By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


The Village of Pinckney is applying for a grant that will help fund improvements to one of its roads.

At last week’s meeting, Pinckney Village Council authorized submitting a fiscal year 2022 Category B Small Cities and Villages grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation for work on North Howell Street. Village President Rebecca Foster said they’ve tried for this before, but didn’t score enough points to get the funding. It was recommended that they add a preventative maintenance plan to their submittal which will help with the point-scoring.

The maximum grant award is $250,000 with a 50% minimum cash match. Village Council approved a match of $125,000 with another $50,000 for the preventative maintenance plan. Village Council member Linda Lavey suggested that such a plan should probably be provided with all other street projects going forward. Council discussed trouble with sewer lines in the area, in particular ones that run under an unpaved parking lot. If awarded, the improvements will repair the lines under the road, but not into the lot, which is privately owned.

The village has until June 1st to formally submit for the project which needs to be completed by the end of the 2022 construction season.