October 13, 2009
Pledge began at 7 pm with all board members present. Again quite a crowd of citizens were also present.
Motion by F.Arquette to approve minutes of September 8, ’09 with correction, seconded by J.Fairbanks, and approved.
Reports:
Treasurer’s Report by C.Draper:
90% of all summer taxes and SAD (special assessment district) for
Dates & office hrs given:
Dec. 1, ’09 winter taxes due
Dec. 31, ’09 office hrs to pay taxes
Feb. 14, ’09 last day to pay summer taxes without penalty
March 1, ’09 last day to pay winter taxes without penalty
Motion by L.VanDolsen to give C.Draper permission to combine West Shore CD with Money Market seconded and passed.
Motion by L.VanDolsen to accept treasurer’s report, J.Fairbanks seconded, and approved.
Assessor’s report by Bob Engelbrecht:
The principal residence exemption (aka homestead exemption) is audited on an annual basis. If the state contacts people concerning this exemption, it is not a good idea to ignore them. This could lead to the state dropping the exemption for that homeowner.
Clerk’s report: None
Commissioner’s report by P.Maiville:
The county has cut employee hours in an effort to retain all the employees. The county has no revenue sharing from the state and they are still in the hole. He also reported that
Cemetery report: None
Fire Board report by M.Zdebski:
162 total runs for the yr, and currently 15 runs for Oct.
The thermal imaging device is in service for detecting hot spots.
Custom Heating & Cooling got the bid for the furnaces.
The fire dept has been involved in numerous community activities.
We now have two certified American Heart Association instructors for CPR.
A fire academy for
Citizens Advisory Committee report by L.Fitz:
This committee has met twice with good progress on all charges from the board, and they will meet again Oct. 19, ’09.
Supervisor report: None
Correspondence: None
Public comment:
M.Zdebski passed on a request from the fire chief for everyone to check their fire places, chimneys & heating devices.
Under Old Biz:
· BS&A continues-Motion made by L.VanDolsen to order service for BS&A software at a cost of $460 for treasurer and $1065 for the assessor, seconded by M.VanVleet and passed.
Note: the assessor’s portion should be picked up by the twp because the state is mandating it. This bill is usually paid in April.
· Signage still needed for Turner rd.
F.Arquette requests fluorescent signs be used for updated street signs.
· Contract bids- L.VanDolsen feels that if the board is happy with the current contracted services, they could save money by not advertising in the paper. The board concurred with the understanding that bids will be accepted for services, but not advertised in the paper. Currently services are provided by:
Snowplowing-Steve Riggs
Cleaning-Susan Piper at $50/time
Pest control-Action
Lawn/cemetery-Peter Shakinas at $10/hr
Under New Biz:
·
Ray Danders represented Midget Lake Association. They are having problems with pragmites, a non-native species of aquatic weed. They collected $2700 this year to enable Professional Lake Management to treat the noxious weed. They have signed petitions for over 70% of the lake owners. L.VanDolsen acknowledged receipt of petitions from R.Danders for
· Handicap retrofit for bathrooms-
Motion made by F.Arquette to go forth with grab bars and elevated toilet seat lids with J.Fairbanks installing, seconded by C.Draper, and passed. C.Draper amended motion to replace toilet with a new
· Furnace repair/replace-
Jack VanMannen inspected the current furnace and deemed it illegal so he will not repair it (gas line is not supported amongst other things). The current furnace is a mobile home furnace from by gone days.
Motion made by C.Draper to publish bids in the Lake County Star for the purpose of replacing the existing furnace, F.Arquette seconded, and it passed.
Motion made by L.VanDolsen to contact Custom Sheet Metal and Jack VanMannen to invite their bids for furnace replacement, M.VanVleet seconded, and it passed.
· Road Signage for private roads-
Motion made by C.Draper to provide private road signs for existing roads if requested, with the understanding that the person requesting such will be responsible for placing the signs, seconded by J.Fairbanks, passed with F.Arquette & M.VanVleet abstaining.
Note: 4 out of the 5 board members live on private raods.
· Exterior cleaning of the twp hall-
Discussion tabled until spring.
· Township hall renovation-
J.Fairbanks wants to build a small office building. He thinks it could be built for less than $50,000.
L.VanDolsen suggests we need a development plan for future times as well as this year.
C.Draper suggests we think in practicalities.
After much discussion which provided citizens with a strong sense of de’javu, J.Fairbanks suggested he could do a drawing for the board’s review (post & beam construction).
Motion made by L.VanDolsen to charge J.Fairbanks to do a preliminary plan for office building to be reviewed at the Nov. 10th meeting, C.Draper seconded, and motion passed.
Note: this administration has been in office 10 months, and is already discussing building new buildings which voters clearly said they were not comfortable in building. L.VanDolsen specifically mentioned that the current twp hall will not support groups of people greater than 30, but the new building would be offices, not a meeting room. Furthermore, this same supervisor hosted a meeting of “Lake County Township Officer’s Association hosted at Elk twp was attended by about 40 people,” in September.
Hmmmm…
· Budget Workshop-
Scheduled for January 14, 2010 at 9am.
· L.VanDolsen signed up for a seminar for Oct. 16th, “Taking Charge of SAD” to be held in
Motion made by J.Fairbanks to pay for L.VanDolsen’s seminar, seconded by C.Draper and passed.
Public Comment-
Barb Maiville suggests a carbon monoxide detector for the twp hall.
Vicki Gates mentioned signs in the shed. L.VanDolsen inventoried signs and gave a list to L.Fitz at the mtg today.
Johnel Buckingham had comments related to a renovation of the twp hall. She made mention that the first order of business in any personal building project is usually to decide how much funding you have available. This administration is going ahead with building plans without knowing how much this will cost. L.VanDolsen interrupted to say that the board has decided to check on the price of J.Fairbank’s building first. J.Fairbanks asked the board to see how the audience felt, but this avenue was not pursued.
Motion to adjourn was seconded, and passed at 8:48pm.
