The Leland Township Board unanimously amended the Brownfield Redevelopment plan submitted by Varley-Kelly Properties to include a low-interest loan for cleaning up the demolition of the Leland courthouse property.

At its meeting Monday, the board reviewed a request from Bob Koltuniak of Otwell-Mawby, P.C., the firm guiding Varley-Kelly through the Brownfield Redevelopment process, to include $300,000 in the proposed plan to pay for the demolition and cleanup of asbestos and lead paint on the county-owned property in Leland.

The County Board was expected to recommend amending the Varley-Kelly request at its executive committee meeting yesterday. The County Board will hold a public hearing on the Brownfield request at 7 p.m. on Tuesday as part of its regular meeting.

Koltuniak said the demolition cost would be $200,000, with $100,000 going toward asbestos and lead abatement. That would increase the estimated total cost of activities to be reimbursed through tax increment financing to $1,308,125.

Under the proposed redevelopment plan, no local government bodies, including the township or county, would receive property tax revenues from the Varley-Kelly planned unit development for up to 17 years. During that time the property owners would still pay property taxes, but revenues would be diverted for paying off grants and loans provided through the county Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to clean up the Leland courthouse property.

Koltuniak said before December 2007, the demolition and asbestos and lead clean-ups costs were not eligible for Brownfield Redevelopment proposals. The state Legislature voted to allow the costs to be included in a low-interest loan program.

The deadline for Jim Varley and Gene Kelly to complete the purchase of the county property is April 1. They have proposed a 22- to 25-unit residential development.

In a related matter, supervisor Harry Larkin said the township had received an appraisal of its riverfront property that could become part of the Varley-Kelly project. Larkin said the almost 50-foot-long property is valued at $125,000. The township has forwarded the information to the developers.