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Burton council votes to withdraw from Belsey–Bristol roundabout after packed public comment
Summary
After sustained public opposition and multiple residents warning a roundabout would harm a family-owned store, Burton City Council added an agenda item and voted to notify authorities that the city will withdraw from the Genesee County TIP roundabout project at Belsey and Bristol, cancelling the contract.
The Burton City Council voted to cancel the city’s participation in the Genesee County TIP roundabout project at Belsey and Bristol after an evening of public testimony and council discussion.
Residents turned out in force to oppose the plan and urged the council to protect Nearing’s, a family-owned neighborhood grocery that has operated at the intersection for about 65 years. Katie Nearing told the council, “We’re building a roundabout for a place that had 1 accident in 2023,” and said she worried the project would put her business in jeopardy.
The council first agreed to add discussion of the roundabout to the agenda, then took public comment. Speakers — many of them longtime residents and small-business patrons — raised similar objections: that the corner is not congested, lighting and traffic counts do not justify a roundabout, and construction would take property and disrupt a business with slim profit margins. Wusan Slinger cited a 2023 MDOT‑sponsored review of roundabout performance and safety, telling the council a conversion at this intersection would not meet the study’s criteria and urging a “no” vote to save taxpayers “over $280,000.”
Council discussion focused on process as well as substance. Several council members said they regretted that public hearings and notification had not happened earlier in a more visible way; one member said the public hearing had been held at the end of the process and that many residents had not received mailed notices. During discussion a council member said they planned to oppose the project, and a separate member said they would support cancelling it; the roll-call vote recorded for Item 6 shows all present council members voting to cancel the city’s participation in the TIP project.
The motion on Item 6, moved by Councilwoman Hixson, directed the mayor to notify the appropriate authorities that Burton would request removal from participation in the Genesee County TIP program for the Belsey–Bristol roundabout and cancel the contract. The clerk called the roll: Heffner Yes; Hixson Yes; Wines Yes; Hull Yes; Fenner Yes; Miller Yes. The motion carried.
The council also approved several other routine agenda items earlier in the meeting, including engineering grants and contract awards. The meeting adjourned with the next regular meeting scheduled for July 21, 2025, at 7 p.m.
What happened and why it matters: The council’s decision ends the town’s immediate participation in a $280,000 project that residents and local business owners said would harm a multigenerational, neighborhood grocer and was not justified by local crash data. Council members cited concerns about the timing and visibility of public engagement, and the action reflects a political response to concentrated neighborhood opposition.
The council’s minutes note that construction on other local roads remains delayed by about two weeks; the city also announced a community blood drive scheduled for July 18 at Fire Station 2.
