Spring Arbor Township Board Minutes: August 11, 2003

The regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday, August 11, 2003, at 7:30 p.m., with the following members present: Supervisor Will DeGraaf, Clerk Randi DeVries, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori, Trustees Marston Fortress, Troy Ganton and Patricia Short. Absent: Trustee Brent Williams. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Supervisor DeGraaf.

Guests were: Doug Marshall, Clara Sloan, Nick Sloan, Jeremy Tooker, June Dodd, Pat Rombyer, Stan Lyon, Rick Baxter, Dick Renner, Dick Greenslade and Kyle Huss.
Public Comment: Public comment opened at 7:31 p.m.

June Dodd thanked the township board members for the new carpeting at the senior center and for supporting the senior center in other ways. Rick Baxter, County Commissioner, spoke in regards to the West Nile Virus, the 2003 and 2004 property foreclosures and county tax sale, and the county parks department budget. Jeremy Tooker addressed the board regarding his request for a variance from the Private Road Ordinance. Mrs. Sloan addressed the Private Road Ordinance also. Public comment closed at 7:45 p.m.

Minutes. Minutes of the regular meeting of July 14 were approved on motion by Fortress and support by DeVries; carried.

Financial Report. The financial report for the month was received on motion by Ganton and support by Short, showing the following balances as of July 31:
General Fund Cash                               $ 43,444.22
Certificate of Deposit                            195,694.36
Fire Operations Cash                               (3,854.43)
Fire Operations CD                                183,151.67
Street Light Fund                                    5,626.95
Public Improvement Fund                       (23,116.39)
P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                   270,930.91
Building Inspection Fund                         41,079.82
Falling Waters Endowment Fund               (1,491.85)
Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD          12,196.48
Sewer Funds                                    1,317,699.60
Water Funds                                       194,616.66
Trust & Agency Funds                                   0.00
Current Taxes                                     139,731.22;
motion carried.

Expenditures. Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress to approve the following expenditures: General Fund vouchers #39519-39616 totaling $50,999.13; Fire Department Fund vouchers #39521-39617 totaling $20,053.93; Street Light Fund expenditures totaling $2,705.11; Public Improvement Fund expenditures totaling $919.16; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $4,208.24; Falling Waters Endowment Fund expenditures of $1,500.00; Sewer Receiving Fund transfers of $25,000.00; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $21,621.15; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $905.40. Roll call: 6 yes.

BOARDS AND COMMITTEES:

Policy & Communications. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Fortress to approve the minutes of the May 14, 2003 meeting of the Policy & Communications Committee; carried. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by DeVries to approve the minutes of the June 14, 2003 meeting of the Policy & Communications Committee; carried. Motion was made by Short and supported by Ganton to approve the minutes of the July 17, 2003 meeting of the Policy & Communications Committee; carried.

Planning Commission. Motion was made by DeVries and supported by Short to approve the minutes of the July 1, 2003 meeting of the Planning Commission; carried.

REPORTS

A., B. Police and Fire Report. There were 35 medical rescue runs, three fire alarms, three mutual aid calls (Blackman, Parma, Pulaski), 21 fire runs, one Hazmat response, and no carbon monoxide incidents or bomb threats during July. Police statistics include: 203 complaints, nine accidents, 30 tickets, 13 verbal warnings, seven arrests and five back-up calls to other departments.

Chief Ratkiewicz was unavailable for an additional report. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short to accept the police report; carried.

Chief Greenslade reported on the National Night Out event which promoted fire safety and offered free photos and fingerprinting. Activity level is up at the fire station with all vehicles being certified and several accidents to respond to. He is also working with the schools for fire prevention and is working on the annual “Trunk or Treat”. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by DeVries to accept the fire report; carried.

C. MTA E-News for August 2003. The MTA E-News for August included information regarding public hearings on mobile homes, the new speed limit bill, the MTA 50th anniversary party, supreme court ruling, a new spam bill, new township web sites, legal counsel opinions, MTA district meetings, the upcoming annual conference and how to email the MTA.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS

A. Place Delinquencies on Tax Roll. Motion was made by Melchiori and supported by Short to approve the authorization to place delinquent sewer and water installation and usage on the Winter 2003 Tax Roll along with the delinquent street lights, road maintenance and road pavings; carried.

B. Variance Request from Private Road Ordinance. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short to deny the request from Katie & Jeremy Tooker for a variance from the Private Road Ordinance; carried. Trustee Fortress discussed the private road ordinance, stating that it was adopted in 1990 and at the time existing homes were grandfathered in, but new homes were required to adhere to the ordinance. The township board could not be assured that the road would not deteriorate further with additional traffic, unless it was brought up to county road specifications, which cost should be shared among all property owners. The township attorney recommended that the township board deny the request.

