

Rather than simply tossing them away or hanging on to them for roughly the next forty-years when the next eclipse happens in our country, donating them, I thought, would be a great way to connect with young people around the globe and help them develop a first view, and make the science of astronomy a little more real and fulfilling.  So we sent out a press release announcing that the Clinton Township Treasurer’s office would serve as a collection site. I was also pleased when newspapers picked up the story and when Clinton Township residents stepped up.  It was amazing to see that people came by our counter just to drop off their eclipse glasses, and then thanked my staff for doing this!

Last week we mailed 1,304 pairs of Solar Eclipse Glasses to the Physics Dept at Albion College, who will send them toAstronomers Without Borders.  In addition to residents, members of the Clinton Township Senior Adult Life Center and Fraser Schools chipped in to make this drive successful.

Three images: Paul with donated glasses, Paul with package of donated glasses at Post Office, and Paul weighing the box to send out at the Post Office.

It is a pleasant thought to think back about the excitement over the North American Eclipse last April.  We never know how simple and small gestures of friendship and educational opportunity and connectedness can create a positive impact on others. It’s great to see that excitement carry-over to students on a distant continent.   So big shout out to everyone who donated to support this program!

Note:  No tax dollars were spent, and I personally covered the cost of shipping.  

Help Us Break Ground on the Inclusive Playground!

Posted on by Carolyn Demates

 

 

Rendering of the Inclusive Playground

A $1.4 million dollar multi-use, multi-generational playground, designed to serve people regardless of their ability, will soon be a reality on the grounds of the Clinton Township Civic Center.  It all began because a Mom wrote a letter and sent it to the elected officials in her community.  

On Thursday, July 18th, at 11 am, you’re invited to join me and so many others here at the Clinton Township Civic Center to help us break ground on the Clinton Township Inclusive Playground!!!!

Many years ago, I was a young legislator on the House Education Committee, working with the Macomb and Intermediate School Districts throughout the state to mobilize and defeat a plan created by the Engler Administration to significantly reduce special education requirements in Michigan.  

AnnMarie Ottoy’s letter, received in 2019, struck a chord with me.  In addition to a quality education, every child, regardless of their ability deserves a place to play, grow, and make friends with other children, rather than be separated from them.  Local communities that maintain recreation programs need to think about how they are serving all families, regardless of their ability.

My promise, and my challenge to AnnMarie, was that I would take up the cause and propose the development of a Township Committee to build an Inclusive Playground, if she would agree to serve as the Chairperson of that Committee. This initiative needed champions like AnnMarie that could convey the love, passion and struggle of a Mom fighting for their child.  

Small dollar fundraisers were held throughout Clinton Township.  We then worked with State Representative Denise Mentzer and State Senator Veronica Klinefelt to secure a $1 million grant from the state of Michigan.  A few more individual donors emerged and then the Township was able to allocate federal infrastructure funds to the project.  

Actual design and scheduling work began soon after.  The video below was developed from the renderings.  Seeing is believing, and my hope is that when you watch this, you’ll be as impressed as I am.    

 

From the beginning of this campaign for Supervisor of the Township, we’ve talked about how Clinton Township is transitioning from being an outer-ring to an inner-ring suburb, and when that happens, your cost structure goes up higher than your revenue stream.  However, no community has ever cut its way to prosperity.  Companies and communities that not only survive, but thrive, create a vision and commit to making investments in their residents, their families, their neighborhoods, their parks and their public spaces and build the type of community that provides residents with a sense of place and a sense of pride that spawns more investment.  

I hope you’ll turn out to join us as we break ground towards building a true point of pride in Clinton Township, designed to serve all of our residents.

Happy Fourth of July! What’s Your ‘Up North’?…And how are the roads there?

Posted on by Carolyn Demates

Going door to door around the 4th of July, I see a lot of families preparing for their trip North to enjoy the splendor of Michigan.

I like to ask, “Where’s ‘Up-North’ for You?’  We’re connected to these places away from home, through time spent and memories made.  Both sets of my grandparents retired and moved North, making Sage Lake and Long Lake my ‘happy places’ from my childhood.  My wife’s family scoffs a little, because West Branch is more of a midpoint to their ‘Up North’ in the Upper Peninsula.  Neebish Island is the place that our family has now come to love and appreciate.  

Turning off the interstate, I know many families Clinton Township will be asking another question:  “How come the roads up here are so nice and the roads at home are so bad?”

Open roadway

Workers patching potholes.

The answer to this question can be found in a state law called Public Act 51 of 1951.  When we pay gas taxes and our annual car registration, PA 51 serves as the distribution formula for these road dollars.  The main problem is, PA 51 distributes funding based on the length of roads, not the width.  As a result, rural counties receive the same amount of money per mile for their two-lane roads, as we receive for our five-lane roads.  

In addition to sending the money derived in Macomb County to the far reaches of our state, this 73-year old law has even more provisions that disadvantage communities like ours.  

