Spring Arbor Township Board Minutes: June 14, 2004

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, June 14, 2004, at 7:30 p.m., with the following members present: Supervisor Will DeGraaf, Clerk Randi DeVries, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Marston Fortress, Troy Ganton, Patricia Short and Brent Williams. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Supervisor DeGraaf. Treasurer Melchiori introduced her new Deputy Treasurer, Trudy Bartlett.

Guests were: Richard Renner, Ken Melville, Trudy Bartlett, Barb Pohanka , Russ Ratkiewicz, John Clary, Estelle Clary, Tim Woolworth, Scott Greenslade, Chad Greenslade, John Rule, Ken Rule, Tim McEldowney , Barb Greenslade, Jon Wierenga , Harriet Videto, Steve Videto, Garry Lewis and John Eiler.

Public Comment: Public comment opened at 7:33 p.m. There was no public comment.

Minutes. Minutes of the regular meeting of May 10 were approved on motion by Williams and support by Fortress; carried.

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

motion carried. Treasurer Melchiori reported that the first revenue sharing payment of the fiscal year had been received and it was $ 10,000 less than what was expected. The June payment is projected at a higher amount than what was anticipated.

             General Fund Cash                                   $ 78,791.90

             Certificate of Deposit                                 196,812.46

             Fire Operations Cash                                   71,240.56

             Fire Operations CD                                          176.18

             Street Light Fund                                       12,539.86

             Public Improvement Fund                               1,018.60

             P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                         131,810.60

             Building Inspection Fund                               51,570.53

             Falling Waters Endowment Fund                        (441.10)

             Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                 12,285.95
             Sewer Funds                                           1,336,879.20

             Water Funds                                              182,715.92

             Trust & Agency Funds                                          0.00

             Current Taxes                                                     0.00;

motion carried. Treasurer Melchiori reported that the first revenue sharing payment of the fiscal year had been received and it was $10,000 less than what was expected. The June payment is projected at a higher amount than what was anticipated.

Expenditures. Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve the following expenditures for May 2004: General Fund vouchers #40643-40758 totaling $47,117.47; Fire Department Fund vouchers #40643-40756 totaling $1,745.06; Street Light Fund expenditures totaling $2,679.73; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $6,465.38; Falling Waters Endowment Fund expenditures totaling $949.22; Sewer Receiving Fund expenditures totaling $8.25; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $77,122.63; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $14,940.63. Roll call: 7 yes.

BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

Sewer & Water Committee. Motion was made by DeVries and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the April 26 ,2004 meeting of the Sewer & Water Committee; carried. Treasurer Melchiori asked for clarification of the minutes; the Supervisor indicated that it would be discussed under New Business regarding the REU's .

Planning Commission. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the May 4 ,2004 meeting of the Planning Commission; carried.

Park Committee. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by DeVries to approve the minutes of the May 6 ,2004 meeting of the Park Committee; carried.

Senior Center Advisory Board. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Melchiori to approve the minutes of the May 18, 2004 meeting of the Senior Center Advisory Board; carried.

REPORTS:

A. Police and Fire Report. There were 33 medical rescue runs, five fire alarms, one mutual aid call, 10 fire runs, one bomb threat, and no carbon monoxide incidents or Hazmat responses during May. Police statistics include: 195 complaints, 20 accidents, 44 tickets, 23 verbal warnings, seven arrests, two semis ticketed and 27 back-up calls to other departments. Chief Ratkiewicz reported that they had a relatively safe Memorial weekend with only one traffic accident. The department will be participating hi Project Safe with gun locks this year and will also be involved the annual Learning Fair held at Spring Arbor University. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to accept the police report; carried. Tim McEldowney , Safety Officer for the fire department, reported that he had contacted E-One and was told that the truck is still in Florida and they expect to have it completed within two weeks. He expects the department to have use of the vehicle by July 1. Motion was made by DeVries and supported by Williams to accept the fire report; carried.

B. MTA E-News for June 2004. The MTA E-News for June included information regarding MTA's digital mapping program; the Summer Legislative Forum; NATaT ; Leadership Awards; Personal Property Audit Grants; legal counsel opinion; upcoming workshops, and how to E-mail the MTA.