C. Private Road Agreements. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Fortress to approve the private road agreements with the Jackson County Road Commission for College St., Howe St., and Pineland Trail. Roll Call: 6 yes.

D. Resolution Rescinding IFT for Dowley Mfg. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to approve the resolution rescinding the Industrial Facilities Tax Exemption Certificate for Dowley Manufacturing. Roll Call: 6 yes.

E. Tree Removal Costs. The Supervisor presented cost estimates for trimming and removing several trees on township properties. Budgeted amount was $3,000.00; estimates totaled $7,140.00. Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress to approve the expenditure of $4,140.00 over the budgeted amount for tree removal; carried.

F. Senior Center - Bid for Construction of Shed. Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Fortress to move the approval of construction of the shed for the point of discussion. A bid was received from Ken Moe Construction for $5,400.00 for construction of a shed at the Senior Center that would be attached to the building. Several board members felt the amount was too high. Motion was made by Short and supported by DeVries to table the issue for further discussion until the September board meeting; carried.

G. Work Hours Policy for Deputies. Trustee Short prepared a policy regarding the work hours of the deputies for clarification of a motion passed at an earlier board meeting. Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress that the deputies of the Clerk and Treasurer will work an average of 20 hours per week, including time off for vacation, holiday and sick pay, and may be distributed as the officers decide in order to accomplish their daily tasks. In unusually busy work times, each office may come to the Board requesting a range of extra hours to meet their workloads. Offices of the Clerk and Treasurer will provide at least one person four hours per day to respond to persons who come to the desk for assistance. However, there will always be two employees available to respond to citizens at the desk. Any variance to this staffing plan may be accommodated by mutual agreement among the Supervisor, Treasurer and Clerk. Motion carried.

H. Request for Additional Hours for Deputy Treasurer. Motion was made by Melchiori and supported by Short to request five to seven additional hours for her deputy to work in figuring the delinquencies and placing on the tax roll; carried. Treasurer Melchiori stated that if her department did not need all of the hours requested for this purpose, that they would not be used.

MISCELLANEOUS

Building Permit Report. The report of building permits issued during the month of July showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $5,372.00.
Assessing/Building Report. During the month of July, permits for three new homes were issued, for a total of 33 this year. New home construction is still up by approximately 20%. Mr. Renner reported that a permit has been issued for a 4,800 sq. ft. addition to B & B Welding, and that a recent appeal to the Michigan Tax Tribunal regarding an assessment on a residential property affirmed the township’s assessment for 2002 and 2003.

Supervisor’s Report. Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects; of a recommendation to deny a variance request from the private road ordinance; of several trees in the township needing trimming or removal; of a bid received for construction of storage shed at the senior center; and, of the status of the water expansion project.

Z.B.A. Meeting of July. The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in July had one variance request to consider. V03-8, Gary Blair, variance from the front yard setback.
Planning Commission. Unapproved minutes of the Planning Commission of August 5 included a site plan review for the Spring Arbor University athletic facility expansion, a site plan review for Village Crossing, and a rezoning request from Kowach, Inc., parcel #000-12-09-251-002-12.

CORRESPONDENCE

A thank-you note from Jack Esterline re. care of the cemetery.
A thank-you note from Martin Kilgore to the Supervisor.

PUBLIC/BOARD COMMENT--GENERAL: 8:44 p.m.

Doug Marshall. Mr. Marshall, in reference to the private road ordinance variance request, asked if there were any restrictions for the length of a private road, and if the township attorney investigated the ordinance did he find that it violated an ex post facto rule for the homes along the private road for those property owners that owned property prior to the ordinance becoming effective. Mr. Marshall was advised that a road over 500 feet has to be a private road.

Clerk DeVries. The Clerk discussed the recent developments in the new township park with the vacated section of Harmony Rd. having the asphalt removed, along with the sidewalks, and a T constructed at the end of Moon Rd.

Trustee Fortress. Trustee Fortress suggested that the board members visit the location of the planned storage shed at the senior center at the conclusion of the board meeting.

Supervisor DeGraaf. The Supervisor informed the board members that the approach planned for Emerson Rd. at M-60 has been canceled by MDOT as they are now requiring curb and gutters.

Adjournment. Adjournment at 8:51 p.m. on motion by Short and support by Fortress; carried.