Waterford Today

Several Oakland County projects ranging from water system improvements to expansion of the Oakland County Farmer's Market will move forward thanks to Sen. Debbie Stabenow and U.S. Reps. Brenda Lawrence, Elissa Slotkin, and Haley Stevens. Congress approved nearly $9 million in Community Project Funding for Oakland County today when it passed the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill as one its final acts this session.

"These much-needed funds will help our communities start the work we need to do to fix our infrastructure and prepare for climate change," Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash said. "There is still much to be done in the coming years and we need our congressional delegation to continue to help our communities in this effort."

Here is a list of the Community Project Funding:

• $4 million for the Evergreen Farmington Pump Station Improvement project, requested by Stabenow. Funding will be used to improve the sanitary sewer system in Oakland County, reducing combined sewer overflows and ensuring clean water.
  
  
• $2.269 million for Oakland County Farmer's Market, requested by Stabenow and Stevens. Funding will help expand the farmer's market to increase capacity, provide community spaces, and establish business incubator services for local food businesses.
  
  
  • "The Oakland County Farmer's Market is one of the oldest producer-only markets in Michigan," Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission Chairman Gary McGillivray said. "We're thrilled to have this funding to renovate and modernize this facility so we can provide even more nutrition, health and wellness activities for our residents and local farmers."
    
    
• $1.6 million for the Royal Oak Township Water System Improvements project, requested by Lawrence. This funding will help Royal Oak Township replace water mains critical to ensuring that residents have access to clean, safe, and reliable water.
  
  
• $1.2 million for the Oakland County Health Division's Health Lab project, requested by Stevens. Funding will help construct a Health Division laboratory facility expansion, equipped with advanced technology to meet the growing public health needs of the community.
  
  
• $1 million for the Northwest Sanitary Sewer project, requested by Slotkin. This funding will support an extension of the sanitary sewer from the Genesee County border into Oakland County, along Dixie Highway to Grange Hall Road, to serve Holly and Groveland Townships and eventually provide service to Brandon Township and the Village of Ortonville.
  
  
• $410,000 for the Oakland County Sheriff's project for training equipment, requested by Slotkin. This funding will be used to secure updated equipment, which is vital for effective law enforcement training. The equipment to be purchased includes physical fitness equipment for wellness programs, firearms training equipment, a defensive tactics mat room, and de-escalation/use of force training suits.
   
  • "I appreciate the support of Rep. Slotkin and her efforts to fund equipment important to the training of our personnel," Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard said. "The best way to get better police outcomes is better training. To have better training, you have to have state of the art   facilities and equipment. This is an important step forward and we thank her." 

Original source can be found here.