Brady Township has received a grant from the Vicksburg Foundation to help with the cost of building the Township’s new fire station. Township Supervisor Randy Smith said the grant means the township can build the station without going into debt.
The board didn’t waste any time: Trustees approved a $777,000 construction contract with DeLoof Construction, Kalamazoo for the station at 28th Street south of V Avenue.
The Foundation asked that the amount of its grant not be disclosed.
Smith reported he had met personally with foundation board members to explain why the Township is building the station.
From those lengthy and detailed discussions, Smith said he came away with the feeling that “the Vicksburg Foundation board cares deeply about the health and safety and well-being of the residents of South Kalamazoo County.”
He thanked the Foundation for the grant and its commitment to the community.
Effective April 1, 2026, Brady Township left the South Kalamazoo County Fire Authority (SKCFA) and contracted with Pavilion Township to provide fire and emergency services.
Because of that, the Township needed its own fire station and has been working for months on obtaining land centrally located in the Township. It recently purchased the property for the station from John and Anne Boers for $1.
The grant, combined with the money the township saved as COVID funds offset township revenues, provided the amount needed for the fire station. It covers the cost of the structure, the site plan review, and the architectural drawings.
It was noted that DeLoof built the fire station in Pavilion Township. The Board also approved funding for Prein&Newhof, a civil engineering firm, to prepare the site plan review.
Smith will be working with DeLoof on the architectural drawings.
Pavilion Fire Chief Karl Poenicke and Deputy Chief Keith Siegwart attended the meeting.
“We are real excited about this project,” said Poenicke. “It’s a benefit for both our communities.”
Smith said he’s excited by data which shows quick response times of Pavilion firefighters
Poenicke noted that several firefighters live in Brady Township and can carry their gear in their trucks.
Kalamazoo County Commissioner John Gisler, who was at the meeting to give his report from the County, said he has been a long time resident of Pavilion Township.
“It’s incredible how fast and proficient they are,” he said. “You are making a good decision.”
In related fire issues, Smith discussed a letter he had written to the SKCFA Board relating to the uncollected property taxes from the last six years due to errors made by a Schoolcraft Township assessor who abruptly quit last spring.
The amount that the six participating local governments paid to the SKCFA was based on 30 percent of each entity’s total taxable value. Because of the properties omitted by the assessor, Smith said that Brady Township, Wakeshma Township, and Prairie Ronde Township were overbilled.
This is because the SKCFA received bad data which was “used to produce incorrect cost allocations and bills to all six local units of government that make up the SKCFA,” as stated in Smith’s letter to the SKCFA.
Smith has suggested that the SKCFA rerun the formula for the last six years to determine the amounts either underpaid or overpaid by the then six members of the Fire Authority.
He believes Brady’s overpayment will be significant and is asking for a refund, which could be in the five or six figures.
Smith stressed that what happened was not a mistake made by the SKCFA Board but is the effect of the errors made by the former Schoolcraft Township assessor.
In other discussion, Trustee John Meyer reported opposition by the township Planning Commission to a roundabout planned at Sprinkle Road and TU Avenue.
While the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County has not provided dimensions of the roundabout, Meyer expects it will have a significant impact on surrounding properties.
The construction of the roundabout will also have a negative impact on surrounding roads used for detours during the construction process, Meyer said. Some of these are roads that are not maintained by the road commission.
In the end, however, he said, “We can’t control it. It is out of our jurisdiction.”
While Meyer was looking for a vote of support from the board in opposition to the planned roundabout, the board decided to postpone a decision until after the road commission’s public meeting about the roundabout to be held on May 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Brady Township Hall.
In other business, the Board scheduled an enforcement hearing on May 13 at the regular Board meeting for two dangerous buildings, one on East U Avenue and another on South 28th Street.
Smith was given the authority to obtain bids for the demolition, site cleanup, and re-seeding per the hearing officer’s report. If the Township goes ahead with the demolition, costs will be billed to the property owner.
