Leland Township unanimously approved and authorized the return of pre-payments totaling $40,000 for the Sunset Shores community drain field project at its regular meeting Monday evening.
The initial action was to return pre-payment to Sunset Shores residents Preston and Colleen Moose, but after amending the motion, the board agreed to authorize the return of all pre-payments for other property owners who may request and want to do the same.
Leland Township Supervisor Clint Mitchell said the Mooses’ are one of six property owners that pre-paid for the project. With the township facing a pending lawsuit over the community drain field, Mitchell said the project is taking a bit longer than they had hoped.
“There’s been a lawsuit filed in circuit court now… they (the Moose property owners) would be more comfortable having that $40,000 in their own account rather than the township’s,” Mitchell said at the township meeting Monday. “Along with this, we will need to have a special meeting in the next week or two to kind of go over where we are in this process. We’ve already had to adjust the budget somewhat to pay for some things that popped up in this fiscal year and also some items that would have been paid for by the bond that may not wait that long.”
In April, more than 20 property owners in the Sunset Shores Special Assessment District (SAD) filed suit against the township and sought a restraining order to prevent the sale of bonds for the project. According to the lawsuit, the SAD was formed to address the failure of private sewer systems along the northeast shore of North Lake Leelanau. The plaintiffs claim that in November 2024, the township board met and approved a resolution establishing the assessment district without notice.
In Mitchell’s April superintendent report, he said that the Circuit Court hearing regarding Sunset Shores resulted in a temporary injunction, preventing the township from moving forward on the project until a ruling on either the pending Michigan Tax Tribunal cases or the circuit court lawsuit.
The cost of the project has significantly increased since first being approved in 2017. The latest projected cost is $1,280,000, a slight increase from the last estimate provided in December 2024 of $1,202,532. Based on estimates from Jozwiak Consulting, the 2024 cost of $1,202,532 was an increase of 19% from the 2021 total cost estimate of $1,012,700.
