Spring Arbor Township Board Meeting October 11, 2005

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

Guests were:   Glenn Dull, Denny DaPra, Russ Ratkiewicz, Brandt Prentice, Tim McEldowney, Chuck Tomasello, Denise Tomasello and Stan Lyon.

Public Comment:   Public comment opened at 7:32 p.m.

Denny DaPra spoke in favor of the recycling proposal, noting that we only have one earth and that we have to take care of our one little piece of it.   He urged the board to vote in favor of the proposal, also noting that we need to make sure that we take care of the intended site so as not to harm the business of Hutch’s Food Center.   It is important that the maintenance of the site is not detrimental to county health inspections for their business.   He also expressed his appreciation for the excellent job done by Trustee Ganton and Clerk Holthouse for their involvement on the committee.   Troy Ganton responded that he spoke with Les from Hutch’s, and there are no issues with the health department.

Denise Tomasello stated that she agreed totally with Denny’s comments and she is in favor completely of the proposal.   She has been casually talking to people about the possibility of having a recycling center at Hutch’s and the responses have all been positive towards the project.

Public comment ended at 7:35 p.m.

Expenditures.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to approve the following expenditures for September 2005: General Fund expenditures #42563-42707 totaling $52,355.58; Fire Department Fund expenditures #42563-42707 totaling $29,879.35; Street Light Fund expenditures totaling $2,868.50; Public Improvement Fund Expenditures of $24,716.58; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $5,114.75; Sewer Receiving Fund expenditures of $0.00; Sewer O & M Fund expenditures totaling $50,519.38; and Water O & M Fund expenditures totaling $5,627.35.   Roll call: 7 yes.

Consent Agenda.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Williams to approve the following items under the consent agenda consisting of the regular meeting minutes of September 12, 2005, special meeting minutes of September 27, 2005, the financial reports for September 2005, Fire Board minutes of May 12, 2005, Planning Commission minutes of August 16 and September 6, 2005, Sewer & Water Committee minutes of August 29, 2005, and the Senior Center Advisory Board minutes of September 21, 2005; carried.   Trustee Ganton commented on the Senior Center minutes, that the Chairperson was a little upset but that the situation has been resolved.   He also spoke regarding the new director, Bev Greene, that she seems to be doing a good job and is focused on what the center and senior’s needs are, and that the seniors like her.   The financial report showed the following balances as of

September 30:

      General Fund Cash                                                          $52,200.65

      Certificate of Deposit                                                       199,870.97

      Fire Operations Cash                                                           4,632.55

      Fire Operations CD                                                           118,341.92

      Street Light Fund                                                               1,018.95

      Public Improvement Fund                                                        396.80

      P.I.F. Certificate of Deposit                                                71,803.99

      Building Inspection Fund                                                    46,273.06

      Falling Waters Endowment Fund                                               (1.53)

      Falling Waters Endowment Fund CD                                      14,056.17

      Sewer Funds                                                                1,259,292.78

      Water Funds                                                                   201,447.27

      Trust & Agency Funds                                                               0.00

      Current Taxes                                                                   52,887.49.

REPORTS:

A.   Police and Fire Report.   There were 41 medical rescue runs, four fire alarms, no mutual aid calls, three fire runs, and no carbon monoxide incidents, bomb threats or Hazmat responses during September.   Police statistics include: 181 complaints, 13 accidents, 60 tickets, 24 verbal warnings, four arrests, three semis ticketed and 16 back-up calls to other departments.

Chief Ratkiewicz reported that complaints are still down.   Last month they received another supply of gun locks which are available at the office at no charge.   The gun locks come from Project Safe.   They are in full swing with deer season, noting that accidents are up from this, with those particular accidents occurring normally in the early morning and early evening.   The department will be participating in a no-match grant next year for youth and alcohol on a campaign to eliminate underage drinking.   The grant funded by Office Highway Safety Planning is for $1,800.00.   Trustee Williams asked how their fuel budget was doing.   Chief Ratkiewicz replied that it is hard to be sure right now where they will end up, but that he has taken steps to keep it under control by having the officers sit more and watch traffic to conserve fuel rather than always driving.   He also noted that there were several citations issued while the construction zone was in place at Emerson Rd.

Chief McEldowney reported that the prior month was busy for them as they finished up their RIT training using the house next to Harmony Park and recertified everyone in CPR.   This is also Fire Prevention month and they are putting on several programs including a senior program, and also elementary and daycare children.   The children programs will focus on candle safety.   He also did a fire prevention program for Magnolia Park using the Smoke House Trailer from the City of Jackson.   They are preparing for Trunk or Treat for Halloween and will use that as an educational tool to the public.   The FEMA grant that the department applied for was turned down, due to the dual funding sources for the department.   He attended the County Commission meeting to show support for the Sheriff’s program to provide new pagers to area departments.

Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to accept the police and fire reports; carried.

