Bye-Bye Building...

According to old documents John Fairbanks has on hand, this building was built in the winter of 1914 by John B. Wallace after a bid was accepted for $1014.00 total

The new roof was put on in 2004, and a new furnace was purchased this winter, 2010-11

Well, with the approval of three people to build a new stand-alone meeting hall/office building for $155,000, the current town hall will undoubtedly go to rack and ruin...just another lonely building rotting its good memories...

Well Said From Johnel Buckingham...

To Elk Township Citizens:

 

After the 2011-2012 Annual Budget Meeting and the Annual Meeting, the Elk Township Board held a “Special Meeting for Proposed Building Project” today, March 26, 2011.  The results of that meeting follows:

 

     1)    The Board presented three separate building plans representing possible choices of construction.

 

     2)    The citizens present were allowed to ask questions or comment about each building.  (Most questions and interest was with John Fairbanks’ presentation.)

 

     3)    A “vote” of hands was called for by Supervisor VanDolsen to learn which building the citizens present thought to be the best for Elk Township residents.

 

            3 votes were cast for the smallest of the buildings presented

            4 votes were cast for the largest of the buildings presented

            9 votes were cast for the building/addition presented by John Fairbanks that would be attached to the existing Township Hall

 

Immediately following the citizens’ vote:

 

     4)    A motion was made by Trustee, Frances Arquette to build the largest of the building plans presented (the one that got 4 votes of the citizens)

This motion was seconded by Secretary, Marilyn VanVleet

No discussion was asked for by Supervisor, VanDolsen

A role call vote was taken as follows:

           Supervisor VanDolsen – yes

           Trustee Arquette – yes

           Secretary VanVleet – yes

           Trustee Fairbanks – no

           Treasurer Draper – no

 

The motion passed 3-2.

 

    5)    The “Special Meeting” was immediately adjourned.

 

A TOTAL DISREGARD OF THE PUBLIC!

In politics' usual display of power, Elk township board members:
Linda VanDolsen, supervisor
Marilyn VanVleet, clerk
Frances Arquette, trustee
listened to the public's concerns, and even took a vote of confidence for three proposed building ideas. Then these three elected officials voted to build a larger stand-alone building which was the public's least-favored of all the ideas.
Such disregard for voters leaves me speechless!...

Myths, Misconceptions, or Misrepresentations

Myth #1: The current building cannot be added onto without bringing everything up to code- The building inspector, Tony Gagliardo, has repeatedly instructed Elk township residents that only what is changed will have to be brought up to date--why are we taking one person's word for truth? Tony may be reached at 745.2722

Myth #2: The current building cannot support the load on the floors- Three local contractors assessed the building inside and upside and outside and downside. They did not come to a consensus as to the structural viability of the building, but two employees from a reputable architectural firm did spend 7 hours inspecting the building (including pictures from the crawl space) and found it to be worthy of an addition, and mentioned that it had 35-50 years of useful life left in it--again why are we taking one person's word for truth? Dean DeKryger of DK Design may be reached at 779.4002

Myth #3: The current building's occupancy rate is less than 30 people with all the weight in the building now-where is this figure coming from? In speaking with a retired fire marshal from Kalamazoo, and DK Design's office, seating for meetings (chairs only) would need 7 square foot/person. This leads me to believe with a footprint of 33x22 foot(current township hall), even with the filing cabinets and desks and tables taken into account, we should be able to fit 50 chairs in any meeting--why are we taking one person's word for truth?

Myth #4: The fire regulations do not allow for more chairs set up-WHAT? Exactly where is this info coming from? See above Myth #5 for a fire marshal's perspective--and why are we taking one person's word for truth?

Myth #5: The proposed project is considered to be a mixed use project by Lake County, and therefore, is not a Class C commercial building project-not supported by the Lake County Building Dept or the aforementioned architectural firm. This building proposal may be a mixed use proposal, but it is still a commercial building subject to commercial codes and regulations.--why are we taking one person's word for truth?

Myth #6: One or two members of a township board can decide to spend $155,000 without a vote of the taxpayers-by law a majority of a township board must vote during a scheduled meeting after a motion or resolution has been made. This must be a matter of public record and documented as such. It is true, however, that the board of a township may vote by majority to spend $155,000 on anything they deem worthy, and unless the voters use their power of referendum or (heaven forbid) recall, there is not much that can be done after the fact.

Annual Township Meeting coming up...

The annual Elk Township Meeting will be held on March 26th, Saturday, at 10:00 am with a special meeting held immediately following. The supposed purpose of this special meeting would be an open forum of which citizens have requested:

• At that meeting, present three separate building plans
• Include approximate costs of each plan
• Citizens present at the special meeting would then vote on which plan they would like to see the township build.

It remains a fact, however, that a standing township board is not bound by a citizen's vote in a town hall meeting. The board would be bound by a vote during a regular election such as the board allowed in November of 2008. At that time, the citizens were able to vote on borrowing the sum not to exceed $200,000 and use current funds of $125,000 to add on to the current township hall. This vote went down in defeat. A letter from the auditor after the 2008 audit showed the township having "an unreserved fund balance of $251,797," and the auditor recommended that the township could use $125,000 of the fund balance with a years worth of operating capital remaining. The current township officials would like to use $155,584 of tax payers monies to add on to the current township hall even though we only have "an unreserved fund balance of $281,178,"according to the audit for 2010. This means we would have less than a years worth of operating capital, and the money would be gone for good. Over the past two years, according to existing audit records, we have accumulated $29,381, or $14,690 per year. This is taxpayers' monies which should allow for taxpayers to have a say in where is goes. However, according to our representative form of government, any elected official acting on your behalf may spend such balance of money as they deem fit. Your only say-so is at meetings where motions are being made and seconded and passed, or at the voting booth. I encourage every citizen to make their voices heard at the annual township meeting this Saturday at 10am.