Spring
Arbor Township Board Minutes: October 13, 2003
The
regular meeting of the Spring Arbor Township Board was held Monday,
October 13, 2003, at 7:30 p.m., with the following members present:
Supervisor Will DeGraaf, Clerk Randi DeVries, Treasurer Gloria Melchiori,
Trustees Marston Fortress, Patricia Short and Brent Williams.
Absent: Trustee Troy Ganton. The Pledge of Allegiance was led
by Supervisor DeGraaf.
Guests
were: Rick Baxter, Cliff House, Cheryl Videto , Worth Videto , Garry
Lewis, John Asbury, Dick Greenslade, John Rule, Charlie Ragain ,
Stan Lyon, Ken Rule, Scott Greenslade, Bob DuBois , Tim McEldowney
, Tim Woolworth and Chad Greenslade.
Public Comment: Public comment opened at 7:32 p.m.
Rick
Baxter addressed the board regarding the marriage resolution acted
on by the county commissioners, an upcoming seminar on methamphetamine
labs, status of west nile virus, and a new construction project
for the Health & Human Services department. Garry Lewis commented
on the use of the township fire barn as a fundraising site for the
Gary Videto Outdoor Youth Preserve (GVOYP) committee, supporting
the location. Cheryl Videto of the GVOYP, discussed their fundraising
activities and will return to the board with a formal request. Cliff
House, a supporter of Tim Walberg, addressed the public regarding
Mr. Walberg running for Congress. Public comment closed at 7:44
p.m.
Minutes. Minutes of the regular meeting of September
8 were approved on motion by Short and support by Williams; carried.
Financial Report. The financial report for the month
was received on motion by Fortress and support by Williams, showing
the following balances as of September 30:
General
Fund Cash
$ 54,815.21
Certificate
of Deposit
195,983.81
Fire
Operations Cash
(9,626.70)
Fire
Operations CD
148,422.59
Street
Light Fund
319.79
Public Improvement Fund
(2,513.70)
P.I.F.
Certificate of Deposit
239,585.18
Building
Inspection Fund
46,036.55
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund
0.00
Falling
Waters Endowment Fund CD
10,722.65
Sewer
Funds 1,272,092.02
Water
Funds
185,777.93
Trust
& Agency Funds
0.00
Current
Taxes
253,068.16;
motion
carried.
The
financial report showing the revenues and expenditures for the six-month
period ending September 30, 2003 was received on motion by Williams
and support by DeVries; carried.
Expenditures. Motion was made by Short and supported
by Fortress to approve the following expenditures: General Fund
vouchers #39736-39892 totaling $51,787.36; Fire Department Fund
vouchers #39748-39892 totaling $30,858.57; Street Light Fund expenditures
totaling $2,660.85; Public Improvement Fund expenditures totaling
$2,513.70; Building Inspection Fund expenditures totaling $4,389.92;
Sewer Receiving Fund expenditures of $25,625.00; Sewer O & M
Fund expenditures totaling $27,866.86; and Water O & M Fund
expenditures totaling $3,577.20. Roll call: 6 yes.
BOARDS
AND COMMITTEES:
Sewer & Water Committee. Motion was made by Short
and supported by Williams to approve the minutes of the April 28,
2003 meeting of the Sewer & Water Committee; carried.
Planning Commission. Motion was made by Short and supported
by Melchiori to approve the minutes of the August 5, 2003 meeting
of the Planning Commission; carried. Motion was made by DeVries
and supported by Fortress to approve the minutes of the September
2, 2003 meeting of the Planning Commission; carried.
Park Committee. Motion was made by DeVries and supported
by Melchiori to approve the minutes of the August 18, 2003 meeting
of the Park Committee; carried. Motion was made by Williams and
supported by Fortress to approve the minutes of the September 8,
2003 meeting of the Park Committee; carried.
Policy
& Communications. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Short to approve the minutes of the September 3, 2003 meeting
of the Policy & Communications Committee; carried.
Senior
Center Advisory Board. Motion was made by Williams and
supported by DeVries to approve the minutes of the September 16,
2003 meeting of the Senior Center Advisory Board; carried.
