Spring Arbor Township Board Minutes: April 12, 2004

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, April 12, 2004, at 7:31 p.m., with the following members present: Clerk Randi DeVries, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Marston Fortress and Brent Williams.   Trustee Patricia Short arrived at 7:50 p.m.   Absent: Supervisor Will DeGraaf and Trustee Troy Ganton.   The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Clerk DeVries.

Guests were: Jeff Kurfess, Ruth Scott, Dick Renner, Barb Pohanka, Charlie Ragain, John C. Stevens Jr., Nancy Nichols, Tami Pilkinton, Michael Childs, Russ Ratkiewicz, David Lady, Chad Greenslade, Scott Greenslade, John Bacon, Charles Edwards, Tim Woolworth, Tim McEldowney, Jim Videto, Stan Lyon and Jon Williams.

In the absence of the Supervisor, motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to have the Clerk chair the meeting; carried.

Public Comment:   Public comment opened at 7:33 p.m.

David Lady announced that after working in the prosecutor’s office for 27 years, that he was running for District Court Judge.   Scott Greenslade thanked the township board for their support over the years and recently to their family.   Public comment closed at 7:35 p.m.

Minutes.   Minutes of the regular meeting of March 8 were approved on motion by Williams and support by Fortress; carried.   Minutes of the special budget meeting and budget hearing of March 24 were approved on motion by Melchiori and support by Fortress; carried.

Financial Report.   The financial cash report for the month was received on motion by Melchiori and support by Fortress, showing the following balances as of March 31:

General Fund Cash                                                         $ 59,087.71

Certificate of Deposit                                                       196,592.77

Fire Operations Cash                                                         67,720.00

Fire Operations CD                                                                176.04

Street Light Fund                                                             15,869.03

Public Improvement Fund                                                     1,018.60

P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                                               131,697.45

Building Inspection Fund                                                     46,406.10

Falling Waters Endowment Fund                                                  0.00

Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                                      12,269.80

Sewer Funds                                                               1,317,906.12

Water Funds                                                                  181,023.44

Trust & Agency Funds                                                               0.00

Current Taxes                                                                          2.68;

motion carried.

The Treasurer reported that they had collected 97% of the summer taxes compared to 95% from the previous year, and that the winter tax collection was at 94%.   Motion was made by Melchiori and supported by Fortress to approve the fiscal year cash report; carried.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Melchiori to approve the year-end revenue and expenditure report.   The Clerk noted that a correction needed to be made to the Fire Fund so the motion was withdrawn.

Expenditures.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the following expenditures during March 2004: General Fund vouchers #40412-40586 totaling $60,246.34; Fire Department Fund vouchers #40412-40585 totaling $200,450.18; Street Light Fund expenditures totaling $2,703.98; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $9,659.36; Sewer Receiving Fund expenditures totaling $28.00; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $44,872.76; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $6,295.24.   Roll call: 4 yes.

BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

Park Committee.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the December 15, 2003 meeting of the Park Committee; carried.

Sewer & Water Committee.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the February 23, 2004 meeting of the Sewer & Water Committee; carried.

Planning Commission.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the March 1, 2004 meeting of the Planning Commission; carried.

Land Use Subcommittee.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Melchiori to approve the minutes of the March 18, 2004 meeting of the Land Use Subcommittee; carried.

Senior Center Advisory Board.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Melchiori to approve the minutes of the March 23, 2004 meeting of the Senior Center Advisory Board; carried.

REPORTS:

A.   Police and Fire Report.   There were 31 medical rescue runs, one fire alarm, one mutual aid call, nine fire runs, no carbon monoxide incidents, one bomb threat, and no Hazmat responses during March.   Police statistics include: 191 complaints, 12 accidents, 42 tickets, 24 verbal warnings, six arrests, one semi ticketed and 17 back-up calls to other departments.   Chief Ratkiewicz reported that they had a busy month, but noted that it was difficult losing Chief Greenslade.   Scott Greenslade, reporting for the fire department, said that the department has been steady as usual and the department is gearing up and is prepared for the swamp fire season.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Short to approve the police and fire reports; carried.

B.   MTA E-News for April 2004.   The MTA E-News for April included information regarding an Officials Exchange Program; Homeland Security Program update; Michigan Notary Law; Michigan Week; the Robinson Scholarship; MTA web site facts; legal counsel opinion; upcoming workshops, and how to E-mail the MTA.

C.   March-April 2004 Washington Report.   The Washington Report included information on first responder grants, Internet tax activity, energy bill and the federal highway bill.

D.   Senior Center Newsletter.   The board members received the March 15, 2004 issue of the Senior Center Newsletter.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

NEW BUSINESS:

A.   Liquid Dust Control Program Agreement.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress to approve the agreement with the Jackson County Road Commission for the Liquid Dust Control Program for 2004; carried.