B.   MTA E-News for October 2005.   Received the October issue of the MTA E-News.

C.   Supervisor’s Report .   Advised the board: of the status of ongoing projects; of the completion of the Emerson Rd. project; of a construction meeting for the King Rd. Water Project; of the status of our Electrical Inspector; of the start date of the new Assessor; of a request from the County on the Preservation of Farms and Farmlands; of a Tax Tribunal Appeal related to the King Rd. Water Project; of the Enterprise Group’s development process; and, of the status of the resolution relating to water connection fees.   Trustee Ganton asked about the time frame on the demolition of the house at the corner of Harmony and Star Rds.; the Supervisor said that the contractor is currently laid up but expects him to start the project within the next couple of weeks.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

NEW BUSINESS:

A.   Preservation of Farms and Farmlands.   Discussion was held regarding the process; board members determined that they did not have all the information that they needed.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Holthouse that we decline to participate in the program at this time; carried.

B.   Michigan Tax Tribunal Appeal.   A property owner involved in the King Rd. Water Project has appealed his assessment to the Michigan Tax Tribunal.   In order for the Township to defend its’ assessment, it must have an appraisal done and the process requires legal counsel.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Short that we support proceeding on this action.   Roll Call:   7 yes.

C.   Recycling Proposal.   Motion was made by Ganton and supported by Short to support the proposal from the Recycling Committee for $6,460.00 to establish a recycling center at Hutch’s Food Center, and to aggressively search with the committee for grants and to pay for the project with grants.   Roll Call:   7 yes.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Holthouse to authorize the Recycling Committee to approach all sources of funds for the recycling project; carried.

D.   Used Car Lot License – Sheila Sayles.   Motion was made by Williams and supported by Fortress to approve the request from Sheila Sayles for the operation of a used car lot for the time period of August 13, 2005 through August 12, 2006; carried.

E.   Health Insurance Plan Changes.   Clerk Holthouse presented changes to the health insurance plan.   The current plan does not coordinate at all with someone who is on Medicare.   The insurance company recommended changing our plan noting that it could be changed just for the one employee involved.   The Clerk also spoke with the employees about their prescription drug cards, and the employees all agreed to change their drug card to save the township money, approximately $1,200.00 per year.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams to implement the above changes; carried.

F.   Tax Database Charges.   Treasurer Melchiori presented a fee schedule used by the County and other municipalities for charges related to the tax database.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress that Spring Arbor Township approves the following fees to be charged to any person who asks for our tax database for any purpose:

              Up to 2,000 parcels                      $100.00

              2,001 to 4,000 parcels                  $150.00

              4,001 to 6,000 parcels                  $200.00

              6,001 and up parcels                     $250.00; carried.

G.   Authorization to Place Delinquencies on Tax Roll.   Motion was made by Melchiori and supported by Fortress to authorize the Treasurer to place delinquent fees on the 2005 Winter Tax Roll, including street lights, water assessments and road maintenance; carried.

H.   Personnel Policy Manual Updates.   Motion was made by Short and supported by Williams that employees may use up to two of their available sick days per year for personal use to be taken in ½ hour increments, and that the employee’s day is to be defined as their regularly scheduled work day, effective October 11, 2005; carried.

Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress that if an employee wishes to switch their vacation time to sick time after the vacation has been taken, the employee must first obtain their supervisor’s approval and then must petition the board of trustees; carried with two no votes cast.

Motion was made by Short and supported by Fortress that if the employee desires time off without pay in addition to their regular scheduled vacation, the employee must petition the board of trustees after obtaining permission from their supervisor.   The Clerk discussed the above two policies, noting that this type of policy can lead to favoritism and presents a liability issue for the Township, and stated that these two policies are bad policies for the Township to abide by.   Roll Call:   Ayes – DeGraaf, Fortress, Ganton, Short.   Nays – Holthouse, Melchiori, Williams.   Motion carried.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Building Permit Report.   The report of building permits issued during the month of September showed new homes and miscellaneous permits for a total value of $7,100,500.00.

Assessing/Building Report.   During the month of September, four new home permits were issued, for a total of 44 this year.   The building permit for the new residence hall at Spring Arbor University has also been issued.

Zoning Board of Appeals.   At the August 18, 2005 meeting, a variance was granted to Spring Arbor University to allow a building to exceed the maximum building height allowance.

Sewer & Water Committee.   Minutes of the September 26 meeting of the Sewer & Water Committee included a recommendation to proceed with the appeal of the assessment at the Michigan Tax Tribunal.

Fire Board.   Unapproved minutes of the September 29 meeting of the Fire Board included discussion of a generator, new roof for the fire station, a firefighter/maintenance position, and the 10-year plan.

Planning Commission.   Unapproved minutes of the October 4 meeting of the Planning Commission included zoning questions from a township resident, Master Plan draft, and an updated site plan for Concerto Court.

Robert’s Rules of Order.   Information printed from the Robert’s Rules of Order web site was made available to the board members.

CORRESPONDENCE:

              Thank-you letter to fire department from Donna & Ernie Ambs.

              Thank-you note to fire department from Arbor Oaks.

              Thank-you letter to Robert Pohl for donation to park project.

PUBLIC AND/OR BOARD COMMENT:   Public comment opened at 9:13 p.m.

Supervisor DeGraaf.   The Supervisor informed the board members that there are problems starting to occur with the pumps at the MACI lift station due to the additional processing added by the plant usage.   He explained that there are two pumps in the lift station with one intended to be a spare.   Both pumps are being fully utilized, with one of the pumps needing repairs.   He will come back to the board with a cost analysis.

Public comment closed at 9:16 p.m.

Adjournment.   Motion was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to adjourn the meeting at 9:16 p.m.; carried.

Randi Holthouse, Township Clerk