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May 11, 2004Clous submits $50,000 paymentHe also needs to provide $25,000 for civic centerByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Developer Bill Clous arranged a last-minute delivery of $50,000 to pay part of his obligation under a settlement over alleged soil erosion violations in East Bay Township. Two $25,000 checks, one payable to Grand Traverse County and the other to the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation, were delivered shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Dennis LaBelle said. Clous must also provide $25,000 worth of services through his company, Eastwood Excavation LLC, for construction at Civic Center South in Kingsley to complete settlement terms. The deal was struck March 10 and Clous had until Monday to make the payments. A reporter's telephone calls left with Clous and his attorney, Matthew Vermetten, were not returned. The settlement stemmed from a district court case LaBelle filed against Clous that potentially could have cost him of thousands of dollars in fines. Clous was accused of failing to get soil erosion permits for earth-moving and tree-clearing performed on 360 acres at Hammond, Townline and Three Mile roads. Authorities said work continued on the site after the Grand Traverse County Drain Commissioner warned Clous that permits were necessary. Clous, through Vermetten, maintained he didn't need permits because he intended to farm, not develop, the property as a housing subdivision. In April, Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power ordered Clous to stop work and keep vehicles, including farming equipment, off the property until a civil suit filed against Clous by LaBelle and environmental attorney Christopher Bzdok is resolved. That case is scheduled for trial beginning June 15 and seeks to force Clous to remediate alleged environmental damage. Clous also is negotiating with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality over alleged wetlands violations on the property.
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