Township
Boards, Commissions and Committees
Elected
officials and appointed commissions and committees made up of Spring
Arbor citizens constitute the governing bodies of Spring Arbor Township.
There are two types of committees/commissions on which citizen representatives
may serve. The first type is statutory, required by Michigan law,
and the second type is advisory.
TOWNSHIP
BOARD
The Township Board, composed of officials and trustees elected every
four years, are currently Supervisor Marston Fortress, Clerk Randi
Holthouse, Treasurer Colleen Gibbs, and Trustees Joel Freehling,
Troy Ganton, Patricia Short and Brent Williams. Meeting in a public,
posted meeting the second Monday of each month, the Board is charged
with the responsibility of managing the township’s affairs
in the best interest of the public. To qualify as a candidate for
one of these offices, a person must be a township elector. A township
elector is defined as someone who is 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen,
and has lived at least 30 days in the township for which he or she
will serve. Click
here to view Township Board Meeting Minutes.
PLANNING COMMISSION
The Planning Commission, required by state statute, meets on the
first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Township office.
More than any other committee or commission, the nine member board
determines the land use for Spring Arbor Township. By statute, the
Commission "shall make and adopt a basic plan as a guide for
the development of the unincorporated portions of the township and
shall approve/deny construction, location and character of street,
parks, or other public ways, grounds or open space, or public buildings
or structures," as cited by Public Act 168 of 1959. In addition,
Spring Arbor Township has designated the powers of a zoning board
to the Planning Commission, including the recommendations of a zoning
plan, districts and zoning ordinances as provided by law. By Township
ordinance, the Planning Commission also approves special land uses,
planned unit developments and site plans. Cllick
here to view the Planning Commission Meeting Minutes.
Applications
for Site Plan Review, Rezoning and Conditional Use Permits are available
in the Township office during regular working hours. Appointed
for three-year terms, this nine-member board, one of whom is also
a member of the Board of Trustees, must, by statute, represent the
"major interests as they exist in the Township, such as agriculture,
education, commerce, and industry." Based upon these criteria,
the supervisor recommends his nominees to the Board of Trustees
for approval.
Current
members of this commission are Troy L. Ganton, Robert Poole, Kenneth
Melville, John Williams, Richard Roth, LeRoy Holton, Devid Herlien,
Mel Rice and Carl V. Jacobson.
ZONING
BOARD OF APPEALS
Michigan law also provides for an appeals board, which can, based
upon circumstances and subject to zoning ordinance language, allow
for a variance from the ordinance. It may grant variances from the
strict letter of the ordinance if practical difficulty or unnecessary
hardship would result in conforming with the ordinance, provided
the spirit of the ordinance is observed, public safety secured and
substantial justice done. The hardship should not be self-created
and some unique circumstances involving the property in question
should be evident to support the variance.
Since
Spring Arbor Township has a population of more than 4,000, its Zoning
Board of Appeals has five members appointed by the Township Board
as required by statute. Serving three-year terms are Beth Ann Kuntzleman,
David Herlein, Todd Zeller, Earl Miller, and William Jaquays. The
Zoning Board of Appeals meets each month on the third Thursday at
7:00 p.m. at the Township office. Applications for a variance request
are available in the Township office during regular working hours.
Click
here to view the Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes.
BOARD
OF REVIEW
The Board of Review's statutory authority also provides an appeals
process for the assessment of property. The Board of Review is charged
with "examining and reviewing the assessment roll for the current
year, as caused to be prepared by the supervisor, add property omitted
from the assessment property, hear protests and endorse the completed
assessment roll." A member of the Township Board may not serve
on this board. Terms of office are two years, "beginning at
noon on January 1 of each odd-numbered year" as proclaimed
by law. Spring Arbor Township's Board of Review members are Melvin
Rice, Gordon Holton and Shane Williams with Supervisor Marston Fortress
serving as secretary, with no vote. The annual process occurs during
the month of March. To make an appointment, a land owner may call
the Township office once he or she has received the assessment notice
in the mail. All appointments are held at the Township office. Appointments
may be made for evening as well as during the day.
APPEALS & REVIEW
BOARDS
The Construction Board of Appeals is appointed per Michigan
law but the Electrical Board of Appeals, the Mechanical
Board of Appeals, the Plumbing Board of
Appeals, the Rental Review Board and Sewer Board of Review are all appointed
by Township
Ordinance. These committees would meet if a hearing were requested by an
individual for the purpose of reviewing a complaint or a decision made
by a township inspector.
