Banks Township Board Meeting
Monday July 23, 2007
Draft Copy
1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Supervisor Thomas Mann. Present were Supervisor Mann, Clerk Donna Heeres, Treasurer Katy Postmus, Trustee Mark DeKorne and Trustee Marvin Rubingh. Also present: John Hastings and Andy Veenstra.
2. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Supervisor Mann offered prayer.
3. The minutes of the June Regular Board meeting were reviewed. MOTION Mann, Rubingh, CARRIED to approve the minutes as presented.
4. The treasurer’s report of incomes and balances was given. General Fund Balance $250,543.81 with $120,000 due from the Fire Fund; Fire Fund Balance: $129,880.90; Liquor Fund Balance: $1,187.05; Road Fund Balance: $31,457.87; Grand Total of all funds: $413,069.63.
5. Public Comment: John Hastings addressed the Board and presented a bid from Walt Russell to refinish the wood floors upstairs. He questioned the status of repairs at the cemetery vault building. He discussed township hall rentals and the need to keep the ceiling fans turned off when the air conditioning is running upstairs. He questioned if the addition of insulation in the ceiling would reduce the energy costs and enhance the comfort of the building.
6. Zoning Administrator Report: Andy Veenstra, zoning administrator, addressed the Board and reported on a blight ordinance violation notice that has been sent for rubbish in the yard. He has issued two zoning permits in the past week. He presented bills for installation of high speed internet at his home. Cost was $99 for the installation, $315 for equipment, $38 a month for the service. Discussion was held on internet connection reimbursement that was established in February of 2007 for Board members. MOTION Rubingh, Postmus, CARRIED to reimburse the Zoning Administrator $20 per month for internet connection beginning June 12, 2007 through March 31, 2007. Reimbursement will be provided with the quarterly paychecks.
7. Fire Department: Repairs to truck 6641 have been completed and cost was $4723.81. Question was raised if there is any warranty on the truck. Clerk will check it out. DNR mutual aid agreement was received. Will have Fire Chief review it prior to signing and returning it. MOTION Mann, Postmus, CARRIED to approve the mutual aid agreement with the DNR after approval by Fire Chief.
8. Website: Postmus reported a suggestion was made by Celia Hastings that a calendar be added to the township website to identify available dates for hall rentals. It could include an email link for information and reservations. Cost is $30 per year. MOTION Postmus, Mann, CARRIED to add an online calendar for rentals and email link to the website. Postmus will discuss with Hastings the particulars on updating, etc.
9. Job Bidding and Contract Procedures: The draft proposal for obtaining bids and awarding contracts for work on township property that was presented by Postmus at the June meeting was reviewed with discussion on specifics. Rubingh and Postmus will work on a new draft for review at the August meeting.
10. Hall Rentals Proposal was discussed. No action taken.
11. Cemetery Vault Building Repairs: DeKorne reported that one bid was received and another is expected in the next two or three days.
12. Planning Commission: Rubingh reported that the language was finalized for the public hearing on proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance. Public Hearing is scheduled for September. The planning commission discussed possible incentives for joining parcels.
13. Attorney contact policy: Discussion was held on who has authority to contact the township attorney with questions. Need to develop a policy with specific details outlined.
14. Zoning Ordinance: Rubingh posed the idea of repealing the zoning ordinance. There was discussion.
15. Computer Issues: Heeres reported that the printer has been moved to the new office and is working without a hitch. Also, the wireless network router has been relocated in the furnace room. A surge protector will be installed to protect it and the Fire Dept. monitor controller in the furnace room. Also, a surge protector needs to be added to the computers/printer in the new office. A bid for a new computer for the supervisor to be setup in the new office was received. Supervisor stated he is not interested in such a powerful computer and he will contact Coveyou computers with specific needs/wants. Will plan to leave a computer in the meeting room for the assessor to use/keep up to date. Will order a flat screen monitor for that computer when we order a new supervisor’s computer.
16. Street/Road Signs: Clerk was contacted by a resident of Timberlake Shores Drive with a request for a new road sign to mark their private road. Research shows that the County Road Commission no longer installs these signs, nor will they recommend a person to contact. Clerk has contacted a vendor and learned that his charges are $127 each for the post, bracket, two sided reflective sign and installation. MOTION DeKorne, Rubingh, CARRIED to have the private road owners purchase their own signs. Clerk will contact resident to pass on this information.
17. Piano at hall: Clerk was contacted by a person who is interested in acquiring one of the old pianos at the hall. The Board set a price of $100 for the piano.
18. Summer Recreation Program: Clerk will contact the Village to obtain a report on the summer recreation program.
19. Beach Monitoring: The Health Dept of Northwest Michigan is again monitoring beach and water quality. All beach locations and sampling results can be found on the MDEQ website at
www.deq.state.mi.us/beach .20. Sunshine Laws Workshop is scheduled for August 9 at 6 to 9 PM in Charlevoix or August 15 at 6 to 9 at a cost of $10. Sponsored by NWMCOG.
21. Sheriff report of occurrences for June was shared with the Board.
22. Proposal for consolidation of local governments: A resolution to oppose the elimination of township governments and the relinquishment of statutory duties including election administration, assessing and tax collection to the county or state was offered by Heeres, supported by Mann. Roll Call Vote: DeKorne YES; Heeres YES; Mann YES; Postmus YES; Rubingh YES. Resolution declared adopted.
23. Charlevoix Library Annual Report was received. Several questions arose from the report. Supervisor will contact the Library for clarification.
24. Roads: Supervisor received another request for paving of Lakeshore Drive. He would like to send out a letter of explanation along with another survey to the property owners to see if the opinions have changed. A letter was received from Jack Costolo about the proposal for relocation of a portion of Lakeshore Drive. Clerk will contact Antrim County Road Commission again to ask for notification of any Public Hearing on matters such as this within our township.
25: Planning Commission & ZBA appointments: Supervisor appointed Marvin Rubingh and Susan Kessler to the Planning Commission for three year terms ending June 30, 2010, and David Muladore, Michael McDuffie, Sarah Essenberg, Jack Danbert and Dennis Penfold to the Zoning Board of Appeals for one year terms ending June 30, 2008. MOTION Heeres, Postmus, CARRIED to approve the appointments.
26. Bills represented by the attached list were presented for approval for payment. MOTION Postmus, Mann, CARRIED to approve the bills as presented.
27. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Heeres
Banks Township Clerk