Spring
Arbor Township Board - February 11. 2008
The
regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday,
February 11, 2008, 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 Patricia Short.
Absent: Trustee Brent Williams. The Pledge of Allegiance was led
by the Supervisor.
Guests
were: Ken Wyatt, Russ Ratkiewicz, Earl Poleski, Tim McEldowney,
Lewis Herr, Scott Rogers and Stan Lyon.
Public
Comment: Public comment opened at 7:04 p.m.
Scott
Rogers, candidate for Township Supervisor, introduced himself to
the board members and noted that he wanted to sit in on a meeting
and make himself known to the board.
Earl
Poleski, County Commissioner , reported that the county will become
more aggressive towards trash haulers that do not use the county
incinerator; they are working with the sheriff’s department to ticket
haulers and impound their vehicles if they violate the county ordinance.
The new animal shelter building opened last Friday with an open
house for the public to attend; the event was very well attended.
They will be working with a landscape architect as requested by
the neighbors of the animal shelter. He has also had several people
question the status of the allegations made regarding a former road
commissioner; he reported that it is still being investigated by
the Attorney General. Randy Treacher has been asked to become the
County Administrator , removing the word Acting from his title,
and they will work on recruiting someone to work with him as his
Deputy and then become the Administrator upon Mr. Treacher’s retirement
next year.
Expenditures.
Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short
to approve the following expenditures for January 2008: General
Fund expenditures #45929-46030 totaling $46,475.90; Fire Department
Fund expenditures #45929-46029 totaling $14,798.09; Street Light
Fund expenditure #45930 totaling $3,811.50; Building Inspection
Fund expenditures #45929-46028 totaling $2,586.66; Sewer O &
M Fund expenditures #45929-46028 totaling $51,804.75; Water O &
M Fund expenditures #45929-46028 totaling $35,002.01; Trust &
Agency fund expenditures #1901-1902 totaling $105.00; and, Tax Fund
expenditures #4233-4276 totaling $1,171,436.70. Roll call: 6 yes.
Minutes.
Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Holthouse
to approve the regular board meeting minutes of January 14, 2008;
carried.
Consent
Agenda. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by
Holthouse to approve the following items under the consent agenda
consisting of the financial reports for January 2008; general ledger
report of revenues and expenditures for January 2008; Senior Center
Advisory Board minutes of January 9, 2008; Zoning Board of Appeals
minutes of January 17, 2008; Budget Committee minutes of January
22, 28, and 30, 2008, February 1 and 5, 2008; Policy & Communications
meeting minutes of January 31, 2008; and, Planning Commission minutes
of February 5, 2008. The financial report showed the following balances
as of January 31:
General
Fund Cash
$188,614.01
Certificate
of Deposit
288,576.91
Fire
Operations Cash
104,233.37
Fire
Operations CD
270,433.82
Street
Light Fund
4,799.19
Public
Improvement Fund
0.00
P.I.F.
Certificate of Deposit
33,589.05
Building
Inspection Fund
475.07
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund
(545.00)
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund CD
31,156.03
Sewer
Funds
1,125,694.92
Water
Funds
334,185.79
Trust
& Agency Funds
0.00
Current
Taxes
119,264.75;
carried.
REPORTS:
A.
Police and Fire Reports. There were 47 medical rescue
runs, one fire alarm, one mutual aid call, seven fire runs, and
no carbon monoxide incidents, bomb threats or Hazmat responses during
January. Police statistics include: 158 complaints, 18 accidents,
17 tickets, seven verbal warnings, five arrests, and eight back-up
calls to other departments.
The
Chief of Police reported that the month of January was down compared
to 2007. They have had the office painted and did some housecleaning.
No major incidents occurred in the Township in January.
Motion
was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to approve the police
report; carried.
The
Fire Chief reported that January was also slower compared to 2007.
He said the department morale is good and he was proud of how the
department stepped up and took care of things while he was gone
on a mission trip to Peru . The department is working on a couple
of training sessions involving blood-borne pathogens and search
and rescue. The department will also be participating in some training
with neighboring townships and will participate in a house burning
exercise. The Chief has also been working with the Budget Committee
for the next fiscal year.
Motion
was made by Fortress and supported by Short to approve the fire
report; carried.
B.
Building Permit Reports. The report of building permits
issued during the month of January showed miscellaneous permits
for a total value of $3,281. One new home permit was issued compared
to three in January 2007. Motion was made by Ganton and supported
by Fortress to accept the building permit report; carried.
C.
Supervisor's Report . Advised the board: of the miles
of gravel road in the Township and his recommendation to develop
a plan to have them paved; of the office supply program through
the County; and, of the expiration of the maintenance agreement/warranty
of the phone system.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS:
NEW
BUSINESS:
A.
Planning Commission – Meeting Schedule Recommendation. Motion
was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton approving the recommendation
of the Planning Commission to hold their meetings on a quarterly
basis in January, April, July and November, and then on an as-needed
basis determined by applications submitted; carried. It is to be
noted that the Planning Commission also requested to be notified
the Wednesday prior to the meeting if there would not be any business
for them to discuss at their meeting.
B.
Gravel Roads. The Supervisor asked the board for input
regarding the remaining gravel roads in the Township. He recommended
that the Township put a plan in place to pave the gravel roads.
The board suggested that the cost of paving the roads be reviewed
through the budget process.
C.
Telephone Maintenance Agreement. The Supervisor informed
the board that our previous agreement for warranty and maintenance
of the phone system has now expired. He requested input from the
board to decide if the Township should pursue another maintenance
agreement. The board suggested that this be reviewed by the Budget
Committee.
D.
Equipment Purchases – Fire Department. The Fire Chief
presented bids for new SCBA masks, an SCBA air compressor, a grass
rig skid unit, and three sets of fire gear, hydrant locators, and
audio training equipment. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Ganton to approve the recommended purchases for the fire department
at a cost not to exceed $54,450.00. Roll Call: 6 yes.
E.
Resignation of Township Supervisor. Motion was made
by Short and supported by Ganton to accept the resignation of Willard
DeGraaf as Township Supervisor with regret and to wish him a long,
happy and delightful retirement; carried.
F.
Determine Interview Process for Supervisor. Motion
was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton that Trustee Short,
Clerk Holthouse and Supervisor DeGraaf review the job description
for the Supervisor position and that they mail that to the board
members for review, and unless there are significant challenges
to it, that this will become the job description used during the
interview process; carried. The board members suggested two possible
dates for the interviews; February 28 and March 6.
G.
Budget Review – Board Work Session. The budget work
study session was scheduled for Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 1:00
p.m.
H.
Resignation of Deputy Treasurer. Motion was made by
Ganton and supported by Fortress to accept the resignation of Trudy
Bartlett as Deputy Treasurer with appreciation for all the work
she has done for the Township; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Letters
from Comcast.
Newsletters
from FSC&S.
Newspaper
article.
PUBLIC/BOARD
COMMENT: Public comment opened at 8:41 p.m.
Treasurer Melchiori. Treasurer Melchiori
reminded everyone that the due date for paying the winter tax bill
was coming up very fast. She also commented that she would be sorry
to see Trudy leave.
Trustee Fortress. Trustee Fortress suggested
that the Township should provide at least one weeks notice to the
candidates for the Township Supervisor position as to when the interviews
would be held.
Clerk Holthouse. Clerk Holthouse reported
that she was pleased with the turnout for the Presidential Primary
Election. Spring Arbor Township had a 25% turnout compared to a
20% turnout for the entire county. Also, Precinct 1 had an actual
turnout of 35%.
Adjournment.
Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to
adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m.; carried.
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