Spring Arbor Township Board Minutes July 11, 2005

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, July 11, 2005, at 7:30 p.m., with the following members present: Clerk Randi Holthouse, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Troy Ganton, Patricia Short and Brent Williams.   Absent:   Supervisor Will DeGraaf.   Trustee Fortress arrived at 8:37 p.m.   The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Clerk Holthouse.

In the absence of the Supervisor, it was necessary to appoint a chairperson for the meeting.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Melchiori to elect by consent, Randi Holthouse as the chair of the regular board meeting; carried.

Guests were:   Stan Lyon, Russ Ratkiewicz, Robert Mitchell, Dick Renner and Tim McEldowney.

Public Comment:   Public comment opened at 7:31 p.m.   There was no public comment.

Expenditures.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve the following expenditures for June 2005: General Fund expenditures #42211-42369 totaling $84,670.58; Fire Department Fund expenditures #42214-42368 totaling $48,748.99; Street Light Fund expenditures totaling $2,851.92; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $5,702.49; Sewer Receiving Fund expenditures of $0.00; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $55,012.67; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $4,746.07.   Roll call: 5 yes.

Consent Agenda.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Melchiori to approve the following items under the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of June 13, 2005,   the closed session minutes of June 13, 2005, the financial report for June 2005, Sewer & Water Committee minutes of   May 2, 2005, Planning Commission minutes of June 7, 2005, and Senior Center Advisory Board minutes of June 15, 2005; carried.   The financial report showed the following balances as of June 30:

General Fund Cash                                                            $23,834.90

Certificate of Deposit                                                         119,290.14

Fire Operations Cash                                                           48,786.13

Fire Operations CD                                                            137,402.89

Street Light Fund                                                                 9,679.61

Public Improvement Fund                                                         455.50
P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                                                  93,183.32

Building Inspection Fund                                                      56,369.47

Falling Waters Endowment Fund                                                   0.00

Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                                        13,962.29

Sewer Funds                                                                  1,288,915.87

Water Funds                                                                     237,054.90

Trust & Agency Funds                                                                 0.00

Current Taxes                                                                           43.75

REPORTS:

A.   Police and Fire Report.   There were 31 medical rescue runs, four fire alarms, one mutual aid call, 28 fire runs, one carbon monoxide incident, and no bomb threats or Hazmat responses during June.   Police statistics include: 163 complaints, eight accidents, 43 tickets, 21 verbal warnings, five arrests, no semis ticketed and 20 back-up calls to other departments.

Chief Ratkiewicz reported that the month was relatively quiet compared to prior years. The department is working on tagging junk vehicles; at the end of June all the officers qualified on the range for sidearms; some cases were closed out with warrants issued; and the Fourth of July weekend was uneventful, only a few accidents and/or tickets were issued.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Melchiori to accept the police report; carried.

Chief McEldowney reported that the fire department is doing well.   They have responded to two mutual aid calls, one for the City of Jackson and one for Concord Township.   He plans to start including statistics on mutual aid calls in the monthly report.   They requested mutual aid from Summit Township for a fire on Fairway Drive. He then discussed with the board an upcoming out-of-town event on Saturday, August 6, 2005, which will involve a large majority of the fire department.   He expressed a concern with the station not being manned as full as he would like it to be.   In past situations, the fireman’s association has paid firefighters from Summit Township to man the fire station for them.   At this time, the association does not have the funds to cover this expense.   After considerable discussion, motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress to have the station manned by the Summit firefighters as long as there is no liability issue to the township or, have four of our volunteers cover the station and be paid the normal squad rate of pay from 2pm to midnight, and to have the Fire Board develop a policy that will cover appropriate coverage substitutions for the fire department when there would be an excessive amount of volunteers out of the area; carried.

B.   MTA E-News for July 2005.   The MTA E-News for July 2005 included information about the new MTA web site, Michigan Digital Government Summit, PILT Payments, and upcoming workshops.

C.   Supervisor's Report .   Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects; of a resolution required to correct frontage for a property in the King Rd. Water Project; of an application for a fireworks display permit from Spring Arbor University ; of the status of the Dearing Rd. intersection at M-60; and, of the status of revenue sharing from the State of Michigan .

