Spring Arbor Township Board Minutes: Feb. 14, 2005

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, February 14, 2005, at 7:33 p.m., with the following members present: Supervisor Will DeGraaf , Clerk Randi Holthouse, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori , Trustees Troy Ganton and Patricia Short.   Absent: Trustees Marston Fortress and Brent Williams.   The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Supervisor DeGraaf.

Guests were: Mary Frey, Richard Renner, Mike Justian, Tim McEldowney, Russ Ratkiewicz , Stan Lyon, Jeff Kurfess, Luren Dickinson, Seth Penchansky and Charles Ragain.

Public Comment:   Public comment opened at 7:35 p.m.

There was no public comment.

Expenditures.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to approve the following expenditures for January 2005: General Fund vouchers #41676-41763 totaling $42,464.36; Fire Department Fund vouchers #41676-41763 totaling $15,547.03; Street Light Fund expenditures totaling $2,973.68; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $4,836.55; Sewer Receiving Fund disbursements of $0.00; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $39,471.50; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $12,534.49.   Roll call: 5 yes.

Consent Agenda.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to approve the following items under the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of January 10, 2005, the financial report for January 2005, Park Committee minutes of October 18, 2004, Sewer & Water Committee minutes of November and December 2004, and January 2005, Planning Commission minutes of January 4, 2005, Land Use Subcommittee minutes of January 6 and 19, 2005, Budget Committee minutes of January 14 and 21, 2005, and the Senior Center Advisory Board minutes of January 18, 2005; carried.   The financial report showed the following balances as of January 31:

                  General Fund Cash                                        (92,842.43)

                  Certificate of Deposit                                    198,173.20

                  Fire Operations Cash                                      88,019.92

                  Fire Operations CD                                               78.40

                  Street Light Fund                                            7,250.46

                  Public Improvement Fund                                 (2,500.00)

                  P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                              45,405.01

                  Building Inspection Fund                                  57,806.10

                  Falling Waters Endowment Fund                            653.84

                  Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                   11,685.79

                  Sewer Funds                                             1,309,718.45

                  Water Funds                                                182,018.85

                  Trust & Agency Funds                                            0.00

                  Current Taxes                                               62,184.00.

REPORTS:

A.   Police and Fire Report.   There were 44 medical rescue runs, five fire alarms, three mutual aid calls, four fire runs, one carbon monoxide incident, and no bomb threats or Hazmat responses during January.   Police statistics include: 163 complaints, 19 accidents, 19 tickets, 20 verbal warnings, two arrests, no semis ticketed and 19 back-up calls to other departments.

      Chief Ratkiewicz reported that the department will be hooked up with the County within the next two weeks and he is working on improved communication with the Sheriff’s department for warrants issued.   Motion was made by Holthouse and supported by Ganton to accept the police report; carried.

      Chief McEldowney reported that January started out as a busy month for the department with 55 runs, an increase of 10 from the prior year.   The department also held a chili fund raiser for the American Cancer Society raising $2,200.   The department will be participating in some upcoming training events and the Chief reported that he has new candidates potentially for the fire department.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Melchiori to accept the fire report; carried.

B.   MTA E-News for February 2005.   The MTA E-News for February 2005 included information about the Capitol Conference, Public Acts of 2004, Internet Identity Theft, fellowship awards, local ballot issues report, Michigan Safety Conference, web site updates, legal counsel opinions, Board of Review training meetings, other workshops and how to E-mail the MTA.

C.   Strategic Planning Goal #5.   Goal #5, assigned to Supervisor DeGraaf, is to develop a plan for traffic flow on M-60.   The Supervisor did not have additional information to report at this time.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Melchiori to remand the Communications Committee with the responsibility of review the Strategic Planning Goals and to have the committee come back with a suggested plan; carried.

D.   Supervisor’s Report.   Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects; of the recommendation to reappoint members to various township committees; of new contracts to be approved for the Township inspectors; of the accepted offer to purchase the property at 124 Harmony Rd.; of possible road improvements; of a proposed question and answer sheet regarding the King Rd. Water Project; of the status of the King Rd. Water Project; of the completion of the draft version of the Master Plan; and, of a resolution regarding the King Rd. Water Project.

E.   Library Update.   Luren Dickinson, Jackson District Library Director, and Seth Penchansky, Architect, presented information to the board regarding a new library building, with different sites proposed in the township.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

A.   124 Harmony Rd.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Ganton to approve having the Fire Department gut the house with salvageable goods made available for the Fire Department to sell at their annual garage sale, to have the Fire Department burn the house as a training exercise, and to have the tree on the north side and two trees on the east side removed by the county at their expense, with the condition that if the house is not used a burn exercise that the trees will remain; carried.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.   Copy Machine for Senior Center .   Motion was made by Holthouse and supported by Ganton to approve the request from the Senior Center Advisory Board to purchase a copy machine for the Senior Center using existing funds in the departments budget; carried.

