Spring Arbor Township Board - March 10, 2008

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, March 10, 2008, at 7:01 p.m., with the following members present: Supervisor Will DeGraaf, Clerk Randi Holthouse, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Marston Fortress, Troy Ganton, Patricia Short and Brent Williams. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by the Supervisor.

Guests were: Whitney Stewart, Russ Ratkiewicz, Earl Poleski, Tim McEldowney, Jim Videto, Scott Rogers and Stan Lyon.

Public Comment: Public comment opened at 7:02 p.m.

Jim Videto, County Commissioner, expressed his appreciation for Will’s service to the Township and wished him luck in the future. Congratulations were given to Marston Fortress, incoming Supervisor. He also stated that he felt that there were a lot of “good things” happening in the County, specifically all of the involvement by many different parties in the strategic planning process. He felt that as everyone worked together, Jackson County would become a place that people would want to move to.

Earl Poleski, County Commissioner, reported that the health department is reorganizing its’ staff and structure by taking one level of management out. He also received notice that the airport realignment project looks good for this summer as funds should be coming through for it. An update on the animal shelter included news that the incinerator will not be transferring to the new facility; the county is looking to outsource the function to a private company. He also commented that he had heard news that the Jackson Symphony Orchestra would be playing at the Jackson County Fair this year. Positive news regarding the incinerator: one of the worst offenders is now up to 15 tons per week at the incinerator. He commented that many groups are working together to coordinate their activities on the strategic planning process and that in general, things are progressing along nicely at the county level. He thanked the board members for their support and thanked Will for his service to the Township.

Public comment closed at 7:11 p.m.

Expenditures. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to approve the following expenditures for February 2008: General Fund expenditures #46031-46125 totaling $58,729.33; Fire Department Fund expenditures #46031-46118 totaling $17,173.10; Street Light Fund expenditure #46041 totaling $3,816.72; Public Improvement Fund expenditure #46074 totaling $5,379.94; Building Inspection Fund expenditures #46043-46118 totaling $3,931.02; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures #46032-46126 totaling $114,102.91; Water O & M Fund expenditures #46039-46121 totaling $2,256.34; Trust & Agency fund expenditures #1903-1904 totaling $1,164.00; and, Tax Fund expenditures #4277-4299 totaling $745,050.98. Roll call: 7 yes.

Minutes. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Ganton to approve the regular board meeting minutes of February 11, 2008; carried. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the special board meeting minutes of February 6, 2008; carried. Trustee Short asked that the items discussed in the meeting be followed through on. Motion was made by Short and supported by Holthouse to approve the special board meeting minutes of March 6, 2008; carried.

Consent Agenda. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Holthouse to approve the following items under the consent agenda consisting of the financial reports for February 2008; general ledger report of revenues and expenditures for February 2008; Senior Center Advisory Board minutes of February 13, 2008; Budget Committee minutes of February 13 & 28, 2008; and, Planning Commission minutes of March 4, 2008. The financial report showed the following balances as of February 29:

General Fund Cash                                                        $220,131.64

Certificate of Deposit                                                      258,624.22

Fire Operations Cash                                                       154,441.14

Fire Operations CD                                                          270,676.07

Street Light Fund                                                             18,078.31

Public Improvement Fund                                                          0.00

P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                                                58,581.95

Building Inspection Fund                                                       (678.95)

Falling Waters Endowment Fund                                                0.00

Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                                      30,718.24

Sewer Funds                                                                1,075,990.48

Water Funds                                                                   365,997.04

Trust & Agency Funds                                                              0.00

Current Taxes                                                                124,860.37;

carried.

REPORTS:

A. Police and Fire Reports. There were 43 medical rescue runs, three fire alarms, three mutual aid calls, 11 fire runs, and no carbon monoxide incidents, bomb threats or Hazmat responses during February. Police statistics include: 183 complaints, 23 accidents, 33 tickets, 12 verbal warnings, one arrest, and 21 back-up calls to other departments.

The Chief of Police reported that the month of February was relatively busy for the department with several accidents (non life-threatening). In May, the officers will be attending a driving school at MIS. The department also helped with graduation at Spring Arbor University. The Chief held a presentation at Trinity Lutheran Daycare on crime prevention related to strangers and bus safety, including “Hank the Prank”.

Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short to approve the police report; carried.

The Fire Chief reported that February started out busy for them with a mutual aid fire call at Industrial Steel Treating. The department received a nice thank-you letter in regards to their support at the scene. They also participated in other mutual aid calls for structure fires in Hanover Township and Sandstone Township. The Chief will be working on FEMA grants again this year and will have some assistance from Jon Johnston in the process. He discussed the search-and-rescue training the department went through and commented on the intergovernmental cooperation already shown by several fire departments in the area. He closed his comments by stating that they are working to provide the best service cost effectively.

Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the fire report; carried.

B. Building Permit Reports. The report of building permits issued during the month of February showed miscellaneous permits for a total value of $310,000. Two new home permits were issued compared to one in February 2007. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to accept the building permit report; carried.

C. Supervisor's Report . Advised the board: of his recommendation to perform credit checks on new employees with the responsibility of handling money; of the status of revenue sharing received from the State; of the letter received from Industrial Steel Treating thanking the fire department for their assistance at their building fire; and, of his recommendation for the appointment process for the position of Township Trustee.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

NEW BUSINESS:

A. Employee Applicant Credit Checks. After general discussion by the board members, the Supervisor was asked to review this further.

B. Appointment Process for Township Trustee. After general discussion by the board members, the Clerk was asked to review the process further with the intent that the board would handle it at the budget hearing.

C. Resolution to Establish Salaries. It was requested to change the term “per diem” to “per meeting” in the resolution and with that recommendation, motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve the resolution establishing the salaries of the elected officials as stated in the resolution. Roll call: 7 yes.

D. Budget Amendments. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Holthouse to approve the following budget amendments:

101-000-665.000, Interest, Increase $4,200.00,

101-000-668.000, Cable TV Royalties, Increase $8,000.00,

245-000-665.000, Interest, Increase $50.00,

705-000-695.000, Use of Fund Balance, Increase $1,400.00,

101-171-704.002, Supervisor, Clerical, Increase $600.00,

101-171-718.000, Supervisor, Long Term Disability, Increase $200.00,

101-191-702.000, Elections, Salaries, Increase $1,000.00,

101-209-726.000, Assessor, Supplies, Increase $300.00,

101-209-950.000, Assessor, Workman’s Comp., Increase $600.00,

101-268-920.000, Maint. Bldg., Utilities, Increase $1,200.00,

101-268-930.000, Maint. Bldg., Maintenance, Increase $100.00,

101-269-704.000, Twp. Prop., Deputy Wages, Increase $4,000.00,

101-269-720.000, Twp. Prop., Medicare, Increase $300.00,

101-269-930.000, Twp. Prop., Maintenance, Increase $1,000.00,

101-343-702.000, Comm. Cmt., Salaries, Increase $300.00,

101-410-704.000, Plan. Comm., Wages, Increase $2,600.00,

245-510-974.000, Public Works, Improvements, Increase $50.00,

245-756-991.000, Principal Reduction, Increase $124.85,

245-756-995.000, Interest Expense, Decrease $124.85,

705-803-910.000, Hist. Fund, Insurance, Increase $300.00,

705-803-930.000, Hist. Fund, Maintenance, Increase $1,100.00. Roll Call: 7 yes.

E. Board of Review Meals Policy. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to have the Supervisor’s expense account used for paying for meals for the assessor, secretary and supervisor during Board of Review meetings. Roll Call: 7 yes. Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams that the pay of the Board of Review members as established by the Township Board will include a meal as a working condition fringe if they are required by the Township Board to work through their meal time. Roll Call: 7 yes.

CORRESPONDENCE:

  Letter from Comcast.

  Project Review Notice.

  Newspaper articles.

PUBLIC/BOARD COMMENT: Public comment opened at 8:30 p.m.

   Stan Lyon. Stan Lyon commented on a credit problem he experienced due to a billing error and how it affected his credit rating.

   Brent Williams. Trustee Williams commented on his wife’s experience with establishing credit.

   Clerk Holthouse. Clerk Holthouse updated the board members on the census project.

Adjournment. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 p.m.; carried.