After a consulting firm presented an in-depth, multi-faceted sewer system proposal a week ago, the Clark Township board elected at a Thursday, April 1, special meeting not to get caught up in the swiftly moving current that was pushing them to make decisions in time for a May 1 grant application deadline.

Board members said there is just too much about each phase of the proposed project that they don't know and that they would rather proceed with caution, even if it means missing out on a United States Department of Agriculture/Rural Development Utilities Grant.

“This is such a big thing and we've only had a week to digest it,” said Township Clerk Mike Miller. “I will not be pushed into a corner on an issue this big. If it came down to a vote right now, without being able to properly research these issues, I'd vote no.”

Randy Scott, director of Upper Peninsula operations with the consulting firm C2AE, who urged the board to come up with an idea or determination as to the size of the project, called the discussion leading up to the decision to slow down the “best workshop” he's seen on these issues in quite some time.

Another concern, expressed by Trustee Mike Lofdahl and echoed across the board, was that the project was branching away from what initially motivated it, namely maintaining and replacing grinder pumps and other equipment as the components wear out.

“It seems like we've taken what seemed to be a maintenance problem with some of our equipment and turned it into an entire system overhaul,” Mr. Lufdahl said. “The other two issues, with the grinder pump and pump station replacements, we actually have to approach because they are maintenance issues. The treatment alternatives are more of a preference thing.”

As part of the proposal, the consulting firm presented three options for treatment, including optimizing the current process, which releases treated water into the bay twice a year. The other two options were a land application, which sprays treated water onto a nearby crop, or effluent filtration, which continuously discharges treated water into the bay.

The presentation also included the consultant's best estimates of when grinder pumps are due to fail. At the meeting, Mr. Scott recognized that staying current with equipment repair and replacement remains the township's largest concern, while reiterating that the bulk of the project's price tag is still found in the replacement of grinder pumps and pumping stations. C2AE representatives contend that a high percentage of grinder pumps must be replaced within the next three to five years.

“Grinder pumps have a definite life,” Mr. Scott said. “Some of the early grinder pumps are already coming to the end of their life cycle.”

To have contractors replace 80% of the grinders would cost $4.82 million, while a 50% replacement plan would run $3.42 million. These two options, of which C2AE recommended the latter, were proposed because some grinders have already been replaced.

Before accepting either of these proposals, township treasurer Katie Carpenter suggested further research should be conducted. Part of this process would include digging up a representative sample of the nearly 300 grinder pumps that haven't been looked at, rather than simply assuming they are in bad shape because C2AE's proposal does.

As board members sifted through a list of all the additional equipment recommended in C2AE's proposal to replace pump stations, they found additional places where they could save money.

Since the proposal is to build an infrastructure to last 40 years, some of the equipment that could be purchased outright is instead financed for the duration.

“I felt like there were things in there that didn't need to be financed for 40 years,” Mrs. Carpenter said.

More discussion about the proposals and the scope of the project will take place at the Clark Township board's next regular meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 15, at 7 p.m. at the township hall.