St. Clair Shores sets second public hearing for Benjamin Statler Canal dredge, creates special assessment district

St. Clair Shores council members voted Oct. 20 to advance a proposal to form a special assessment district to pay for a 2,500-cubic-yard dredge and a 150-foot jetty/seawall replacement on the Benjamin Statler Canal and set a second public hearing for Nov. 17.

Residents who live along the canal told council the waterway has filled with sand, leaving many areas less than 2 feet deep and preventing barges from entering to conduct dredging. "The seawall looks like Swiss cheese right now," resident Mark Odarek said during the hearing, and he said petitioners have collected signatures from more than three-quarters of affected homeowners and have gathered over half the required deposit toward the project.

City staff told council the project’s total remained at $255,000 between two petition versions; only how costs were apportioned changed. Staff emphasized the city does not set project scope or choose contractors for a neighborhood-funded special assessment project; the neighborhood association or benefit district arranges those details and provides a 50% deposit before the city collects assessments.

Council members discussed the petition counts and legal allocation methods. "Case law in Michigan indicates that there does not need to be one particular way to allocate the payments," counsel noted, adding allocations can be per parcel or by lineal feet so long as they are fair and equitable. Miss Burgess moved to adopt the resolution creating the special assessment district and to set a public hearing on Nov. 17; the motion passed.

The Nov. 17 hearing will again open the floor for objections about individual assessments; after that hearing the city will finalize the assessment roll and forward it to the assessor for collection. The petitioner, Mark Odarek, told council he and neighbors are prepared to deposit the neighborhood’s 50% up-front requirement once council acts.