B.   Storage Cart for Senior Center .   The Supervisor reported that the storage cart had already been purchased and no action would be necessary on this item.

C.   Conditional Use Permit Request for John Bailey/J & J Properties.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to accept the recommendation from the Planning Commission and approve the Conditional Use Permit Request for John Bailey for storage of miscellaneous construction material on parcel #000-12-01-226-001-02, but to refund the application fee if it is determined that the permit was not actually required; carried.  

D.   Street Light Resolution No. 1 - Greenbriar Sub.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to approve Resolution No. 1 for a street light special assessment district in Greenbriar Subdivision.   Roll Call: 5 yes.

E.   Street Light Resolution No. 2 - Greenbriar Sub.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to approve Resolution No. 2 for a street light special assessment district in Greenbriar Subdivision.   Roll Call: 5 yes.

F.   Park Committee - Promotional Flyer.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to approve the request of the Park Committee to insert a flyer to promote a Park Committee fund raiser in the assessment notices; carried.

G.   Resolution for Highway Permit.   Motion was made by Holthouse and supported by Melchiori to approve the resolution for the annual highway permit required by the Michigan Department of Transportation.   Roll Call: 5 yes.

H.   Extra Hours for Deputy Treasurer.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to approve eight to twelve hours extra for the Deputy Treasurer; carried.

I.   Committee Reappointments.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to approve the following committee reappointments:

Sewer & Water Committee, Stan Lyon, three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Construction Board of Appeals, Ken Moe, five-year term to expire on 1/31/10,

Electrical Board of Appeals, James Buck, three-year term to expire on 3/31/08,

Planning Commission, Earl Poleski, three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Planning Commission, Marston Fortress , three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Planning Commission, Allan Short, three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Rental Inspection Review Board, Greg Scholl, three-year term to expire on 3/31/08,

Rental Inspection Review Board, Jack Ripstra, three-year term to expire on 3/31/08,

Sewer Board of Review, Charles Tomasello, three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Zoning Board of Appeals, Robert Roedema, three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Zoning Board of Appeals, William Jaquays, three-year term to expire on 2/28/08,

Master Land Use Plan Committee, Carl Jacobson, one-year term to expire on 1/12/06,

Master Land Use Plan Committee, Earl Poleski, one-year term to expire on 1/12/06,

Master Land Use Plan Committee, Allan Short, one-year term to expire on 1/12/06; carried.

J.   Contracts for Inspectors.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to approve the contracts as presented for the Building Inspector, Electrical Inspector and the Plumbing & Mechanical Inspector.   Roll Call: 5 yes.

K.   King Rd. Water Extension Project - Question/Answer Sheet.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Ganton to approve the question and answer sheet as presented for the King Rd. Water Extension Project; carried.

L.   Master Plan.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Holthouse to hold the public hearing for the Master Plan on Tuesday, March 1, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Planning Commission meeting; carried.

M.   Special Assessment Resolution #2, King Rd. Water Extension Project.   Motion was made by Holthouse and supported by Ganton to approve Resolution No. 2 for the special assessment district related to the King Rd. Water Extension Project.   Roll Call: 5 yes.

N.   Salary Resolution.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Ganton to establish the salaries of the Supervisor, Clerk and Treasurer with a 2% increase, and to reinstate the $90.00 per diem for the elected Trustees.   Roll Call: 5 yes.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Building Permit Report.   The report of building permits issued during the month of January showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $1,155,000.00.

Assessing/Building Report.   Building permits issued during 2004 showed a 26% increase from the previous year.   During the month of January, six new home permits were issued.   The Assessor reported that a review of permit fees should be done this spring.   He is working on finalizing the 2005 assessment roll.

Z.B.A. Meeting of January.   The Zoning Board of Appeals had no variance requests in January.

Planning Commission.   Unapproved minutes of the February 1 meeting of the Planning Commission included discussion and review of a Conditional Use Permit for John Bailey, and a Site Plan Review for Dollar General.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Letter from Comcast, change in channel lineup.

Letter from Ron Graham regarding a national id card.

Thank-you letter from Recovery Homes.

Thank-you letter from Summit Township to the Fire Department.

Notice regarding a meeting for the Falling Waters Trail.

PUBLIC/BOARD   COMMENT--GENERAL:          Public comment opened at 9:41 p.m.

Trustee Short.   Trustee Short expressed her discontent regarding Comcast’s removal of channels from their lineup.

Supervisor DeGraaf.   Supervisor DeGraaf scheduled special board meetings for the month of March.   Wednesday, March 9, 6 pm, budget work session.   Wednesday, March 16, 6 pm, budget hearing.   Monday, March 28, 7 pm, King Rd. Water Project Extension public hearing.

Adjournment.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to adjourn the meeting at 9:52 p.m.; carried.