REPORTS:
A., B. Police and Fire Report. There were 38 medical
rescue runs, one fire alarm, one mutual aid call, 6 fire runs, one
carbon monoxide incident, one bomb threat and no Hazmat responses
during September. Police statistics include: 167 complaints, 17
accidents, 62 tickets, 51 verbal warnings, seven arrests, 6 semi’s
ticketed and 20 back-up calls to other departments.
Chief
Ratkiewicz was not available for an additional report. Motion
was made by DeVries and supported by Williams to accept the police
report; carried.
Chief
Greenslade reported on Fire Prevention Week activities, a drop in
fire runs for the month, spending time in court on the Russell case
and working on the committee to select a new fire truck. Motion
was made by Fortress and supported by Williams to accept the fire
report; carried.
C. MTA E-News for October 2003. The MTA E-News for
October included information regarding the 50th anniversary open
house, a mapping survey by MTA, the Metro Act Resolution, availability
of wastewater security assessment guides, 2004 Capitol Conference,
the NATat Washington Report, MTA web site facts, county chapter
meeting resources, newly published township web sites, MTA workshops,
the upcoming annual conference and how to email the MTA.
D. Washington Report. The third quarter Washington
Report included information regarding various issues and bills on
a national level.
UNFINISHED
BUSINESS:
A. Senior Center Storage Shed. The supervisor presented
a bid for two different size storage sheds. After discussion,
it was mutually agreed to have other contractors bid on the project.
No action was taken on this item.
B. Historical Committee Recommendations. Motion was
made by Fortress and supported by Williams to table the requests
from the Historical Committee until Trustee Ganton was present to
discuss the issues for the committee; carried.
NEW
BUSINESS:
A.
License Renewal Application for Used Car Lot. An application
was received from Sheila Sayles to renew her license for a used
car lot in Spring Arbor Township. Motion was made by Short and
supported by Williams to renew the application for the used car
lot license for Sheila Sayles for the time period of August 13,
2003 through August 12, 2004; carried.
B. Rezoning Request - Kowach , Inc. Motion was made
by Williams and supported by Fortress to accept the recommendation
of the Planning Commission and the County Affairs Committee to approve
the rezoning request from Kowach , Inc., for parcel #000-12-09-251-002-12,
from Agricultural (AG-1) to Suburban Residential (RS-2). Roll
Call: 6 yes.
C. 2002 -03 Audit Report. The Clerk presented the 2002-03
audit report that was prepared by Rehmann Robson, along with their
letter of findings. The letter offered no problems or suggestions
for improvement. Motion was made by Fortress and supported by
DeVries to accept the audit report from Rehmann Robson for the 2002-03
fiscal year ; carried. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Short to express appreciation to the Clerk and Treasurer for
their expertise in keeping the books and performing at a level to
get positive comments from the auditors; carried.
D. Library Hours. After receiving multiple requests
for expanded library hours for the Spring Arbor branch, the supervisor
addressed the board regarding the issue. Motion was made by Fortress
and supported by Short to have the supervisor contact the district
library office by phone requesting additional hours for the Spring
Arbor branch, follow up the conversation with a letter, and also
state census data on usage of the other library branches in the
request; carried.
E. Budget Committee Appointment. Motion was made by
Williams and supported by Short to appoint Trustee Fortress to the
Budget Committee for the 2004-05 fiscal year budget process; carried.
F.
Gallagher Park Playground Area. Motion was made by Williams
and supported by DeVries to spend $8,651.00 to bring the Gallagher
Park playground area up to current safety standards, accepting the
bid from Midwest Recreation Products. Roll Call: 6 yes.
G. Development of Compensation Committee. Motion was
made by Short and supported by Fortress to have the Supervisor appoint
a five-person committee comprised of board members and citizens
to research and develop language for a comprehensive salary/benefits/job
description/evaluation criteria and procedure for all paid employees
of the Township; carried.
H. Purchase of Fire Truck. Motion was made
by Fortress and supported by Williams to purchase the 2000-gallon
pumper/tanker from E-One as a prepay purchase, spending up to $325,000
using fire funds, general funds and public improvement funds as
needed, with funds returned to the general fund and public improvement
fund when available from the fire fund, and researching the equipment
aspect of the total purchase valued at $19,000 with approval to
buy the equipment from a different source to save money. Roll
Call: 6 yes.
