Wolverine Lake council discusses joining Commerce Township pathway millage as January vote approaches

Wolverine Lake councilors spent the bulk of their December meeting reviewing Commerce Township’s proposed pathway plan and a possible millage that would help pay for new multiuse paths linking portions of the township and surrounding villages.

Council member Mark (speaking during liaison reports) summarized the Commerce presentation and the financial outline discussed by township staff and consultants. He said the proposed millage would be a 10-year levy and that presenters referenced ‘‘0.5 or 6’’ in describing the amount, and that the plan includes an estimated $745,000 price tag to build a boardwalk from Glengary Road down to Ethel Drive for the village side of the route. "If council votes for it, it's no longer commerce's millage, it's Wolverine Lakes and it's the council who got that in front of you," he said.

The plan discussed would build an 8-foot-wide pathway in phase one, with municipal-led proposals for further extensions in a later phase that are not guaranteed. Councilors and attendees noted possible grant sources that could offset local costs — including state funds and private foundations cited during the presentation — but also cautioned that phase-two construction would depend on future funding and local approvals.

Councilors raised several questions about what joining the millage would mean for village taxpayers. One speaker said she would clarify the mechanics at a Commerce meeting the next day, noting uncertainty about whether Wolverine Lake residents would be automatically subject to the millage if the township placed it on its ballot without the village board's approval. The presenter urged residents and council members to weigh the trade-offs between the initial project (which would connect local streets to larger corridors) and the uncertain benefits of later phases.

A councilor noted the pathway could improve access to the linear Airline Trail and nearby businesses and parks, but others warned of the limited local return relative to countywide benefits. The discussion laid out both engineering concerns — including the high cost and complexity of a boardwalk around guardrail curves — and political ones: voters in the broader area, not only Wolverine Lake residents, would also influence whether the millage passes.

The council did not vote on whether to place the millage on Wolverine Lake’s ballot. Members said they expected Commerce Township to host a public meeting in early January and to take a vote in January; the Wolverine Lake councilor who attended that meeting said he would report back to this body to help decide whether the village should act locally.