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Alcona County looking for sites for DEQ grants

HARRISVILLE — The Alcona County Board of Commissioners will identify key contaminated sites within the county that would be eligible for a redevelopment grant through the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, which commissioners hope would boost economic development in the region.

One such site could already be in the works.

Julie Lowe, with the DEQ, told county commissioners recently of a potential development at the former Harrisville Sport Center, 216 U.S.-23 S., that could benefit from a site assessment grant.

Developer Jeff Dameworth said he has been looking for some property along U.S.-23 and the former Harrisville Sport Center “would be perfect, because I can modify the building to make some office spaces. I was thinking about possibly doing a little convenience store or something like that, like a little grocery store on 23.”

Dameworth added he would want to develop a storage facility and moving company on the 20 acres behind the building. He said, eventually, he would like to build his home there.

“I’m in the process of trying to get a negotiated price on this,” he said of the property.

A site assessment grant would help with the redevelopment of the property and help cover the cost of a baseline environmental assessment. Lowe said that assessment is needed so the owner is exempt from liability for any contamination on the property.

Lowe asked county commissioners to identify other sites that would be eligible for a site assessment grant and asked for Harrisville’s forest center building to be included in their recommendations. The DEQ has identified at least 15 sites in the county with leaking underground storage tanks which would be eligible for the grant.

Lowe said the DEQ has up to $4 million to spend before October, and that the county would be a good candidate for the grant.

“Coming in with a proposal now, I think you have a pretty definite chance, especially being a county that has never had a grant through us before,” she said, adding the DEQ likes to see statewide distribution of the program.

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.

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