Second in a two-part series looking at the challenges facing Davisburg as business owners try to breathe new life into the downtown area

Melissa Beznitz said she knows how newer business people feel as they tackle long-standing problems and work to bring customers to downtown Davisburg.
As co-owner of the Candle Factory, Beznitz was once filled with energy and enthusiasm, too.
‘They have the same attitude I had when we first got here,? she said, noting she, along with her mother and sister opened the business on Broadway about 8 years ago. ‘I’ve just been so disappointed and discouraged over the years.?
Something, she said, needs to be done about the hamlet’s many problems.
Next door, the empty Comcast building is a sore spot with just about everyone in town; although some say Comcast is using the basement for storage, the storefront is vacant, the windows covered in grime and the weeds growing tall.
Across the street, someone is using commercially-zoned space as a residence, and nearby, an abandoned gas station sags with age.
Township involvement is critical, say members of the Downtown Davisburg Association, which includes some, but not all, business and property owners, to help with the big issues.
Parking. Lighting. Sidewalks.
‘And why can’t we get a restaurant?? Candle Factory co-owner Phoebe Bojanzyk wants to know. ‘People come in here and ask where they can get some lunch and we have to send them to Clarkston or Holly.?
But while a number of new and unique businesses recently moved into the hamlet, a restaurant isn’t so easy. Health department regulations require a waste-water treatment facility, and Davisburg has nothing of the sort.
‘If you were going to build a town today, under today’s environmental standards, you couldn’t find a worse location for septics, or for buildings,? said township supervisor Collin Walls. ‘There’s a high water table and generally speaking, the soils are not compatible for septic systems.?
The problem, he said, is further complicated by the fact that in many cases, the buildings take up the lot they sit on, leaving little or no room for a septic system.
The solution, Walls said, is some type of ‘joint common sewage treatment or sanitation system.?
Not a sewer, he explains, but a large septic located where each of the property owners can tie into it.
And pay for it.
‘Someone has to foot the bill,? said Walls. ‘Regardless where you live, sewers are not provided by government. They may be engineered by government, but the costs are always borne by users.?
The same goes for the sidewalks some of the businesses want the township to spring for.
‘We’re not going to,? said Walls. ‘We have ordinance that says it’s their responsibility, and if we pay for it, we will assess them for it, and that doesn’t make sense. Sidewalks are the responsibility of the property owners.?
While cities and villages typically own and maintain sidewalks, he explained, townships do not.
Besides, he points out, property owners’not necessarily tenants’are ultimately responsible for care and upkeep of buildings and sidewalks.
Walls said he knows he appears belligerent at times, but also claims he doesn’t mean it that way.
‘Do I sometimes sound harsh? Probably,? he said. ‘But most of that comes from the frustration and conflict between the heart and the mind.?
Walls, after all, grew up in Davisburg, as did his father and my grandfather. Each of them, as well as other family members, owned a business in the hamlet at one point or another.
‘It’s a very, very special place to me,? he said. ‘But does that mean as township supervisor I should put Davisburg on a higher priority than Dixie Highway or a safety improvement in Big Lake or any other location? No it does not.?
But, he said, the township does look at Davisburg as a very important spot, and recently it’s become a top priority.
With Carlisle Wortman Associates consulting to assist in determining what the people in downtown Davisburg want and need, and what kind of mechanisms and programs are available to get there, Walls feels like the township is on the right track to a new beginning.
With a little help, he said, businesses can get ‘over the hump,? enough to increase business so money can be put into more improvements.
But in order to get to that point, Walls explained, businesses will need to decide what the priorities are.
‘They’re trying to find common ground, but it’s right in front of them,? he said. ‘It’s called Davisburg.
‘The older businesses are there because they love that town. The newer businesses are there because they love that town. They don’t necessarily know each other well enough to understand that yet, but I truly hope they will collectively allow Dick Carlisle help them find their common ground and common goals.?
Longtime resident Dan Burman, who operates Nuwants, a holistic approach to wellness for the body, mind, and spirit, out of the Healing Center, said it’s exciting to watch the community come back to life.
‘Davisburg stood still for a long time because there was no one here to work together and now there is,? he said. ‘Davisburg is waking up. It’s the hub of Springfield Township, and people have fought hard to keep it quaint.?
Burman said he hopes the business owners, including those who have disagreed with one another in the past, will follow through on the commitment and ‘get along? as they did during the first meeting with Carlisle Wortman several weeks back.
He thinks there’s quite a bit at stake.
‘In Davisburg and throughout Springfield Township, we have the last part of Oakland County not run over by bulldozers,? he said. ‘The community stands still when people don’t work together. We’re all in this together, and if anyone thinks there’s another way out, they should look at the news and see what happens when we don’t come together as a nation.?