Spring
Arbor Township Board Minutes: July 12, 2004
The
regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday,
July 12, 2004, at 7:30 p.m., with the following members present:
Clerk Randi DeVries, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Marston
Fortress, Troy Ganton, Patricia Short and Brent Williams. Absent:
Supervisor Will DeGraaf. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Clerk
DeVries. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton to
have the Clerk chair the meeting in the absence of the Supervisor;
carried.
Guests
were: Mike Karazim, Dick Renner, Raul Jimenez, Jeff Kurfess, Charles
Ragain, Tim McEldowney, John Tallis and Jim Videto.
Public
Comment: Public comment opened at 7:31 p.m.
Mike
Karazim inquired about the progress of the request to lower the
speed limit on O’Brien Rd. He was informed that the board had approved
their petition requesting the speed limit be lowered and that the
decision would be made by the Michigan State Police, the Jackson
County Road Commission and the Township. Raul Jimenez had questions
related to property taxes and asked to speak with the Treasurer
after the meeting. Public comment closed at 7:34 p.m.
Minutes.
Minutes of the regular meeting of June 14 were approved
on motion by Ganton and support by Short; carried. Trustee Short
asked about the completion of the project by the Land Use Subcommittee;
Trustee Fortress replied that they are scheduled for completion
by year-end.
Financial
Report. The financial cash report for the month was
received on motion by Ganton and support by Williams, showing the
following balances as of June 30:
General
Fund Cash
$ 6,271.76
Certificate
of Deposit
196,946.05
Fire
Operations Cash 5,792.31
Fire
Operations CD
30,176.30
Street
Light Fund 9,817.79
Public
Improvement Fund (1,018.60)
P.I.F.
Certificate of Deposit 113,846.41
Building
Inspection Fund 55,296.19
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund (255.99)
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund CD
11,594.29
Sewer
Funds 1,314,032.81
Water
Funds 182,706.25
Trust
& Agency Funds
0.00
Current
Taxes (11.00);
motion
carried. Treasurer Melchiori reported that we received $5,000 more
in revenue sharing than what was expected, but we are still short
overall this year.
Expenditures.
Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams
to approve the following expenditures for June 2004: General Fund
vouchers #40761-40924 totaling $82,833.60; Fire Department Fund
vouchers #40763-40924 totaling $65,448.25; Street Light Fund expenditures
totaling $2,722.07; Public Improvement Fund expenditures totaling
$23,691.16; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $6,750.34;
Falling Waters Endowment Fund expenditures totaling $514.89; Sewer
O & M Fund expenditures totaling $40,785.66; and Water O &
M Fund expenditures totaling $8,433.74. Roll call: 6 yes.
BOARDS
AND COMMITTEES:
Land
Use Subcommittee. Motion was made by Fortress and
supported by Ganton to approve the minutes of the Land Use Subcommittee
meetings from April 29, 2004, May 13, 2004, May 27, 2004, June 10,
2004 and June 24, 2004; carried.
Park
Committee. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Williams to approve the minutes of the May 20, 2004 and June
17, 2004 meetings of the Park Committee; carried.
Sewer
& Water Committee. Motion was made by Ganton
and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the May 24,
2004 meeting of the Sewer & Water Committee; carried. It was
noted that the lots being sold by Arbor Hills would connect to the
water line.
Planning
Commission. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Williams to approve the minutes of the June 1, 2004 and June
22, 2004 meetings of the Planning Commission; carried.
REPORTS:
A.
Police and Fire Report. There were 49 medical rescue
runs, two fire alarms, no mutual aid calls, 11 fire runs, and no
bomb threats, carbon monoxide incidents or Hazmat responses during
June. Police statistics include: 198 complaints, 17 accidents,
62 tickets, 51 verbal warnings, 11 arrests, three semis ticketed
and 23 back-up calls to other departments. Motion was made by
Ganton and supported by Williams to accept the police and fire reports;
carried.
B.
MTA E-News for July 2004. The MTA E-News for July
included information regarding the summer legislative forum, wireless
communities, America’s town meeting, online directory of Michigan
Library, Washington Report, legal counsel opinion, upcoming workshops,
annual conference information and how to E-mail the MTA.
C.