C. Senior Center Newsletter. The board members received the May 15, 2004 issue of the Senior Center Newsletter.

D. Washington Report. The board members received the June 2004 issue of the Washington Report.

E. Strategic Planning Goal #11. Goal #11, to review and revise the zoning ordinance and long- range land use plan, was assigned to Trustee Fortress. Trustee Fortress reported that a subcommittee of the Planning Commission has been meeting two times a month to work on the long-range land use plan. The subcommittee will be interviewing various people in the business and farm community to receive input on how they want things developed.

F. Strategic Planning Goal #13. Goal #13, to improve communications with constituents, was assigned to Trustee Short. Trustee Short reported that the web site is being updated with new articles every month and that the township newsletter will be published three times per year. The review of the administrative manual will begin in August with a report scheduled to the board in September.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

A. Chapel Heights Subdivision. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short to approve the township installing the water main on Chapel Rd. Roll Call: 6 yes, 1 no. Trustee Williams voted no. Trustee Short discussed receiving a proposal from the Sewer & Water Committee regarding future policy. Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress to have the Sewer & Water Committee formulated a policy that will regulate what our responsibility is and what the developers responsibility is in providing sewer and water in subdivisions; carried. Trustee Fortress commented that the Planning Commission generally feels that there should be no more development unless sewer and water mains are installed.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.   Township Committee Appointments.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the recommendation of the Supervisor and approve the following appointments: Ron Barton, term to expire on 6/30/2009, Mechanical Board of Appeals; and Ron Barton, term to expire on 6/30/2009, Plumbing Board of Appeals; motion carried.

B. Tree Removal - Cemetery and Park areas. Two trees on township property (one in the cemetery and one in the new park) were recommended for removal as they are dying. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to approve spending up to $1,500.00 to remove and get rid of the two trees. Roll Call: 7 yes.

C. Ogle Park Tennis Courts. Spring Arbor University requested that the four tennis courts in Ogle Park be removed and replaced with two new tennis courts on other University property with designated parking spaces allotted for their use. Motion was made by DeVries and supported by Fortress to approve the transfer of the two tennis courts to the new parcel with the covenants existing on the old parcel transferred to the new parcel; carried.

D. Petition to Reduce Speed on O'Brien Rd. Several petitions were presented to have the speed reduced on O'Brien Rd. from 55 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton to support the petition of the property owners on O'Brien Rd. to reduce the speed from 55 miles per hour to 35 miles per hour; carried.

E. Appointment of Fire Chief. The Supervisor presented a job description for the Fire Chief position with changes made to it. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to approve the revised job description for the position of Fire Chief; carried. The Supervisor then presented the recommendation from the Fire Task Force of Tim McEldowney as the new Fire Chief. He informed the board that the position was offered to Mr. McEldowney at an annual salary of $42,000.00, along with family health insurance, two weeks vacation, a cell telephone for township business, no car allowance, and a participant of the township pension plan. Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the recommendation of Tim McEldowney as the new Fire Chief; carried. The position of Fire Chief is also eligible for life insurance, intensive care insurance, cancer insurance, and long-term disability insurance. Supervisor DeGraaf discussed the analysis of the Fire Task Force in their decision to recommend the Fire Chief, pointing out the attributes of the new Fire Chief.   Trustee Fortress expressed appreciation to all three of the applicants, and to the other two community members that participated on the task force.

F.   Establish Fire Board.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve the fire board and the following appointments and terms, and to have the committee return with the responsibilities of the fire board at the August board meeting to be adopted by the township board: Will DeGraaf, 6/30/05; Marston Fortress, 6/30/06; Charles Kuntzleman , 6/30/07; Ken Melville, 6/30/08, Brent Williams, 6/30/09, and the Fire Chief with no expiration of a term; carried.

G.   Development of Grass Ordinance.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress to have the township attorney develop a grass ordinance for our consideration; carried.

H.   Comcast Franchise Ordinance.   The Supervisor discussed the franchise ordinance that is being prepared for adoption by the board.   He recommended that a graduated increase be included for the franchise fee in the new ordinance.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Short to raise the franchise fee royalty amount to 5% immediately; carried.