D.   Recycling Committee Report.   Troy Ganton reported for the Recycling Committee, noting that Hutch’s has agreed to provide space for the recycling center location on the west side of the parking lot.   Concerns are with trash left behind, staff to clean it up, and staff for snow removal.   A sign would be needed to promote the recycling center, showing joint cooperation between the Township, Hutch’s and Northwest Refuse.   The project has been nicknamed “Recycle Arbor”.   Questions from the board related to permission requirement from the County Health Department, how would the paper trailer fit in, possible location at Spring Arbor Lumber, is there an issue of liability with the location at Hutch’s, what guarantee would the Township have that Hutch’s would continue to allow the space to be used for the Recycling Center.   Those issues will be taken back to the committee for their consideration.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

A.   Equalizer Internet Service with BS&A.   Treasurer Melchiori reported that Warren Dexter was contacted about this request and he felt that it was not in his area of expertise.   She contacted our network installer and she is waiting to receive their findings in writing.   No action was taken.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.   Used Car Lot Application – Robert Mitchell.   An application was received from Robert Mitchell to have a used car lot located at 6410 Spring Arbor Rd. in conjunction with his current business, Fas-Break.   Mr. Mitchell stated that plans are to have approximately two to three cars available for purchase.   After consideration of zoning and traffic issues, motion was made by Williams and supported by Ganton to approve the request to have a used car lot at the location of 6410 Spring Arbor Rd.; carried.

B.   Resolution to Partially Vacate Special Assessment.   An error was discovered in a property owners lineal front foot that was used to calculate their special assessment for the King Rd. Water Project.   To correct the error, a resolution is required.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve the resolution to Partially Vacate the Special Assessment Roll.   Roll Call:   5 yes.

C.   Application for Fireworks Display Permit.   An application for a fireworks display permit was received from Night Magic Displays for Spring Arbor University Hanging of the Greens.   The township is named as additional insured.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the request for a fireworks display permit to be used for the Hanging of the Greens; carried.

D.   Rezoning Request – Kowach – Parcel #000-12-16-101-008-03.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to accept the recommendation of the Planning Commission and County Affairs and approve the rezoning request from Kowach, Inc., for parcel #000-12-16-101-008-03, changing the zoning of the property from Suburban Residential (RS-1) to Industrial (I-1).   Roll Call:   5 yes.

E.   Resolution to Authorize Grant Participation .   As a requirement of the State of Michigan, it is necessary to approve a resolution authorizing the Township to participate in a grant to receive new optical scan voting equipment.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the resolution authorizing participation in the grant offered through the State of Michigan to receive new optical scan voting equipment.   Roll Call:   5 yes.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Building Permit Report.   The report of building permits issued during the month of June showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $1,005,500.00.

Assessing/Building Report.   During the month of June, three new home permits were issued, for a total of 32 this year.   Last year at this time, we had issued 45.   The Assessor has been working in the field on new construction, taking photos and measurements.   Mr. Renner reported that new housing starts are down compared to last year, but there are several developments that will be requesting building permits soon.   Some responses have been received for the Assessor position.   Mr. Renner passed out a report from the Equalization Department, noting that Spring Arbor Township ranks fifth in percent change for equalized value throughout the county.   He also referred to a recent newspaper article that ranked Spring Arbor Township third in the county for population increase, suggesting that part of that draw was due to Spring Arbor University and Western Schools.

Fire Board.   Unapproved minutes of the May 12 meeting of the Fire Board included discussion about reimbursement for training time, new position of DPW/Fire Fighter, FEMA grant, and roof estimates.

Park Committee.   Unapproved minutes of the June 2 meeting of the Park Committee included discussion about “geocache”, location of porta-john in the park, and pavilion material costs.

Sewer & Water Committee.   Unapproved minutes of the June 6 meeting of the Sewer & Water Committee included discussion about the King Rd. Water Project, sewer back-up, phone line installation, and parts for Willoway generator and Cabot Lift Station.

Planning Commission.   Unapproved minutes of the July 5 meeting of the Planning Commission included discussion about the Site Plan Review for Stone Ridge Development Group.

Z.B.A. Meeting of June.   The Zoning Board of Appeals did not have any variances to report.

Land Bank.   A notice was received regarding an informational session about a Land Bank for Jackson County.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Letter from Millennium Digital Media dated 6/14/05 re. addition of SCI-FI channel

Letter from Comcast dated 6/16/05 re. pricing changes.

Letter from Comcast dated 6/17/05 re. change to digital package price and service.

Letter from Mark Nettleton, Attorney, re. Hoover property in water special assessment district.

Letter from Comcast dated 6/29/05 re. installation price changes.

Letter from John Fatchett received 6/29/05 commending Fire Department.

PUBLIC/BOARD   COMMENT--GENERAL:   Public comment opened at 8:54 p.m.

Trustee Short.   Trustee Short relayed a comment regarding the excellent condition of the ball fields at Gallagher Park.

Richard Renner.   Richard Renner commended the Township Board for looking into recycling for the township.   He suggested looking at township property for the location to eliminate any liability issues, or insurance concerns.

Adjournment.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to adjourn the meeting at 8:57 p.m.; carried.