By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


Three Livingston County projects have been included among ten submitted by Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin for possible federal funding.

Last week, the 8th District Democrat said that of the 58 projects that had been submitted to her office from across the district, she was recommending ten of them for submission to the House Appropriations Committee for possible inclusion in the annual spending bill Congress will vote on for the upcoming fiscal year.

Among the ten projects is a $10.5 million proposal from the Brighton Area Fire Authority to fund construction of a Headquarters facility. In its application, the Authority noted that the current building ‘no longer meets the needs of the Brighton community’ due to its age and needed repairs.

The Village of Pinckney also submitted a $2 million request for a multi-use pathway and connector project, which Village President Rebecca Foster says would run along Dexter-Pinckney Road from the Lakeland Trail to Pinckney High School and then on to St. Mary’s Catholic School. The submission states that the project has been a “community priority for years, primarily due to the lack of a safe walkway” and “high risk to pedestrians, bicyclists, and to vehicles as well” but also because of the “health benefits of walkable communities.”

The third project would be in the Village of Fowlerville, which submitted a $6 million proposal for a Water Treatment/Radium Removal Plant that would address ‘current poor water quality, greatly reduced levels of radium and improve the community’s quality of life.’ The project has what was described as “broad community support” including from the Livingston County Economic Development Council, the Fowlerville Downtown Development Authority and a unanimous resolution from the village council.

Slotkin was also able to include a list an additional 10 transportation infrastructure projects in the 8th district, that could be funded by the Surface Transportation bill. One of those is in Livingston County and it’s a dual request that totals just under $300,000 from the Livingston Essential Transportation Service (LETS) to purchase replacement vehicles for bus service along West Grand River Avenue.

A press release from Slotkin’s office says that the appropriations process can be lengthy, and while funding cannot be guaranteed, she will “fiercely advocate” for federal funding for Michigan’s 8th district.