Banks Township Board Meeting

Monday July 20, 2009

1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by Trustee Marvin Rubingh in the absence of the Supervisor. Present were Clerk Donna Heeres, Treasurer Katy Postmus, Trustee Marvin Rubingh, and Trustee Mark DeKorne. Absent: Supervisor Thomas Mann. Also present: Heidi Lang of Antrim Conservation District, Janet Koch of the Antrim Review, Fire Chief Mark Groenink, Charles Dickens, David Nussdorfer, Jim Smith, Lee Wollgast, Roy Awe, Alan & Lois Drake. Jim & Prudy Barber arrived @ 7:50 PM.

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

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

4. The treasurer’s report of incomes and balances was given. General Fund Balance: $373,762.83 with $80,000 due from the Fire Fund; Fire Fund Balance: $101,079.30; Roads Fund Balance: $93,778.74; Liquor Fund Balance: $1178.86; Grand Total: $569,799.73.

5. The meeting was recessed @ 7:40 PM to hold the Public Hearing.

6. The Public Hearing on the Eradication Zone for Phragmites was called to order @ 7:41 PM. Heidi Lang, Phragmites Administrator, gave a report on the presence of Phragmites in Banks Township. She explained the process used to identify & document the presence. She displayed maps depicting the parcels that have Phragmites growing along with a chart that describes the locations with GPS coordinates. A list of the owners of properties with Phragmites present was displayed. Heidi told of efforts to educate the public, obtain consent for inspection and treatment that have been done so far. Property owners who have not responded or have declined treatment will be contacted again with further education in an effort to obtain consent for treatment. Permits are required for treatment of the plants. Grant awards have been received from the US Stimulus funds and the US Fish & Wildlife Division. We have not heard how much will be earmarked for our area but hope to hear soon. Questions were asked and comments made by the audience. Heidi answered them. Chairman Rubingh asked the audience if there were any present that wished to have their properties excluded from the Eradication Zone. There were none and no written requests have been received. The Public Hearing was adjourned @ 8:04 PM.

7. The regular meeting reconvened at 8:05 PM.

8. Public Comment: James & Prudy Barber were present and explained their wishes for the abandonment of a portion of a private road in their subdivision. Reasons for this action include the discovery that a portion of their house is on the private road easement. Their attorney, Kevin Klevorn, had sent a letter with a survey and a copy of the subdivision plat to advise the Township Board of the request. Additionally, he had verbally given the procedures to be undertaken to carry out this request. The Board reviewed the materials and filed them for future reference when the formal proceedings take place.

9. Fire Department: Chief Groenink advised the Board of truck repairs that have been completed. The Ellsworth Tanker blew a head gasket and also needed rear brakes repaired. The Atwood Tanker was in for repairs on the rear brakes and was tested for head gasket malfunction. It was going, so that was also replaced. Both tankers were out at the same time and Central Lake Fire Department loaned one of their tankers to us for a few days. The generator on the equipment truck failed and was repaired. The insulation & heating projects at the Ellsworth Fire Hall are complete. The steel replacement around the old chimney should be completed soon. Jon Kelly of Bergsma Road is a new member of the Fire Dept. He will start Firefighter I training as soon as the class is again offered. A thank you card was received from the East Jordan Fire Dept for assistance at two large structure fires they had recently: an adult foster care home and a gas station explosion.

10. Zoning: Andy Veenstra was out of town the first week of July, back a few days and now gone July 15-23. Very few permit requests are coming in.

11. Fire Truck Payment: MOTION Postmus, DeKorne, CARRIED to transfer $41,600 from the General Fund to the Fire Fund to represent a gift to the Fire Fund. MOTION Postmus, DeKorne, CARRIED to make the payment for the trucks from the Fire Fund to the General Fund, $40,000 for payment, $1,600 for interest. This reduces the amount that the Fire Fund owes the General Fund for the new trucks to $40,000.

12. Phragmites: Special Assessment District: Postmus reported on the procedures necessary to establish a Special Assessment District for the treatment of Phragmites. The legal fees are estimated at $1500. Heeres reported on the 4 bids received for the treatment of Phragmites in 2009. They range from $3900 to $7160 for the 50 sites identified in Banks Township. It is expected we will receive some funds from the US Stimulus Funds for this treatment. MOTION Postmus, DeKorne, CARRIED to rescind the motion to establish a special assessment district in light of recent bids. YEAS: 4, Nays: None. Absent: Mann. Motion Carried. MOTION Rubingh, DeKorne, CARRIED to authorize the clerk to submit permit applications, including fees, for the treatment of Phragmites if needed after conferring with Brian Piccolo of the Fish & Wildlife Division of the DNR and Heidi Lang of the Conservation District.