B.   Task Force Recommendation on Zoning Fees.   Dick Renner discussed how they arrived at their recommendation to increase the zoning fees.   Motion was made by Melchiori and supported by Fortress to increase the rezoning fee to $400.00, the conditional use permit fee to $350.00, the variance fee to $250.00, and to remove the engineering time allowed for site plan reviews and to require that the applicant post a cash bond to be estimated by the township; carried.

C.   Board/Committee Appointments.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Melchiori to approve the following board and committee appointments:

Construction Board of Appeals, Jeff Barton, 5-year term expiring 1/31/2009

Sewer & Water Committee, Will DeGraaf, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007

Sewer & Water Committee, Brent Williams, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007

Electrical Board of Appeals, Greg Scholl, 3-year term expiring 3/31/2007

Planning Commission, David Evans, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007

Planning Commission, John Williams, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007

Planning Commission, Ken Melville, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007

Rental Inspection Review Board, Robert Shearer, 3-year term expiring 3/31/2007

Rental Inspection Review Board, Robert Boss, 3-year term expiring 3/31/2007

Sewer Board of Review, Fred Drago, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007

Zoning Board of Appeals, Beth Kuntzleman, 3-year term expiring 2/28/2007;

carried.

D.   Chapel Heights Subdivision.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short to approve the township expenditure of up to $9,500.00 to extend a water main on Chapel Road from Village Green Subdivision to Chapel Heights Subdivision.   Discussion was held by the board.   Ruth Scott advised the board members that the township attorney had advised that the board defer any action on this matter until the performance bond was received from the developer of Village Green Subdivision.   Fortress, with approval from Short, withdrew his motion.   Motion was then made by Fortress and supported by Short to table the issue of extending the water main on Chapel Rd.; carried.

E.   Resignation of Deputy Treasurer.   Treasurer Melchiori advised the board that she had received a letter of resignation from the Deputy Treasurer, Kathy Baumgardner.   Motion was made by Melchiori and supported by Fortress to accept the resignation of Deputy Treasurer Kathy Baumgardner; carried.   Trustee Fortress expressed appreciation to Kathy for her excellent attitude and service to the township and wished her luck in her future position with Hanover Township.   Motion was then made by Melchiori and supported by Fortress to have someone start as soon as possible at the rate of $10.00 per hour; carried.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Building Permit Report.   The report of building permits issued during the month of March showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $1,357,000.00.

Assessing/Building Report.   During the month of March, permits for five new homes were issued for a total of 17 year to date.   Mr. Renner reported that permits were issued for Marco’s Pizza, Jackson Rehab, Coffee Shop and Foote Hospital, all located in Village Crossing.   He also reported that the Board of Review work has been completed.

Supervisor’s Report.   Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects; of the cease and desist order by Judge Nelson for a roadway in Aviara Oaks; of recommendations for board and committee appointments; and, of his recommendation to approve the township cost to extend a water main on Chapel Rd. to Chapel Heights Subdivision from Village Green Subdivision.

Z.B.A. Meeting of March 18.   The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting for March 18 had one variance to consider.   V04-1, Ray Janes, for a variance from the rear yard setback.

Planning Commission.   Unapproved minutes of the April 6, 2004 meeting of the Planning Commission included a rezoning request from Videto Vista, Inc. and discussion regarding the Site Plan Review section of the Zoning Ordinance.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Thank-you letters dated 3/11/04 to John Williams and Warren Dexter for their service on the Board of Review.

A project review notice dated 3/23/04 for a grant for JCC.

A letter dated 3/26/04 from Comcast re. Channel Lineup.

A letter dated 4/1/04 from Geoffrey Snyder, Drain Commissioner, re. recommendations for Village Green Subdivision.

A thank-you letter dated 4/2/04 to the fire department from June Dodd.

A complaint letter dated 4/4/04 from residents of Fairway Subdivision.

A letter dated 4/6/04 from Greg Northrup of Consumers Energy supporting the current wastewater negotiations.

PUBLIC/BOARD   COMMENT--GENERAL:          Public comment opened at 8:51 p.m.

Tamara Pilkinton.   Tamara Pilkinton addressed the board regarding complaints from her neighbors in Fairway Subdivision.   She indicated that she is working on moving the pool so that she would not be in violation.   She also provided pictures of her yard which were provided to the Clerk.

Ruth Scott.   Ruth Scott addressed the board regarding the letter received from the residents of Fairway Subdivision.   She indicated that she is working with Ms. Pilkinton on relocation of the pool.   Clerk DeVries reported that the Supervisor has been on vacation since the complaint letter was received from the Fairway residents so no action had been taken yet.

David McEvers.   David McEvers announced his candidacy for 12th District Judge.

Nancy Nichols.   Nancy Nichols, the next door neighbor of Tamara Pilkinton, spoke in favor of Ms. Pilkinton and stated she has no problem with her yard or the pool.

Jim Videto.   Jim Videto, County Commissioner, reported that the county is approving a .35 millage request for the Department of Aging to reinstate programs and services.

Jon Williams.   Jon Williams discussed his candidacy for the 64th District State Representative seat.

Adjournment.   Adjournment at 9:08 p.m. on motion by Fortress and support by Williams; carried.