Board terminates its end of wastewater plant agreement

The almost year-long debacle concerning the construction of a sewage plant in Ontwa Township came to whimpering end Thursday.

The Cass County Board of Commissioners officially terminated their end of the contract allowing the project move forward during its meeting that evening, revoking the request for a discharge permit application from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

The resolution was brought forward to the board by Commissioner Roseann Marchetti, and passed by a unanimous vote.

The Ontwa Township board had already moved to end its end of the joint-contract the prior week, during their meeting on Nov. 11.

New Township Supervisor John Bossler spoke to the commissioners during their committee of the whole meeting, requesting that they pass the resolution during the vote later that evening.

“Because the request for the [DEQ] permit was a joint-application between the township and the county, we request that you help us in canceling that application,” Bossler said.

Controversy has surrounded the proposed $7.59 million facility for months, inside both the township and county chambers. Animosity over the passage and management of the project resulted in the successful recall of four of the seven members of the township board of trustees during the election earlier this month

The board of commissioners was also pulled into the debate during the summer. After signing off on the sewage plant in March, the commissioners voted to place a moratorium on the project in August.

After reading off the language of the resolution to her fellow commissioners, Marchetti said that board should have done a more thorough job vetting the project before approving of it.

“What is it that this board is going to do to make something like this does not happen again?” Marchetti asked. “I think that’s a discussion this board needs to have, and the sooner we have it, the better.”