Water Damage Restoration in Flint, MI

MUNDY TWP, MI - Costco is set to open the doors to its first-ever location in Genesee County this week.

The 152,000-square-foot facility located at 6200 LaFontaine Way, just off U.S. 23 and West Hill Road, will open at 8 a.m. on Thursday, March 13.

Costco shoppers in the area had to drive considerable distances - 31 miles to Auburn Hills, 32 miles to Green Oak Township, or 45 miles to East Lansing - prior to the new location.

“We’re excited to bring Costco’s unbeatable prices to Genesee County,” said Patrick Mulholland, the warehouse’s manager, in a statement. “We’ve heard from the community for years about the desire for a location here, and we’re proud to make an impact on the local job market. We look forward to becoming an integral part of the community.”

Mundy Township supervisor Jennifer Arrand Stainton said the Costco will employ about 170 to 190 employees.

“Hopefully that will help tremendously with our economic achievement,” Stainton said. “It’s good for the economy.”

She likened Hill Road to Miller Road in Flint Township, expressing her desire to see more restaurants and businesses develop along the corridor. As supervisor, this is one of her top priorities.

She noted that the area near Costco on Hill Road features a sizable parcel of land with existing water, sewer, and electricity infrastructure, making it an appealing location for potential businesses.

“Personally, I’d like to see a Dave & Busters, a place that’s family friendly,” she said. “We don’t need fast food places, we have enough of those. But good restaurants that people can enjoy. I think we’re going to start seeing other people approaching our township.”

The new Costco location will offer a wide array of brand-name products, private-label items, and services.

It includes specialty departments such as a gas station, fresh bakery, meat and produce sections, a deli with rotisserie chicken, optical and pharmacy departments, a tire center, a hearing aid center, and a food court.

Additionally, Costco members can take advantage of services like Travel and Auto Buying.

The Genesee County facility marks Costco’s 18th location in Michigan, with a total of 620 warehouses across the United States and 899 globally.

For more details about Costco and the new location, visit Costco.com.

FLINT, MI -- Priority Waste plans to create 100 permanent jobs in Flint by building a $40-million materials recovery facility, an operation designed to sort and prepare recyclable materials from five counties for resale.

Priority, which collects household trash and recyclables from curbsides in Flint, Fenton and Davison, plans to build the nearly 68,000-square-foot complex at Dort Highway and Pierson Road.

Work on the facility is expected to begin later this year, supporting another 150 temporary construction jobs.

Priority Chief Executive Officer Todd Stamper mentioned the development during a news conference in Flint in February when the company rolled out eight new automated service trucks for Flint pickup routes.

The MRF development is expected to initially process more than 25,000 tons of plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles and jars, cardboard, aluminum and paper.

The Genesee County Board of Commissioners is expected to consider a letter of support for the project on Wednesday, March 12.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley has already endorsed the facility, calling it a “a game-changer for our city and county” with the potential to position the city as a leader in environmental sustainability.

“This isn’t just about recycling,” Neeley said in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal. “It’s about investing in our future, creating opportunities for our people, and proving through prayer, planning and partnership we have done so much and will accomplish more.”

Support from the city and county is necessary for the facility, which requires a finding of consistency with local materials management plans by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Priority spokesman Matt Allen said in a statement to the Journal that Flint’s new recycling and trash curbside carts and automated trucks will supply part of the stream of materials at a planned transfer station and the MRF.

The facility will also service waste from five surrounding counties, according to materials provided to county commissioners ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.

A resolution being considered by commissioners says the MRF and transfer station are expected to make up the 7.25-acre footprint of the complex and that household and commercial waste will be processed.

“A modern MRF and processing and transfer facility will provide Genesee County with a much-needed local solution for recycling, reducing landfill waste, and promoting circular economy,” a draft letter of support says. “By processing recyclable materials more efficiently, the facility will help to decrease environmental pollution, conserve natural resources, and support Genesee County’s priority of healthy, livable, and safe communities through environmental stewardship.”

MRFs use a combination of machines, equipment, and manual labor to sort materials for sale to end buyers.

The facilities unload and sort material from collection vehicles, then reloads waste materials on larger trucks for transport to landfills.

“Paired with (Neeley’s letter of support), Genesee County’s written support will allow Priority Waste to move to the next necessary steps of getting proper permitting and approval of the development through EGLE,” county Planning Commission Director Derek Bradshaw said in a staff review for commissioners.

Clinton Township-based Priority took over Flint’s curbside waste pickups in September 2021, agreeing to a three-year, $19.7-million contract to handle the job. The contract was later extended to run through mid-2028.

The company replaced Republic Services as the city’s waste contractor and also has contracts with Fenton, Davison, Holly, Montrose, and Swartz Creek in the county. It also serves portions of Saginaw, Shiawassee and Tuscola counties.

FLINT, MI – Flint is receiving a $472,000 grant from the state of Michigan to make homes safer and more accessible for local renters with disabilities.

The funds were recently awarded to the Flint Community Services Division through the MI Neighborhood program which is administered by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).

The grant will fund repairs and updates for renters with accessibility needs, according to a statement made by the city on Thursday, March 6.

“This grant is a significant step in improving housing accessibility for Flint renters,” Ashly Harris, Deputy Director of Community Services, said. “By investing in these updates, we are ensuring that residents with mobility challenges or other accessibility needs can live more safely and independently in their homes.”

To be eligible for these improvements, renters must reside within the city of Flint, have documented accessibility needs and fall within 120% of the Area Median Income, according to the city.

Renters must also ensure that their property is insured, has functioning utilities, and is without any outstanding tax, mortgage, or code violations.

