Business View Magazine | September 2020

231 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 VAN BUREN TOWNSHI P , MI CHIGAN ‘Bellevillians’ from Belleville, not Van Buren Township. That’s what started it. But we did extensive polling throughout the community and found out what matters most to people. Then we began to systemically rebuild our community from the ground up.” BVM: What projects were undertaken to alleviate residents’ concerns? McNamara: “Public safety was the number one priority for people. So we upgraded our fire department with two new fire trucks and a ladder truck (over $2 million dollars worth of equipment); rebuilt both of our fire stations; rebuilt all of our turnout gear; retrained all our firefighters; and then, to modernize the department, we created a hybrid staffing system that is extremely inexpensive to run. This includes full-time and part-time workers who work side by side. There is nothing in the whole building that hasn’t been upgraded in the last two years. “We simultaneously worked on the police Van Buren Township Bordering Innovation & Technology Uniquely positioned at the crossroads of I-94 and I-275, between Detroit and Ann Arbor, the Van Buren Township area is quickly becoming one of southeast Michigan’s most desired locations for major technical hubs and thriving start-ups. The American Center for Mobility and the Subaru Technical Center have placed the Township on the cutting edge of next-generation vehicle automation, where integration, testing and validation of connected and autonomous vehicle and mobility technologies can be performed in a smart city test center. The community’s healthy economy is further bolstered through a partnership with the Detroit Region Aerotropolis. This collaboration fosters public- private development alliances that result in integrated offerings of facilities, amenities and services for conducting business on a global scale. Unparalleled access to two world-class airports, three major interstates and five Class-A rail lines make Van Buren Township your gateway to high-tech centers in North America and across the globe. ...... For more information, please visit our website www.VanBurenDDA.com