Spring
Arbor Township Board Meeting 02.13.06
The
regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday,
February 13, 2006, at 7:01 p.m., with the following members present:
Supervisor Will DeGraaf, Clerk Randi Holthouse, Treasurer Gloria
Melchiori, Trustees Troy Ganton and Brent Williams. Trustee Fortress
arrived at 7:04 p.m. Absent: Trustee Patricia Short. The Pledge
of Allegiance was led by Supervisor DeGraaf.
Guests
were: Stan Lyon, Tim McEldowney and Russ Ratkiewicz.
Public
Comment: Public comment opened at 7:02 p.m.
There
was no public comment.
Expenditures.
Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams
to approve the following expenditures for January 2006: General
Fund expenditures #43022-43102 totaling $43,091.48; Fire Department
Fund expenditures #43023-43098 totaling $9,915.64; Street Light
Fund expenditures totaling $3,267.06; Public Improvement Fund expenditures
totaling $40,000.00; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling
$4,975.28; Sewer Receiving Fund expenditures of $0.00; Sewer O &
M Fund expenditures totaling $47,806.90; and Water O & M Fund
expenditures totaling $46,166.78. Roll call: 6 yes.
Minutes.
Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams
to approve the regular board meeting minutes of January 9, 2006;
carried. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton to
approve the special board meeting minutes of January 12, 2006; carried.
Consent
Agenda. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Ganton to approve the following items under the consent agenda
consisting of the financial reports for January 2006, Sewer &
Water Committee minutes of December 19, 2005 and January 9, 2006,
Budget Committee minutes of December 21, 2005, January 6, 2006 and
January 12, 2006, Planning Commission minutes of January 3, 2006
and February 7, 2006, Economic Development Committee minutes of
October 20, 2005, Senior Center Advisory Board minutes of January
18, 2006, and Fire Board minutes of October 18, 2005 and January
16, 2006; carried. It was noted that the Planning Commission minutes
of January 3, 2006 should reflect the accurate time of departure
of a member and the February 7, 2006 minutes should be corrected
to leave in the sentence showing that a member left the meeting.
Those corrections will eliminate violations of the Open Meetings
Act. The financial report showed the following balances as of
January 31:
General
Fund Cash
$230,811.44
Certificate
of Deposit 201,984.36
Fire
Operations Cash
55,547.08
Fire
Operations CD
100,027.27
Street
Light Fund 6,168.98
Public
Improvement Fund
0.00
P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit
26,570.31
Building
Inspection Fund
2,090.03
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund
0.00
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund CD
27,769.01
Sewer
Funds 1,293,263.67
Water
Funds 288,804.91
Trust
& Agency Funds
0.00
Current
Taxes 254,945.85.
REPORTS:
A.
Police and Fire Report. There were 33 medical rescue
runs, three fire alarms, one mutual aid call, three fire runs, and
no carbon monoxide incidents, bomb threats or Hazmat responses during
January. Police statistics include: 134 complaints, 15 accidents,
65 tickets, 25 verbal warnings, seven arrests, one semi ticketed
and six back-up calls to other departments.
Chief
Ratkiewicz reported that the month of January was fairly quiet.
They are now on line with field report writing in the cars and
working out the bugs with the Sheriff’s department. The department
responded to an accident on M-60 at Renfrew Drive and also investigated
two men for attempted robbery. Sergeant Adams has been busy cleaning
out the police property room.
Chief
McEldowney reported that they have had a busy month. He recently
upgraded the computer system in the fire department and installed
his fire software allowing him to track runs by day and by hour
which will assist him in determining payroll for the volunteers.
He also attended a FEMA grant writing seminar and picked up some
good tips. He and Assistant Fire Chief Scott Greenslade will be
working with Spring Arbor University to do some smoke training on
campus. They also have a training class coming up to learn how
the color of smoke can help them identify what is happening in a
building.
Motion
was made by Holthouse and supported by Melchiori to accept the police
and fire reports; carried.
B.
MTA E-News for February 2006. Received the February
issue of the MTA E-News.
C.
Supervisor’s Report . Advised the board: of the
status of ongoing projects and zoning violations; of the status
of the tax tribunal case from the King Rd. Water Project; of the
cost overrun on the King Rd. Water Project and recommended that
certain expenses be paid from the Township Water Fund; of the upcoming
lease with the Post Office; of a new stop sign installed at Armensko
Lane and Staten Drive; of a clarification needed in the language
of the assessor’s contract; and, of a recommendation to increase
the limit for the Senior Center credit card. The Supervisor noted
that Mr. Cope has had an inspection performed which was approved;
he is beginning to make progress. He is also working with the
Calvary Apostolic Church on their fence issue and informed the board
that he expects demolition work to begin on the Harmony Rd. property
within the next couple of weeks.
D.
Building Permit Reports. The report of building
permits issued during the month of January showed new homes and
miscellaneous permits for a total value of $100,000.00. Mr. Renner
reported that no new home permits were issued in January.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS:
NEW
BUSINESS:
A.
King Rd. Water Project Cost Overrun. Project cost
overruns for the King Rd. Water Project are $4,160.00 owed to Lee
E. Taylor and $9,695.96 owed to Mike, Meyers, Beckett & Jones.
These costs are due to the tax tribunal case for Mr. Laymon.
Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to pay the
$13,855.96 from the Water Fund using the grant money. Roll Call:
6 yes. Discussion was then held regarding the legality of using
the grant money in the Water Fund; the Supervisor is to investigate
whether or not we can use it.
B.
Post Office Lease. Questions regarding the post office
lease were discussed. Topics included sublease of the premises,
construction of an addition or other alterations, contracting officer,
replacement of filters, snow removal, etc. Motion was made by Ganton
and supported by Williams to approve the lease per the township attorney’s
review and recommendations; carried.
C.
Assessor Payment. Motion was made by Fortress and
supported by Williams to pay the assessor for the number of parcels
in existence on December 31, 2005; carried.
D.
Credit Card Limit for Senior Center. Motion was
made by Ganton and supported by Holthouse to increase the credit
card limit for the Senior Center account to $750.00; carried.
E.
Expansion of MACI Industrial Park. Discussion was
held regarding who would be responsible for billing customers outside
of Spring Arbor Township, but connected to our sewer and/or water
lines. Treasurer Melchiori indicated that the work load in her
office is at capacity. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Williams that Spring Arbor Township will bill the new plant in
MACI Industrial Park and that a contract be developed to include
language that authorizes Spring Arbor Township to bill Sandstone
Township if those customers do not pay, and that we will review
the work load in the Treasurer’s office as it relates to the billing
for sewer and water; carried.
F.
Resolution to Amend Pension Plan. Motion was made
by Williams and supported by Ganton to amend the pension plan removing
the 10 year requirement for retirement. Roll Call: 6 yes.
G.
Resolution to Establish Salaries. Motion was made
by Williams and supported by Fortress to table the resolution until
the board reviews the budget; carried.
H.
Budget Amendments. Motion was made by Fortress
and supported by Williams to approve the following budget amendments:
Increase
101-268-720.000, Maintenance Building/Medicare by $100.00
Increase
101-268-910.000, Maintenance Building/Insurance by $250.00
Increase
101-268-920.000, Maintenance Building/Utilities by $400.00
Increase
101-268-950.000, Maintenance Building/Work. Comp. by $50.00
Decrease
101-209-702.002, Assessor/Assistant Assessor by $800.00
Increase
206-000-676.000, Fire/Reimbursements by $5,838.00
Increase
206-336-802.000, Fire/Fire Runs by $5,838.00
Roll
Call: 6 yes.
I.
Resolution to revise water fees. Motion was made
by Holthouse and supported by Ganton to approve the resolution to
revise the water fee schedule. Roll Call: 6 yes.
J.
Third Party Administrator Agreement. Motion was
made by Ganton and supported by Fortress to approve the Third Party
Administrator Agreement for administration of the Township pension
plan with Burnham & Flower; carried.
K.
Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment. Motion was made
by Fortress and Ganton to approve the text amendments to the Township
Zoning Ordinance effective April 1, 2006, identified as CZC #06-06.
Discussion was held regarding the changes to the text, additional
language and reorganization of the ordinance. It was noted that
the index page did not reflect the proper page numbers; the Supervisor
is to request that Ruth Scott work on updating the index. Roll
Call: 6 yes.
L.
Resignation of Deputy Treasurer. Treasurer Melchiori
expressed her appreciation for Trudy’s hard work in the department
and was thankful for her willingness to work until the end of May
which will allow ample time for her to find a replacement. Motion
was made by Melchiori and supported by Williams to accept the resignation,
with regrets, of Trudy Bartlett as Deputy Treasurer effective May
31, 2006; carried. She noted that she would like to hire someone
by March 13, 2006. Motion was made Fortress and supported by Williams
to allow the Treasurer to hire a Deputy Treasurer by March 13, 2006.
Motion was withdrawn. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Williams to hire as of March 13, 2006 an assistant in the Treasurer’s
department who will become Deputy Treasurer as of June 1, 2006 at
a starting pay of $10.00 per hour; carried.
M. QVF Computer Grant Agreement. The
Clerk discussed the grant agreement sent by the State of Michigan
which will allow the Township to receive a new computer specifically
designated to process voter registration records and print required
election reports. Motion was made by Holthouse and supported by
Williams to approve the grant agreement with the State of Michigan
for a new Qualified Voter File computer system; carried.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Comcast
newsletter, “Community Connection”.
US Census Bureau news.
Newspaper articles re. fire department, seniors, Todd Zeller, and
the new chemical plant
OMM newsletter regarding sewer improvements.
Friends of the Falling Waters Trail regarding a public meeting.
PUBLIC
AND/OR BOARD COMMENT: Public comment opened at 9:16 p.m.
Treasurer
Melchiori. Treasurer Melchiori asked if the new chemical
plant in MACI Industrial Park could be required to pay immediately
when billed to facilitate an improvement in cash flow.
Trustee
Fortress. Trustee Fortress asked about the status
of tax information being available online. Trustee Fortress reiterated
his support for the development of the Falling Waters Trail. However,
he expressed frustration with the State supporting this kind of
initiative when local governments are facing significant revenue
shortfalls resulting in increased local taxation and/or curtailment
of essential services to citizens. He felt that the State should
rethink their priorities.
Public
comment closed at 9:29 p.m.
Adjournment.
Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Fortress
to adjourn the meeting at 9:29 p.m.; carried.
Randi
Holthouse, Township Clerk
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