I.   Rezoning Request - Max Videto, Jr.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission and County Affairs to approve the rezoning request from Max Videto, Jr. to rezone parcel number 000-12-15-277-001-00 from Agricultural (AG-1) to Highway Service Commercial (C-3). Roll Call: 7 yes.

J.   Street Light Special Assessment District - Resolution #1.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by DeVries to approve resolution number one for the establishment of the street light special assessment district for Fairfields of Spring Arbor.   Roll Call: 7 yes.

K.   Street Light Special Assessment District - Resolution #2.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Ganton to approve resolution number two directing the Supervisor to prepare a special assessment roll.   Roll Call: 7 yes.

L.   Cancer Insurance.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to offer the new Level II Plan for cancer insurance to all employees if they so choose; carried.

M.   Aerator Pumps.   The Supervisor reported that an aerator pump at the lagoons is bad and needs to be replaced.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Ganton to approve the replacement of the aerator pump up to $4,500.00.   Roll Call: 7 yes.

N.   Investment Recommendation.   The Treasurer reported on an investment option for the general fund, earning 1.35% APY for 90 days through Citizens Bank.   Motion was made by DeVries and supported by Melchiori to approve the investment recommendation to invest with Citizens Bank; carried.

O.   Additional Hours for Deputy Treasurer.   The Treasurer requested additional hours for the Deputy Treasurer on an as needed basis.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Short to allow up to 20 hours of additional time if needed for the Deputy Treasurer; carried.

P.   Departmental Commendation for Officer Adams.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to have a letter of congratulations written to Officer Sue Adams; carried. 

MISCELLANEOUS:

Building Permit Report.   The report of building permits issued during the month of May showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $3,058,000.00.

Assessing/Building Report.   During the month of May, permits for 14 new homes were issued for a total of 41 year to date, a 95% increase over last year at this time. A building permit was also issued for the dining room addition at Spring Arbor University.   The Assessor reported that he is working on the 2005 assessment roll process.   Mr. Renner was also present at the meeting and shared information regarding the county assessed values by class.

Supervisor’s Report.   Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects; of his recommended appointments to township committees; of an award given to Officer Adams; of an informational request from a township citizen; of his recommendation to install a water main on Chapel Rd. to connect two subdivisions; of a request by Spring Arbor University to transfer the two tennis courts slated for public use; of tree loss due to storms; of a petition received requesting a lower speed limit on O’Brien Rd.; of revisions recommended for the Fire Chief job description; of a request to establish a Fire Board; of a suggestions to develop a grass ordinance; and, of recommended changes to the franchise ordinance with Comcast.

Z.B.A. Meeting of May 20.   The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting for May had one variance to consider.   William Strickrodt , for a variance from the side yard setback.

Planning Commission.   Unapproved minutes of the June 1, 2004 meeting of the Planning Commission included a Site Plan Review for Spring Arbor University.

CORRESPONDENCE:

A thank-you letter from Beth & Hannah VanSumeren to Chief Ratkiewicz.

A departmental commendation for Officer Sue Adams.

An opinion letter from Robert Grover regarding variances dated 5/4/04.

A newspaper article re. Spring Arbor Township Police Department.

A letter dated 5/26/04 from Comcast re. Channel Lineup.

A letter dated 5/27/04 from the Comcast re. Price Changes.

A thank-you note dated 5/29/04 from Irv Rensberry to the fire department.

PUBLIC/ BOARD   COMMENT --GENERAL:          Public comment opened at 9:19 p.m.

John Clary.   John Clary discussed the hearing requirements for the special assessment districts for street lights.   He questioned why the hearings were necessary when there was only one property owner and the same property owner requested the street lights.   Dick Renner informed him that the township was still required to follow state law.   The Supervisor indicated that he would check with the township attorney to see if it could be bypassed in this type of a situation.

Tim McEldowney .   Tim McEldowney commented on the process that was used for the selection of the Fire Chief.   He felt that the committee did an outstanding job representing the township, listening and talking to the members of the fire department, and spoke in favor of having a fire board to bounce ideas off of.   He said he is excited about the new experience and will be working with people in his new position as Fire Chief.

Adjournment.   Adjournment at 9:21 p.m. on motion by Williams and support by Ganton; carried.