The Construction Board of Appeals is comprised of members Kenneth Moe,
Jeff Barton, Troy Ganton, George Scholl and Ron Schaub. The Electrical
Board of
Appeals is comprised of James Buck, Greg Scholl and Larry VanBlarcum. The
Mechanical Board of Appeals and the Plumbing Board of Appeals consists
of Robert Shearer,
Bobby Barton, Bruce Ulrich, Jack Ripstra and Neil Cornstubble. The Rental
Review Board is made up of Greg Scholl, Robert Shearer, Tom Zeller, Robert
Boss and
Jack Ripstra. The Sewer Board of Review is comprised of Fred Drago, Tom
Zeller and Charles Tomasello.
ADVISORY COMMITTEES
A simple motion of the Spring Arbor Township Board establishes advisory committees.
In Spring Arbor Township, these committees are formed to assess the needs
of the community, research ways to meet those needs and make recommendations
to the Township Board. Some are sub-committees comprised of Township Board
members and sometimes other citizens; others are committees of citizens appointed
by the Township Board and still others are composed of volunteers who formed
a committee to address an area of interest.
SEWER
AND WATER COMMITTEEE
The Sewer and Water Committee and the Policy & Communications
Committees are examples of Board sub-committees. Because the sewer
system in Spring Arbor Township is 25 years old and because Spring
Arbor Township has 10 different developments currently under construction
or anticipated construction, Supervisor DeGraaf requested that a
thorough review of the sewer system's condition, its maintenance
plan and an assessment of future needs be done. Formed in 2001,
the committee has recommended several changes and improvements to
the system and is planning for future developments. Current
members include James R. Buck, Marston J. Fortress and Brent Williams.
POLICY & COMMUNICATIONS
COMMITTEE
The Policy & Communications Committee, comprised of Randi DeVries,
Marston Fortress and Patricia Short, has been appointed to review and recommend
communication
strategies to keep the citizens of Spring Arbor Township informed of growth
and the community needs to facilitate that growth. This appointed advisory
committee has established a quarterly newsletter, has instituted an annual
Christmas decorations' contest, contributed to the development of this
web site and will be compiling a manual of all policies adopted by the
Township
Board.
HISTORICAL
COMMITTEE
The Historical Committee, chaired by Beverly Cunningham, meets
to discuss ongoing historical projects within the community.
Recent projects completed
by the
committee are the Snyder Schoolhouse Restoration and the Veteran’s
Memorial. Other members of the committee are Troy Ganton, Todd Holton,
Faith Kline, George
Kline, William Masson, Jim Campbell, Wayne Whittaker, Jack Esterline,
Daniel Runyon and Todd Zeller.
HISTORICAL
FUND COMMITTEE
A new committee in 2003, the Historical Fund Committee chaired
by Troy Ganton, will oversee the expenditures and investments
of the Historical
Fund, and
recommend expenditures for future historical projects. Other committee
members are Beverly
Cunningham and Dennis DaPra. SARAH’S
GARDEN COMMITTEE
One might wonder, what is Sarah’s Garden? This garden was
planted and nurtured by Sarah Justice at her home which sat on property
east of the Township Hall's lawn, facing Spring Arbor Road. The
garden was preserved and cared for by relative and Fritz Gallagher,
former supervisor. It has now been relocated south of the Senior
Center The seniors help care for the garden, now managed by local
master gardener, Walt Schulcz. The committee members, Randi Holthouse,
Patricia Short and Troy Ganton, will oversee the care and maintenance
of the garden as well as plan for future needs and expenditures.
PARK
COMMITTEE
The Park Committee, chaired by Township Clerk Randi Holthouse, is
responsible for overseeing the current park facilities and evaluating
the need for additional facilities. Currently, the committee is
working on the development of a new park within the Township located
next to the Senior Center. Other members of the committee are Mark
Dowley, Warren Dexter, Gordie Holton, Jack Ripstra, Craig Withrow
and Todd Zeller.
SENIOR
CENTER ADVISORY BOARD
The Senior Center Advisory Board, chaired by June Dodd, meets on
a monthly basis at the Senior Center to discuss the programs and
activities at the Senior Center, and to plan for other activities
and programs to offer to seniors in the community. Other members
of the advisory board are Estella Beardslee, Bill Bippes, Elwin
Johnson, Troy Ganton, Carl Jacobson, Charles Kuntzleman, Ned Philpott,
Phyllis Allen, Enoch Beeman, Phyllis Miller and George Kline.
Beverly Green is the Senior Center Coordinator. |