A few years ago, I was asked to assemble and Chair the Establishing Quality Roadways Committee, intended to identify how roads are funded, how the dollars flow, and who is making the decisions on which road projects receive funding.  We brought in road experts from any place we could find them.  By understanding the process better, we believed we could better compete for the limited road dollars that are available, and utimately fix more of the roads in our community.  

We graphically mapped road funding.  As you can see in the illustration below, it’s complicated.  So the best way to understand this is to break it down.  This led to the creation of a roads presentation and a series of video segments that can be found on the Township’s website here and here.

Producing Results on the Main Roads

Often, it’s the work behind the scenes that can produce the most results.  Through a combination of a better planning method (created by our Establishing Quality Roadways Committee) and using federal infrastructure dollars to meet the required local community match, we’ve been able to pull more of the State and Federal dollars administered by Macomb County into Clinton Township, dramatically accelerating the pace of getting our main roads fixed.

 

From 2008 to 2022, the Township spent $9 million to secure $27 million in road funding from other sources.  

Investments in Clinton Township Roads from 2008-2022

From 2023 to present, the Township has come up with more than $6 million to bring in an additional $22 million in funding from other sources. 

Estimate Future Investments in Clinton Township Roads from 2023+

Main Roads Completed

  • Gratiot
  • Groesbeck
  • Hall Road
  • Garfield
  • Hayes
  • Clinton River Rd
  • Quinn Rd
  • Harper Bridge, over Spillway
  • Cass Ave. Bridge and Road

Road Projects On-Tap

  • Kelly, 14 Mile  to 15 Mile (in partnership with Fraser)
  • Kelly, 15 Mile to S. Nunnely
  • 14 MIle Rd (in partnership with Roseville)
  • 18 Mile Rd
  • Moravian, Garfield to Hayes
  • 15 Mile Rd
  • Harper, 15 Mile to Crocker

No More Arbitrary Decision Making

Prior to the work of our Committee, calls for projects issued by the County Department of Roads were met with a few elected officials and township staff getting together and making decisions based on arbitrary factors, like how many calls we received about a particular road.  Our committee recognized that this process needed to change, so we developed a scoring process, based on data, to determine which main roads should be fixed first. When there is a call for projects now, we look at the data to develop a score, considering factors like road conditions, traffic counts, crash data, asset management (water and sewer lines get repaired at the same time), flood risks, community assets, and equity formulas.

New road scoring system

 

We Desperately Need Subdivision Dollars

While I am proud of the transformative progress we’ve made competing for existing dollars for main roads, it cannot obscure the fact that almost 50% of the subdivision streets in our community are ranked poor to failed.  Nor can we overlook the fact that residents are often subjected to large car repair bills from our deteriorating subdivision streets.  

Under our state funding formula, PA 51, all public roads, including subdivision streets in Townships are under the jurisdiction of the Macomb County Department of Roads, and require the creation of a Special Assessment Districts where residents have to pay, based on the feet of frontage of their property on a given street.  

This is a burdensome process and an incredibly expensive proposition for most families. While it is unlikely that a solution can be found to completely absolve residents from paying at least a portion of these costs, we desperately need to find a way to lower this amount for residents.  The most important step is fixing PA 51 in a way that returns a fairer allocation of road dollars to where they actually originate. Making sure legislators know that this is an issue is one that their residents are paying attention to and demanding action on.  

Here’s How You Can Help!

After checking out our presentation or videos, we’ve made it easy for you to communicate directly with your legislators, by going to:  https://www.clintontownship.com/482/What-Can-I-Do.  There you can look up your State Rep. and State Senator, customize the form letter and with a few more clicks, send your thoughts to lawmakers.

As Clinton Township Treasurer, I’ve driven this issue at the local level and legislators are beginning to take notice.  As Supervisor, I’ll be in a higher profile position to continue raising awareness and pushing for the legislative changes we need to fix our roads. Your support for my campaign amplifies my voice on your behalf.  

So, please take every opportunity you can to enjoy your family and friends during the Independence Day Holiday. After a recharge, help me build a better community by engaging in the fight– to fix our roads and electing people who will put in the work each day.    

Happy Independence Day,

 

Paul Gieleghem

Happy Father’s Day!

Posted on by Carolyn Demates
Happy Father’s Day!

 

Although not always original, my father’s one-liners were ubiquitous.  Here’s a small sample:

  • -Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
  • -One oh sh__,… can wipe out a thousand ‘atta-boys.’ 
  • -When you have two kids, you can play man-defense.  When you have three, you have to switch to zone. 
  • -When you asked where someone was, his response was, “It wasn’t my turn to watch ‘em.” (have to admit, I still use this one on my kids)
  • -It doesn’t matter how fast you dig, make sure the shovel is full before you bring it up.  

He was a pipefitter by trade and worked for Michigan Consolidated Gas, digging holes and repairing gas lines.  As a kid, I marveled at his ‘popeye’ forearms, which were about the size of my shins.  He was gruff, had a booming voice, and a short fuse.  He was also calm in a crisis, compassionate, and loved to laugh and make others laugh.  

