Plans to move forward with the Sunset Shores Special Assessment District (SAD) project will continue after the Leland Township board unanimously approved 5-0 resolution R-24-15 to confirm the Sunset Shores SAD roll at its regular meeting Monday.
The board held a public hearing on the Sunset Shores SAD roll, with more than 20 people in attendance both for and against the project, before the action was made to approve it at its regular meeting. The roll includes all properties that would benefit by the proposed community drain field project within the specific SAD for the purpose of assessing a portion of the costs of the construction.
Leland Township initially approved the creation of a SAD in 2017, and the project has struggled to move forward since due to various factors. Total costs of the delayed project have increased quite a bit since first being introduced in 2017. However, the latest projected cost is $1,280,000, which includes all fees and costs of issuance of the bonds, increased slightly from the last estimate provided in December 2024 of $1,202,532. Based on estimates from Jozwiak Consulting, the 2024 cost of $1,202,532 was an increase of 19% from the 2021 total cost estimate of $1,012,700.
On the most recent Sunset Shores SAD roll provided, there are 32 parcels recorded, with the cost per property owner estimated at $40,000. The township expects to reimburse itself for capital expenditures with proceeds of bonds issued to pay all or a portion of the cost of the project.
Those increased costs were the reason many members of the public, particularly those living within the proposed Sunset Shores SAD district, showed up Monday for the public hearing. While the hearing was intended for reviewing the roll and any objections to it, residents used the opportunity to make their voices heard regarding their concerns and disappointment in the process and what’s to come next.
Jim and Madeline Houdek, Sunset Shores property owners, were one of the first members of the public to speak at the hearing against the project costs. Madeline questioned the lack of communication regarding the plans and how much the costs have risen in just the last couple months.
“Now we’re looking at the letter we got from (Clerk Brookfield) in December was $1.202 (million), and the letter I just picked up tonight was $1.280 (million). How did it go to $80,000 in just 30 days?” Madeline said during the public hearing. “There’s a pattern happening here that it’s just escalating higher and higher and higher every time things are coming to fruition. It’s very confusing yet frustrating as a taxpayer, and a lot of us, sorry if I’m speaking for everybody, feel that this is being shoved through… We ask you to rest this and let’s see if we can come up with something more comparable.”
Beth Anne Beattie, another Sunset Shores property owner and part-time resident for the last 23 years, shared similar thoughts, explaining that the mechanical system for the SAD is “oversized, and it’s not going to have the usage that it needs to maintain.”
“There’s no teeth for us, you guys (the board) have the regulatory ability to put that on tax rolls…” Madeline said. “The cost when we were approached with it was between $350-500,000, it’s almost $1.3 million, it is completely overpriced and out of our price range. For that reason, we’re asking you either stop it or we reset till EGLE can figure something out, but this system is entirely too big and is unwarranted.”
Leland Township Supervisor Clint Mitchell said that the board has a timeframe to get things approved for the Sunset Shores project by March 15, and if there are any appeals made in the meantime, they would deal with it as it comes. According to the township’s hearing notice, the owner or any person having any interest in the real property who protests in person or in writing at the hearing may file a written appeal of the special assessment with the Michigan Tax Tribunal within 30 days after the confirmation of the special assessment roll.
