Brevort Township approved spending up to $15,000 for a fire hall design at a special meeting Saturday, May 17, however, the township has not decided whether to place its new hall on M-123 or on Church Street. Both sites are in Moran.

The township is working with Brian Olsen of R.S. Scott and Associates on a design for a 60-foot by 60-foot building. The total cost, estimated at $363,000, includes design, engineering, bid preparation, inspections, a well, sewer installation, and a contingency fund of $33,000 for unanticipated expenses, reported Township Clerk Sewer Stelzer at the Tuesday, June 3, meeting of the Brevort Township Board of Trustees.

At this point, the township board favors the Church Street parcel across from the township community center, but if needed land improvements prove too expensive, the township may build on its parcel beside the highway, said Township Supervisor Ed Serwach.

The township board will call a special meeting regarding new developments in its case against Frontier Insurance Company of New York, which was hired to insure the township's sewer project in 1999 but was seized in 2001 by the state of New York Insurance Department after suffering heavy losses.

There is now a procedure to submit the township's claims in lieu of the normal litigation procedure, according to Frontier's attorney, Chris DuBois. The board will study the matter and decide a course of action, which may include hiring a law firm from Detroit that frequently deals with New York cases. The idea is to seek a firm that will work on a contingency basis, preventing the township from incurring heavy debt, Mr. Serwach said.

The company offered an $8,000 settlement for the more than $400,000 case in January. It was refused by the township, a decision supported by the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners.

Attorney Charles Brown, working on behalf of Brevort Township, investigated a Michigan fund designed to compensate parties who lose money in situations of this kind. Mr. Brown reported that the state would not reimburse any government agencies or pay liquidated damages.

In this case, liquidated damages were key, and most parties involved were government agencies, including the township, the Mackinac County Road Commission, and the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners, Mr. Serwach said.

After Frontier claimed it had closed its file on the Brevort Township sewer, Mr. Brown disputed the process, bringing the board to the point it is at today, Mr. Serwach said.

To replace a culvert on Black Point Road, the board voted to pay $6,000, which will be matched by the county road commission. To control dust on roads, the board voted to pay $9,500 to apply brine twice this summer. The township requested the first application as soon as possible from the Mackinac County Road Commission. The second will be applied the first week of August.

Mr. Serwach will investigate a $30,000 contract signed by the township and the road commission to apply gravel to Langdon and Wartella roads, chip seal to Francis Street, and aggregate and chip seal to Charlotte Street. David Craig of the township road committee re - ported that the road commission has requested that the township prioritize the jobs, owing to the inability to complete work on all of the roads for $30,000.

The report concerned Mrs. Stel - zer and Township Treasurer Dan Litzner. The contract is binding and includes a provision for the township to pay 10% more or less of the $30,000, depending on the final cost, Mr. Litzner said.

"With the agreement less than a month old, the inability to fulfill the agreement at the estimated cost is frustrating," Mrs. Stelzer told The St. Ignace News.

After debate, the board will stand behind its decision to double-chip seal 1.25 miles of Black Point Road. Road committee members pointed to the premature deterioration of East Lake Road, and suggested chip seal will not hold up on Black Point.

The double-chip seal is a new product that was not used on East Lake. It is being applied to a betterprepared road, and the board intends to see if it works, Mr. Serwach told The St. Ignace News.

Mr. Serwach will consult the road commission to request that load limits be placed on Black Point Road, owing to a potential timber sale in the area that may increase heavy-equipment traffic on the route.