Banks Township Board Meeting

Monday December 14, 2009

Draft minutes

 

 

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Supervisor Thomas Mann.  The meeting was rescheduled from December 21.  Present were Supervisor Mann, Clerk Donna Heeres, Trustee Marvin Rubingh, and Trustee Mark DeKorne.  Absent: Treasurer Katy Postmus.  Also present: Janet Koch of the Antrim Review and Jerry Rasmussen arrived at 7:50 PM, Hugh Campbell arrived at 8:25 PM.

 

2. Supervisor Mann opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and Trustee Rubingh offered prayer.

 

3. The minutes of the November Regular Board meeting were presented.  MOTION DeKorne, Mann, CARRIED to approve the minutes as presented.

 

4. The treasurer’s written report of incomes and balances was given.  General Fund Balance: $331,925.06 with $40,000 due from the Fire Fund; Fire Fund Balance: $63,197.81; Roads Fund Balance: $83,269.29; Liquor Fund Balance: $1,942.89; Grand Total: $480,335.05. 

 

5.  Supervisor Mann announced that Treasurer Katy Postmus and her husband Jim are the parents of a son born about noon today.  All are doing well.

 

6.  Personal Property Tax Refunds: Trustee Rubingh reported communication with MTA and township’s attorney and both agree that refunds of personal property taxes are not lawful expenditures.  He is continuing to investigate this issue.  The Planning Commission meeting scheduled for this evening was cancelled due to lack of an agenda.

 

7. Public Comment:  Snowmobile Trail into Ellsworth: Jerry Rasmussen addressed the Board requesting approval of an easement to allow the snowmobile trail to cross township property north of the Ellsworth Fire Station.  The Jordan Valley Trails Council will groom the trail if all easements can be obtained.  Also, liability insurance will be provided by the Trails Council.   A trail head with parking is planned for the Community Park. 

 

8.  Township Property & Liability Insurance: Clerk reports Pinnacle Insurance has asked to bid on our insurance again this year.  Consensus was to obtain bids from Municipal Underwriters of Michigan and Pinnacle Insurance for the policy period March 1, 2010 through February 28, 2011. 

 

9.  Road Naming: Clerk reports that Equalization Dept has notified us of need to name a road that now has two or more dwellings on it so they can properly number the road as required by the 911 Ordinance.  The parcel is in Section 23, Range 9W.  Clerk has left messages for the owner of the property and hopes to hear back from him in the next couple of weeks.  Action was tabled pending contact from property owner.

 

10. Snowplowing: Clerk received bids for snowplowing at the Ellsworth Fire Dept, the Township Hall & the Ellsworth Cemetery Vault Building from Heeres Excavating and Drenth Brothers.  Heeres Excavating was $30 per plow for the FD & Twp Hall and Drenth Brothers was $25 to $30 per plow, depending upon the amount of snowfall.  MOTION Heeres, Mann, CARRIED to award the snowplowing bid to Drenth Brothers for 2010. 

 

11. Info Items: Sheriff’s report of 911 calls was shared.  PA 116 agreements for 4 parcels owned by Marvin & Jane Rubingh were received.  Unison Site Management notified of plans to offer another contract for the cell tower site on Byers Road.  2010 Board of Review Training is scheduled for February 24 from 1 PM to 4 PM in Bellaire.  Gary Strange plans to attend, possibly Dwain Abramowski will also attend.  Michigan Income Tax withholding and unemployment will start January 1, 2010.  The MTA News magazine included a picture and article about our Township Hall in its November magazine.

 

12.  Roads: Supervisor reports that Norwood Township has changed their plans to pave their portion of Lakeshore Drive.  Central Lake Township Supervisor Stan Bean is proposing a joint paving project on Bennett Hill Road.  The road would be paved in three sections with one being done in 2010.  The Roads Committee will consider these projects when formulating a proposal for the Township Board.  Brian VanderArk, ACRC employee and Banks Township resident will be asked to make a list of roads that he recommends for maintenance.   Byers Road and South Dennis were discussed as possibilities for road improvements. 

 

13.  Wind Generation Meeting December 2 @ Charlevoix Library.  Supervisor Mann attended this forum, sponsored by Norwood Township to gather information.

 

14.  Fire Dept Officers: Supervisor appoints Mark Groenink Fire Chief, Tom VanStedum Assistant Chief, Brian VanderArk Ellsworth Captain, Jim Veenstra Atwood Captain, Don Frosty EMS director and John Hastings Secretary/Treasurer.  This is the 16th year for Mark to be Fire Chief.  MOTION Heeres, Rubingh, CARRIED to approve the appointments. 

 

15.  Northern Lakes Economic Alliance: Packets of information were distributed to the Board members to review prior to next meeting.  Andy Hayes, director of NLEA, will address the Board at our January meeting about funding issues.

 

16.  Public Comment:  Hugh Campbell addressed the Board and outlined preliminary plans for “Green Races” to be held on the Chain of Lakes next August.  These will include canoe/kayak marathon races as well as short races on Ellsworth Lake.  He also addressed the Board on a potential sale of property adjacent to the Community Park to the Ellsworth Farmers Exchange.  A resolution was offered by Heeres, supported by Rubingh as follows:  The Banks Township Board urges the Village of Ellsworth Council and the Ellsworth Farmers Exchange to work towards a solution to benefit both parties and the community.  Roll Call Vote: DeKorne: YES; Rubingh: YES; Heeres: YES; Mann: YES.  Absent: Postmus.  Resolution was declared adopted.

 

17.  Antrim Creek Natural Area Board: Member Carl Veenstra’s term will expire December 31.  MOTION Mann, Heeres, CARRIED to reappoint Carl Veenstra for another 2 year term.

 

18.  Planning Workshop: Discussion was held on scheduling a speaker from the NLEA to talk to the group.  Will try to schedule on the Planning Commission’s regular meeting night February 9 or March 9.

 

19.  Snowmobile Easement: MOTION Mann, Heeres, CARRIED to grant the easement to the Jordan Valley Trails Council for a snowmobile trail across the Ellsworth Fire Hall property.

 

20.  Energy Audit: MOTION Mann, DeKorne, CARRIED to hire Ric Evans of Paradigm Energy Services to do an energy audit on the Township Hall for not more than $650.

 

21. Board of Review: The December meeting of the Board of Review will be Tuesday, December 15 @ 4 PM.

 

22.  Meeting Date Change: MOTION Mann, Heeres, CARRIED to change the date of our regular January meeting from January 18 to January 25.

 

23.  Bills represented by the attached list were presented for approval for payment.  MOTION Mann, Rubingh, CARRIED to approve the bills as presented

 

24. The meeting was adjourned at 9:50 P.M.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Donna L. Heeres

Banks Township Clerk

 

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