OSHTEMO  MANDATORY SEWER CONNECTION

OSHTEMO  MANDATORY SEWER CONNECTION – KNOW YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS!

Town Hall Meeting

Where: Lighthouse Community Church

Address: 4321 S. 11th St, Kalamazoo, MI 49009

Time: 2 PM

Date: Sunday March 8th

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Dear Community and friends, 

 

With your help and support we formed The Oshtemo Residents Association. With the donation you provided we retained a law firm: WillisLaw (https://www.willis.law In order to continue growing and taking the fight to the next level, we feel it is important we all join the association and be professionally represented. The Oshtemo Residents’ Association invites you to attend a Town Hall meeting to learn about your legal rights from the Association’s attorney, Samuel R. Gilbertson of Willis Law.  You will also be provided with information about how to join the Association so that you too can benefit from legal representation. Note: This mandatory connection by the township will not be a special assessment. For a preview of what will be discussed at the Town Hall, please read Attorney Gilbertson’s summary below.

 

Oshtemo Residents’ Association

 

Find us on Facebook: Oshtemo Residents Against Township Sewer Project

https://www.facebook.com/groups/116209556469034/ 

 

Email: OshtemoResidentAssociation@gmail.com

 

 

Dear Oshtemo Township Residents,

 

Oshtemo Township is imposing a mandatory connection to public sewer upon those residents who are not already connected.  According to the Township, the “connection privilege fees" will range from $9,000-$14,000 for each residence, which does not include the cost of hiring a contractor to connect your home to the sewer.  Ultimately, each residence that currently uses a septic system is likely to expend about $20,000 because of the mandatory connection.  My firm has been retained by the newly-formed Oshtemo Residents’ Association to contest the Township’s unilateral action.  The Association will be hosting a Town Hall on Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 p.m. for all residents to learn of their potential legal claims. In summary,

 

The Township has the right to force the mandatory connection to “available” sewer lines;
The Township does not have the right to levy additional or increased taxes without the approval of voters;
The connection fees imposed by the Township appear to violate the Headlee Amendment to the Michigan Constitution; and
The Residents have credible legal grounds to seek judicial relief from the Township’s action.
 

In order to effectively contest the Township’s action, the Oshtemo Residents’ Association needs many more residents to join.  To learn more, please attend the Town Hall meeting at Lighthouse Community Church. I look forward to seeing you there and briefing you further about your legal rights.

 

Samuel R. Gilbertson, J.D.

WILLIS LAW

Phone: (269) 492-1040

Website: www.willis.law