FRASER, Mich. – The Fraser City Council announced Monday that water bills and taxes will increase as the cost of fixing a massive sinkhole could reach $100 million.
An overflow crowd packed Fraser City Hall on Monday night for a special meeting that was called to go over the latest news on the sinkhole near 15 Mile and Hayes roads.
On Monday, 19 of the 22 homeowners who were affected by the sinkhole were allowed to go home.
How much the sinkhole fix will cost is still up in the air, but $100 million is a potential price tag that new Macomb County Public Works Director Candice Miller said will likely show up on water and sewage bills. Miller is going to the state and federal government seeking dollars for what she described as a "man-made disaster."
Engineers let residents know the groundwater situation has stabilized in the area and that workers will be working on 24-hour shifts for months to come.
Neighbors who were allowed back into their houses still had plenty of questions about how safe their homes are.
The residents whose homes were condemned are still living in hotels. Samitra Smith and her boys are looking for somewhere other than a hotel to live. Her voice cracked as she addressed the City Council.
"I just want some normalcy so I can get my kids back and forth to school," Smith said. "This was my dream house, and now I have to sit here in this hotel room, and it's really hurt me to see my family go through this while my neighbors move back."
Engineers said the amount of affected pipe is about 280 feet long, and they hope to have a critical bypass pump installed by the beginning of February so they can get started on the main pipe problem.
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