Father’s Day is a time to reflect on how the men in your life shaped you into the person you are today, and the awesome responsibility you take on in helping shape the next generation. 

Becoming a father changes you in ways you can’t fully appreciate until it happens.  You no longer live for you.  The births of my two daughters were the most inspiring and overwhelming moments of my life.  While I mostly credit their mother, I know I had a role to play in the strong, beautiful, and thoughtful young women they’ve become. 

I’m thankful for the opportunities they’ve had growing up here in Clinton Township and the education they’ve received in Chippewa Valley Schools, just as I am thankful for the opportunities provided to me by Clintondale Schools. 

As a community, we can work together to protect and expand opportunities for young people.  As the father of daughters, I want to make sure that women have an equal chance to compete and be successful along with the freedom to make important decisions about their health and the direction of their lives.   What I want for my children, I want for every child in our community.

So for the love, guidance and strength you provide and the sacrifices you make for your loved ones, I wish you the happiest of Father’ Day.

 

Paul Gieleghem

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted on by Carolyn Demates

“Hey Dad?”

“What’s Up?”

“Where’s Mom?”

This exchange occurred more than a few times in my household!  But, raising two, kind, intelligent, driven and thoughtful young women, Abigail (23) and Sophia (19), is the true joy of my life. 

My wife Sara, like so many Moms out there, deserves the lion’s share of the credit.  From the time of their birth, through adolescence, some awkward teen years, to their emergence as young adults, it amazes me that my wife, instinctively, knew their needs and how to meet them; perhaps not necessarily what they wanted, but always what they needed! 

Sara Harrod Gieleghem worked a corporate job when I met her, went back to school to earn a teaching degree, has served as a 4th grade teacher for the past 15 years, raised two daughters, and kept a family on track.  She did all of that and more, while I, far too often, was driving home from working in Lansing, attending board and committee meetings in the evening, and attending community functions on weekends. Sara is the center-point of our family and the beacon upon which two young ladies will navigate their future.

That’s what Mom’s do!

I grew up in Clinton Township and my Mom was home in the early years, before entering the workforce to make ends meet.  Her longest job, besides being a mother to my sisters and me, was working the midnight shift at the old St. Joe’s Hospital in Mount Clemens.  Now, as a parent myself, I truly appreciate the care that she provided and the sacrifices she made. 

So as a son of Clinton Township, please allow me to wish you the Happiest of Mother’s Day and thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made for your family!  

All of us are someone to somebody, so I hope you will share Mother’s Day greetings to all the Mom’s, Aunts, Grandmothers, and women who guide and nurture; and I know flowers and cards are always appreciated!

Have a Happy Mother’s Day,

Paul Gieleghem

I’m Running for Township Supervisor!

Posted on by Carolyn Demates

Last week, I filed to run for Clinton Township Supervisor.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had conversations with family, friends, trusted advisors, community leaders and supporters about where we are now as a community, where we think we want to be, and what we need to do to get there.    

 

They shared concerns about our community: the divisions that exist, the uncertainty we face, and the economic shifts that are all around us.  We talked about the need for a sense of direction, leadership, and a vision for the future that includes everyone!  

 

I believe we can build a better Clinton Township, focused on serving residents in all of our neighborhoods, from all age groups and with all abilities.      

 

This has been my focus as Treasurer.  Advancing issues like:  

  • Passing a comprehensive Ethics Ordinance that makes our government more transparent and accountable to those we serve. 
  • Lobbying for more road dollars and adopting a scoring system so our limited road dollars are appropriated based on objective scoring criteria like road conditions, traffic volumes and crash data instead of arbitrarily by elected officials.  
  • Helping to drive the development of an Inclusive Playground as a place to play for everyone, but especially the most vulnerable among us.” 
  • Securing grants and engaging residents to help plant trees in our neighborhood parks.
  • Getting houses built on township-owned properties so they can be sold to families and benefiting the community.   

As Supervisor, I’ll focus on economic redevelopment, transition the Township to address environmental change and work to build a prosperous community that everyone can be a part of.  

I’ve represented Clinton Township in the Michigan Legislature and on the County Board of Commissioners.  Those experiences provided me with a wide-angle lens on how to bring people together to solve problems and get things done in a responsible and collaborative way. 

I grew up in this community, graduated from Clintondale Community Schools, and earned degrees from Macomb Community College and Wayne State University.  My wife Sara and I chose Clinton Township as the community to raise our daughters and build a life together.  What I want for my family is what I want for all of the families in Clinton Township.  

I hope you’ll join me on this campaign.  With your support, we can build a better vision of the future for all of Clinton Township. 

Please feel free to call me at 586-945-7285, or send me an email at pg4supervisor24@gmail.com,  if I can answer any questions or to get plugged-in to our campaign!

With Appreciation, 

Paul Gieleghem

Photo by: Brian Sevald – brian@briansevald.com