Spring Arbor Township Board Minutes 01/08/07

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, January 8, 2007, at 7:03 p.m., with the following members present: Supervisor Will DeGraaf, Clerk Randi Holthouse, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Marston Fortress, Troy Ganton and Brent Williams.   Absent:   Trustee Patricia Short.   The Pledge of Allegiance was led by the Supervisor.

Guests were:   Earl Poleski, Karen Morgan, Hannon Morgan, Russ Ratkiewicz, Tim McEldowney and Jim Videto.

Public Comment:   Public comment opened at 7:04 p.m.

Earl Poleski, County Commissioner, expressed his thanks for the letter sent to him for his service at the Township.   As a new Commissioner, he has been involved in organizational meetings and has been assigned to the County Affairs Committee, County Agencies and the Airport Board.   He discussed the bid the County received for the 62 acres of airport land, noting there will be a meeting on January 19 to evaluate the bid and make a recommendation to the full County Commission on how to proceed.   He will also be participating and learning at a meeting with the Jackson Transportation Authority regarding their potential millage request to the public.   His final comments related to the search for a new Administrator and a new IT Director, hoping they would have a decision by the end of the month.

Supervisor DeGraaf welcomed Hannon Morgan and Daniel, two Boy Scouts from Troop 144 to the meeting.   The two Boy Scouts are working on their Citizenship Badge.

Public comment closed at 7:08 p.m.

Expenditures.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the following expenditures for December 2006:   General Fund expenditures #44279-44453 totaling $49,221.46; Fire Department Fund expenditures #44281-44453 totaling $52,544.55; Street Light Fund expenditure   #44333 totaling $3,333.10; Public Improvement Fund Expenditure #44363 totaling $24,925.00; Building Inspection Fund expenditures #44280-44452 totaling $4,769.46; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $0.00; Sewer Receiving Fund disbursements of $144,751.45; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $2,608.84.   Roll call: 6 yes.

Minutes.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton to approve the regular board meeting minutes of December 11, 2006; carried.

Consent Agenda.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the following items under the consent agenda consisting of the financial reports for December 2006; general ledger report of revenues and expenditures for December 2006; Senior Center Advisory Board minutes of December 13, 2006; Sewer & Water Committee minutes of December 20, 2006; and Planning Commission minutes of January 2, 2007; carried.   The financial report showed the following balances as of December 31:

General Fund Cash                                                             $45,568.12

Certificate of Deposit                                                          278,540.40

Fire Operations Cash                                                           (16,980.34)

Fire Operations CD                                                            205,471.99

Street Light Fund                                                                  (6,181.31)

Public Improvement Fund                                                           0.00

Building Inspection Fund                                                         876.28

Falling Waters Endowment Fund                                               0.00

Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                                          30,505.35

Sewer Funds                                                                      1,253,458.35

Water Funds                                                                        313,104.49

Trust & Agency Funds                                                            0.00

Current Taxes                                                                      375,491.76

REPORTS:

A.   Police and Fire Report.   There were 43 medical rescue runs, one fire alarm, two mutual aid calls, 13 fire runs, no carbon monoxide incidents, bomb threats or Hazmat responses during December.   Police statistics include: 168 complaints, nine accidents, 20 tickets, 15 verbal warnings, one arrest, one semi ticketed and seven back-up calls to other departments.

The Police Chief reported that they had a busy month in December, responding to two scenes involving fatalities with pedestrians.   Mid-December, the Firebell Party Store was held up by an individual using a sawed-off shotgun; a dog tracked a person to their house and the suspect has been arrested.   For 2006, breaking and entering’s along with larcenies were up, but a couple of individuals were arrested during the year, and since then, the numbers for those categories have been on the decline.

The Fire Chief reported that December was particularly hard for the department with the two fatalities.   They finished the year with 623 runs, up just slightly from the previous year; of those runs 130 are attributed to fire-related calls.   January is starting out very busy with 21 runs so far this month.   The pumper/tanker will be going in for some repairs under a recall type situation.   One mutual aid call so far this year, for a total of three since the inception of the program ( December 1, 2006 ).

B.   Zoning Board of Appeals.   Motion was made by Ganton and received by Williams to receive the minutes of the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting of December 21, 2006.

C.   Building Permit Reports.   The report of building permits issued during the month of December showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $1,115,000.00.   Trustee Williams asked if the Building Administrator could provide a monthly report showing the status of new housing in the Township.

D.   Supervisor’s Report .   Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects/issues; and, of recommendations for committee appointments and reappointments.   Additionally, the Supervisor commented on sewer backup problems near Chapel and King roads, and crushed sewer pipes at the Post Office.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

A.   Storm Water Drainage.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the recommendation from the Sewer & Water Committee authorizing an expenditure up to $8,750.00 to OMM Engineering to study the storm water drainage problems in the Cottage St. and Second St. area.   Roll Call:   6 yes.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.   Committee Appointments/Reappointments.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the following committee appointments and reappointments:

George Scholl, Construction Board of Appeals, five-year term expiring 1/31/2012,

Will DeGraaf, Sewer & Water Committee, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

Brent Williams, Sewer & Water Committee, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

David Herlein, Planning Commission, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

John Williams, Planning Commission, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

Kenneth Melville, Planning Commission, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

Fred Drago, Sewer Board of Review, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

Beth Kuntzleman, Zoning Board of Appeals, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010,

Earl Poleski, Master Land Use Plan Committee, three-year term expiring 2/28/2010 ; carried.

C.   Wickenham Lift Station.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Holthouse to approve the bid from Kennedy Industries, Inc. of $8,391.00 to replace the pump at the Wickenham Lift Station.   Roll Call:   6 yes.

D.   Generator Purchase.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to refer the purchase of an emergency generator for the Township to the Public Safety Committee, giving the committee the authority to award a bid up to $70,000.00 for the purchase of a generator and the installation of same.   Roll Call:   6 yes.

E.   Amending Ordinances 18B & 18C.   Our existing ordinances discuss how funds will be transferred between the Receiving and Operations & Maintenance funds for Sewer and Water.   A recent policy change approved payment of sewer and water bills out of the General Fund with the respective funds reimbursing the General Fund.   By consensus the board agreed to have the Township attorney and Township auditor work together to draft language amending the ordinances to reflect the policy change.

CORRESPONDENCE:

              Thank you letter to Earl Poleski.

              Letter from Comcast.

PUBLIC/BOARD COMMENT:   Public comment opened at 8:03 p.m.

Commissioner Videto .   Commissioner Videto discussed the addition of four new commissioners at the county level and looks forward to working well with them throughout the year.   He stated that they are working on cleaning up the county budget in various departments.   He also discussed the possibility of millage requests this year from JTA and the Library.

Supervisor DeGraaf.     The Supervisor informed the board members that for sewer backup claims, the homeowner is required to file through their insurance company.

Treasurer Melchiori.   The Treasurer asked for clarification regarding the payment of sewer and water bills out of the General Fund.

Adjournment.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Holthouse to adjourn the meeting at 8:09 p.m.; carried.