13. Planning Commission: A letter from the Antrim County Planning Commission was received with comments about the proposed zoning ordinance amendment for wind turbines. The Banks Township Planning Commission will review at their next meeting before sending to the Township Board for adoption. Rubingh reported on the activities of the July 13 meeting. A citizen initiated amendment to the ordinance is being considered. The citizen’s attorney will return to the PC in August with proposed language for the PC to consider. The PC is considering changes to the C/R zone language. Also, they are reviewing the Master Plan to be sure the Zoning Ordinance reflects the Master Plan.

14. Cemeteries: The water tank has been delivered to the Atwood Cemetery. The Atwood Cemetery fence project has been modified some after DeKorne spoke with adjacent property owner Brian LaRue. A bid was obtained for cutting in half the old fence obtained from the Village of Ellsworth and installing it 6 inches off the ground to promote easier weed whipping. The top of the fence will be approximately 4 ft high and will not be stepped as previously suggested. MOTION Rubingh, DeKorne, CARRIED to pay the Village of Ellsworth $500 for 205 ft of used fence, poles and caps and pay Charlevoix Fence Co of East Jordan $1184.05 to install it. Ellsworth Cemetery Buildings: Bid from CDS for new steel roofs on both buildings is $1608; bid from Person Construction is $1800 for the storage building and $2600 for the vault building. The difference is pole barn steel vs. residential steel. A cold roof will be formed with fir strips over the existing shingles. MOTION Rubingh, DeKorne, CARRIED to hire CDS to install dark green steel to both buildings for $1608.

15. Delinquent Personal Property Taxes: Postmus reports that there is twice the number of delinquent personal property tax bills this year over last year. No response to letters that she sent out to the owners. The total amount is approximately $4000 split between all taxing authorities. MOTION Rubingh to have the attorney send one letter per year to each delinquent property owner in an attempt to collect these taxes. MOTION was withdrawn with lack of support. The Treasurer will pursue the usual avenues for collection.

16. Assessors: IRS ruling now claims assessors are full employees, not contractual employees. This will change the way we pay the assessors. The township awaits direction from MTA.

17. Breezeway: The signs are up. Quarterly report and request for reimbursement for expenditures will be submitted next week. The Breezeway Cruise was a big success with over 50 vehicles and nearly 100 participants. The burger buffet at Antrim Dells Golf Course was a good exposure for the restaurant too.

18. HAVA Grant: Clerk reported award of funds for purchase of several items to promote accessibility in the polling place.

19. Library Reports were received. Charlevoix Public Library reported 153 active cards from Banks Township residents, a 62% increase. Of note, cards are now issued to individuals, not families, so this increase is partially attributable to that fact. Additionally, overall circulation was increased by 13%. Jordan Valley District Library reported average of 109 users per month for the past year. This is up from average of 98 users per month the prior 12 months. Central Lake Library reported 14 new cards were issued with a total of 46 Banks Township residents using the library. There were 331 total visits recorded. This varies from last year which had 11 new cards, 52 people and 360 visits.

20. Info items: Sheriff’s report of incidents was shared. The signs on C-65 at the south township limits have been moved to the correct location. The fireworks permit issued to Mike McCreary last month was rescinded by the supervisor and Village of Ellsworth Police Department as it was not properly filed.

21. Township Hall: Proposal for upgrade for Christmas lights was discussed. The Board decided to seek additional bids for this work. Also bids for upgrade to upstairs electrical system with new panel & outlets on the stage area; new front lights & outlet; outlet outside at Atwood Fire Hall to plug in Christmas tree lights. Clerk will contact area electrical contractors for bids. Consumers Energy will be asked to visit the township hall and fire hall and make suggestions for energy efficiency upgrades, including lighting in the upstairs.

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

23. Next meeting will be Monday, August 17 @ 7:30 PM.

24. The meeting was adjourned at 9:56 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna L. Heeres

Banks Township Clerk