Brevort Township will work with U.P. Engineers in pressuring the bankrupt Frontier Insurance Company to settle a long-standing dispute regarding the township's sewer system.

Relations between U.P. Engineers and the township have been strained since the sewer system was built in 2001. It was designed to stop residential septic systems from polluting Brevort Lake, but the sewer has been plagued by gas odor, grinder pumps set too low in the ground, and electrical problems.

Many of the sewer's problems have been solved, but U.P. Engineers says the township still owes at least $80,000. The board claims it owes nothing and counters that there is still work to be done. Rather than fighting each other, however, the two entities have agreed to compile information requested by Frontier, which insured the project and went bankrupt before the sewer system was completed. The company reorganizing and is protected from litigation by the state of New York.

Brevort Township and U.P. Engineers hope to reach a settlement, Township Supervisor Ed Serwach said at the board's regular meeting Tuesday, August 1, although he acknowledged they may receive only a portion of their money. Relations between all three parties are taking place in a "cooperative atmosphere," he added. Frontier has requested specific information concerning expenditures on the system.

In related news, a grinder pump at a business broke Friday, July 28, but was repaired by township employees Hank Michaels and Ronald Peterka. They have recently completed Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) training and are now certified lagoon operators. The township has required the oversight of St. Ignace Public Works Director Les Therrian, and Brevort Township will continue to consult with Mr. Therrian, Mr. Serwach said, but now the township's staff is in a better position to help maintain the system.

At the township meeting, Mr. Serwach called for applause from the public. "They've done a tremendous job," he said.

In other business, future mud runs in the township will be coordinated by a different organization, and they will be located in a different place than the summer's two previous events.

Steve DuFresne of St. Ignace, speaking on behalf of the Mackinac County Sportsmen's Off-Road Vehicle Association (MCSORVA), said the groups wants to concentrate on other projects and will likely turn future events over to the Mackinac Mudders, who organized truck competition at the mud runs this year. MSCORVA would administer only the all-terrain vehicle portion of the mud runs.

To fulfill its original agreement, the group must fill in the mud pit, level the area, and plant grass. Moran resident Boyd Bigger suggested that restoration of the grounds should be completed before summer residents leave the area.

Mackinac Mudders may request use of township grounds for a third mud run in September, Mr. DuFresne added, but suggested a new and, possibly, a permanent track be built closer to M123.

Mr. Serwach said Moran is likely to continue hosting at least two mud runs each year. Trustee Bernie Sorrels said the events "brought a lot of communities together."

Public complaints that the Mackinac County Road Commission has been removing large amounts of gravel from a pile owned by Brevort Township have been proven false, Mr. Serwach said. At the meeting, residents notified the board that trucks have been hauling gravel "night and day" from a pile off Blackpoint Road for use on Belonga Road in St. Ignace Township.

Craig Kelso, manager of the County Road Commission, said the gravel belongs to several townships and the commission has a method to determine how much is owned by each municipality.

The days of the old Bradford building in Moran are numbered, Mr. Serwach said. The township has secured a grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to demolish the building and has consulted with engineer Brian Olsen of R.S. Scott and Associates in St. Ignace

for the final details. Mr. Olsen will help the township develop a bid package. Mr. Serwach said the project should be completed by the end of August.

The 7 p.m. board meeting was held in natural light provided by the community center's basement windows, prompting trustee Vern Erskine to make a motion to fix the lights in the basement, drawing attention once again to the run-down condition of the community center.