I. Additional Wastewater Treatment Capacity. Motion
was made by Williams and supported by DeVries to give the supervisor
the authority to sign the letter for the wastewater treatment allocation
increase written to the City of Jackson; carried.
J.
Additional Hours for Deputy Treasurer. Motion was made
by Melchiori and supported by Short to authorize up to 24 hours
for the Deputy Treasurer to work on implementing the street lights
onto the tax roll; carried. Motion was made by Melchiori and supported
by Williams to pay the Deputy Treasurer for 8 hours already worked
during the summer tax collection period, using funds received from
the State of Michigan specifically for the collection of the State
Education Tax; carried with a no vote cast.
K. Sewer & Water Committee. Trustee Fortress discussed
the unfortunate timing of the development of Village Green on Chapel
Rd. (19 new homes) and the water expansion plan. He suggested
that the committee work towards getting the development to be part
of the central water system. Motion was made by Fortress and supported
by Williams to have the Sewer & Water Committee continue to
pursue a proposal of getting municipal water to the development
of Village Green before they put in wells; carried.
L. Review of Accounting System. Motion was
made by Fortress and supported Williams that the supervisor talk
to Rehmann Robson and get a proposal from them to review our accounting
system for sewer and water, and to see if there is software available
from our current vendor that would automate the process, or add
into the current software and streamline our accounting system and
reporting system; carried with a no vote cast.
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 $906,058.00.
Assessing/Building Report. During the month of September,
permits for five new homes were issued, for a total of 40 this year.
The assessor reported four commercial permits were issued; Hutch’s
(addition), Marino’s (remodeling), Ganton Retirement Centers (sunroom)
and Spring Arbor University Bell Tower. Field work on new construction
is a continuing process.
Supervisor’s Report. Advised the board: of the
status of ongoing projects; of the letter written to the State Rep.
about Emerson Rd.; of the status of an accident on Chapel Rd. with
a manhole cover; of a bid for a storage shed at the senior center;
of citizen requests for expanded library hours; of a recommended
appointment to the budget committee; and, of the necessity of improving
the playground area at Gallagher Park. He explained changes to
the water expansion plan and reported that the cemetery garage had
been broken into. He also encouraged all board members to attend
a special sewer meeting on the following Thursday evening.
Z.B.A. Meeting of September. The Zoning Board
of Appeals meeting in September had no variance requests to consider.
Planning Commission. Unapproved minutes of the October
7, 2003 meeting of the Planning Commission included the Village
Green site plan, Marino’s site plan, two rezoning requests for Dowley
Manufacturing and discussion/review of the Site Plan Approval Ordinance.
Policy & Communications Committee. Unapproved minutes
of the October 8, 2003 meeting of the Policy & Communications
Committee included a web site update, policy manual update, newsletter
update and discussion of administrative manual.
Budget Committee. Unapproved minutes of the October
8, 2003 meeting of the Budget Committee included discussion and
a motion of the recommendation from the Fire Truck Task Force to
purchase a new fire truck.
CORRESPONDENCE:
September 2003 newsletter from the Michigan Township Participating
Plan.
Project Review Notice, 9/4/03, re. Michigan Corn Growers Association.
Thank-you letter to Estella Beardslee, 9/10/03, for assistance with
web site material.
Grant award letter for the police department, 9/12/03.
Thank-you letter from The Enterprise Group, 9/15/03, re. contribution.
Project Review Notice, 10/1/03, re. Downtown Jackson Historic Architectural
Survey.
PUBLIC/
BOARD COMMENT --GENERAL: 9:48 p.m.
Bob DuBois. Bob DuBois spoke regarding the JCC
millage and handed out material.
Trustee Short. Trustee Short suggested that the letter
written to Representative Bisbee regarding Emerson Rd. be given
to Mr. Walberg.
Clerk DeVries. Clerk DeVries explained that she voted
against the proposal of having Rehmann Robson explore the possible
upgrade of the sewer and water accounting systems due to revenue
sharing funds being cut. She felt that the system review and analysis
could be done by staff in house, which would save the township money.
Adjournment. Adjournment at 10:16 p.m. on motion by Williams
and support by Fortress; carried.
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