Senior Center Newsletter. The board members received
the June 15, 2004 issue of the Senior Center Newsletter.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS:
NEW
BUSINESS:
A.
Resolution #3, Street Light Special Assessment.
Motion was made by Williams and supported by Ganton to approve resolution
#3 establishing the special assessment roll for street lights in
Fairfields of Spring Arbor. Roll Call: 6 yes.
B.
Resolution #4, Street Light Special Assessment. Motion
was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve resolution
#4 approving the special assessment roll for street lights in Fairfields
of Spring Arbor. Roll Call: 6 yes.
C.
Conditional Use Application for Chapel Heights Subdivision.
Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short to accept the
recommendation of the Planning Commission and approve the Conditional
Use Permit application for Chapel Heights Subdivision; carried.
D.
Amendment to Cemetery Ordinance. Motion was made
by Short and supported by Fortress to table the adoption of the
amendments to the Cemetery Ordinance until the September meeting;
carried.
E.
Payroll Direct Deposit. The Clerk provided information
regarding requests from employees to have their payroll checks completed
by direct deposit. The charges for direct deposit are $5.00 per
month plus .09 per transaction. Motion was made by Short and supported
by Ganton to approve the $5.00 monthly fee for direct deposit and
to pay the .09 per transaction fee for those employees interested
in direct deposit; carried.
F.
TTI, Inc. HUD application. Motion was made by Short
and supported by Williams to approve the application for housing
leasing assistance to support their permanent housing program; carried.
G.
Proposed Water Main Extension Questions. Motion
was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the recommended
changes by the Sewer & Water Committee of the question and answer
sheet related to extending a water main; carried.
H.
Amendment to Comcast Franchise Ordinance. Motion
was made by Fortress and supported by Ganton to approve the amendment
to the Comcast Franchise Ordinance, No. 7-C. Roll Call: 6 yes.
I.
Resolution for Southwest Regional Utilities Authority.
Motion was made by Williams and supported by Ganton to approve the
resolution amending the articles of incorporation for the Southwest
Regional Utilities Authority. Roll Call: 6 yes.
J.
Resolution to request assistance from the County of Jackson
Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve
the resolution for the Southwest Regional Utilities Authority requesting
assistance from the County of Jackson. Roll Call: 6 yes.
K.
Additional Hours for Deputy Clerk. The Clerk requested
additional hours, approximately 15 to 20, for assistance in working
to prepare for the August Primary Election. Motion was made by
Fortress and supported by Williams to authorize an additional 15
to 20 hours for the Deputy Clerk; carried.
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 $1,065,000.00.
Assessing/Building
Report. During the month of June, permits for 4 new
homes were issued for a total of 45 year to date. A building permit
was also issued for a 14,000 sq. ft. addition for Village Crossing.
The Assessor also reported that Westbrook Townhouses are appealing
their assessment to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.
Supervisor’s
Report. Advised the board: of the status of ongoing
projects; of a regional planning effort recommended by Consumers
Energy; of changes made to a question/answer sheet for extension
of water mains; of township staff recognized in the County Press;
and, of his recommendation to approve the franchise ordinance with
Comcast.
Z.B.A.
Meeting of June 17. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting
for June was canceled as there were no variance requests.
Planning
Commission. Unapproved minutes of the July 6, 2004
meeting of the Planning Commission included a Conditional Use Permit
application from Kowach, Inc..
CORRESPONDENCE:
A
congratulatory letter to Officer Adams for her departmental commendation.
A
thank-you note to Chief Ratkiewicz and the police department from
the Brown’s.
PUBLIC/BOARD
COMMENT--GENERAL: Public comment opened
at 8:42 p.m.
Jim
Videto. Jim Videto, County Commissioner, discussed
the progress on the sewer authority negotiations and the recent
loss of the County Commission Chair, Jim Rice. Mr. Videto also
discussed the millage request to be placed on the August election
ballot for the Department of Aging, and the beginning of the budget
process at the county level. He also mentioned that the search
for an administrator has been narrowed to five candidates.
Clerk
DeVries. Clerk DeVries suggested that the board consider
using a consent agenda option for future board meetings to help
the meeting run more smoothly. Other board members agreed with
the suggestion.
Adjournment.
Adjournment at 8:57 p.m. on motion by Williams and
support by Ganton; carried.
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