Additionally, applicants must have a written and signed lease guaranteeing that their rent will not increase for at least a year after rehabilitation.

According to the city, available updates and improvements to eligible homes include the following:

To begin the application process for improvements, send an email to communitydevelopment@cityofflint.com and submit any required documents.

Eligible renters applying for improvements will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the city.

Applicants in need of accommodations, modifications, translation, interpretation, or other services can email the Michigan State Housing Development Authority at MSHDA-NDD@MICHIGAN.GOV.

Updates regarding the rental home improvement initiative will be available on the city’s Community Services page at cityofflint.com.

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FLINT, MI -- Proposals from three groups that offer free food distribution in Flint are on hold with City Council members, who haven’t been able to agree on which should receive federal stimulus funds.

Council members left a committee meeting on Wednesday, March 5, without moving resolutions to provide $50,000 each to two missions on the city’s east side.

Last week, the council also couldn’t agree on $50,000 in funding for St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church and Community Outreach Center for its food distribution program on the city’s north side.

Each of the three groups is seeking American Rescue Plan Act funds that the city earmarked to provide food access.

Supporters of the St. Mark funding said Wednesday that they can’t support subsequent food access proposals when some of their colleagues denied funding for St. Mark.

“I appreciate everything you guys are doing, but I will not be voting on any resolutions as far as food access until we vote to approve St. Marks,” said 5th Ward Councilwoman Jerri Winfrey-Carter.

“We have a food crisis throughout this whole city. If we can’t satisfy the food center on the north end as well as the food center on the east side ... I just can’t,” Winfrey-Carter said.

Wednesday’s proposals called for funding operations at the Eastside Compassionate Mission Center and Franklin Avenue Mission.

4th Ward Councilwoman Judy Priestley called the council stalemate ridiculous and said her ward, home to some of the poorest people in Flint, continues to be shortchanged in City Hall.

“The 4th Ward is the ward that gets the least of everything,' Priestley told her colleagues. ”I’m here fighting for my residents. I have people living in homes that go up in flames because they are trying to keep warm ...

“The 4th Ward deserves food ... housing ... senior centers (and city services), and we get nothing,” the councilwoman said.

The Rev. Jeff Rolfe, director of the Eastside center, said his organization provides at least 1,700 hot lunches monthly and hands out at least 100 baskets of food each week.

The mission also offers clothing, haircuts, shower, and laundry facilities.

Brian Baughman, executive director of Franklin Avenue, said his group serves the 3rd and 4th wards of Flint.

The group serves more than 100 dinners twice weekly and provides services and limited delivery to those who are homebound. It also provides food distribution through a marketplace.

FLINT, MI -- The city of Flint will pay more in water and sewer charges starting July 1, giving officials just a few months to decide how much -- if any -- of the wholesale price hike gets passed on to residents.

Flint’s supplier, the Great Lakes Water Authority, approved a systemwide 5.9% water rate increase and a 4.5% sewer rate hike at its meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Specific charges for Flint, which has had historically higher than average rates partly because of the distance from Lake Huron and the city, weren’t immediately released by GLWA.

A spokeswoman for Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley did not immediately comment to MLive-The Flint Journal on the city’s plans on Thursday, Feb. 27.

But Neeley has advocated against pass-through water rate increases since the City Council agreed in 2017 to a 30-year contract to remain a GLWA customer amid the fallout of the city’s water crisis.

The mayor -- who opposed the long-term contract while serving as a state representative -- has said the GLWA deal needs to be revisited.

Late last year, he told the Journal that the contract amounts to “an undue financial stress on the residents in the city of Flint.”

As Flint has paid more for wholesale water, every other community that buys public water in Genesee County from the Karegnondi Water Authority hasn’t had a single price increase since June 2016.

Flint Councilwoman Judy Priestly, who chairs the council’s Finance Committee, said on Thursday the city can’t continue to pay higher wholesale rates without adjusting the rates paid by residents and businesses.

“We’re at a point where we have no options,” Priestley said. “How it would be structured, I don’t know. It’s one of the things that we need to discuss.”

“Our costs have gone up, and we have fewer people sharing in the cost,” the 4th Ward council member said.

Flint is only remaining GLWA customer in Genesee County. Other communities buying public water are customers of the KWA.

Flint also buys 500,000 gallons of treated KWA water from the county each day.

The county serves as Flint’s backup water supplier and the daily withdrawals -- permitted in the GLWA contract -- are designed to ensure the reliability and freshness of that county water.

KWA is the public authority that was created by Genesee County and the city of Flint to replace water purchases from the city of Detroit.

The Detroit water system was transformed to the GLWA on Jan. 1, 2016, when the city of Detroit began leasing regional water and sewer infrastructure, as well as water and wastewater treatment facilities, to GLWA.

Flint left the Detroit system in April 2014 as it waited for the KWA pipeline to be completed.

For 17 months, the city used the Flint River as its drinking water source but the corrosive river water wasn’t treated properly by the city’s treatment plant, leading to the water crisis.

GLWA said in a news release that its overall charge increases are designed to address multiple years of double-digit increases in non-discretionary expenses such as chemicals, utilities, and construction materials.

The authority said the cost of chlorine alone has risen approximately 40% in the last 10 years.

GLWA’s budget also reflects the cost of a new corrosion control program at an estimated yearly cost of $6 million and the cost of a flood mitigation study in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The cost of treated water from GLWA is just one element of what Flint residents and businesses pay for water.

Each municipality adds its own costs associated with maintaining local water systems to customer bills.

GLWA provides treated water to nearly 40% of public water customers in Michigan. The authority is comprised of 88 member partner communities.

GLWA’s board includes one representative each from Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties, two representatives from the city of Detroit, and one appointed by the governor.

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