Banks Township Board Meeting
Monday June 15, 2009
Draft Minutes
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 Marvin Rubingh, and Trustee Mark DeKorne. Also present: Janet Koch of the Antrim Review and Mike McCreary. Vanessa Rubingh arrived at 7:45 PM. John Hastings arrived at 8:10 PM.
2. Supervisor Mann opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and offered prayer.
3. The minutes of the May Regular Board meeting were presented. MOTION Mann, Rubingh, CARRIED to approve the minutes as presented.
4. The treasurer’s report of incomes and balances was given. General Fund Balance: $368,037.12 with $80,000 due from the Fire Fund; Fire Fund Balance: $101,456.43; Roads Fund Balance: $93,760.74; Liquor Fund Balance: $1178.53; Grand Total: $564,432.82.
5. Public Comment: Mike McCreary addressed the Board with a request for approval on a permit application to have a Class C fireworks display at his home on White Street after the public display. Starting time would be approximately 11:30 PM on July 3. He has passed an 8 hour safety class. The permit application was reviewed. MOTION DeKorne, Mann, CARRIED to approve the permit application.
6. Public Comment: Vanessa Rubingh addressed the Board about the changes she has made to the website. Most comments are favorable of the changes. A group photo was taken and will update the website.
7. EFT/ACH Resolution & Policy: Postmus presented these for board approval. MOTION Mann, DeKorne, CARRIED to approve the EFT/ACH resolution. YEAS: 5, NAYS None. Resolution declared adopted. MOTION Heeres, DeKorne, CARRIED to approve the policy for the EFT and vendor list.
8. Ordinance Number 5 of 2009: Group Insurance Plan. MOTION Postmus, DeKorne, CARRIED to authorize the clerk & supervisor to sign the completed ordinance that was approved in May.
9. Tax Bills: Postmus reported that the non-homestead summer millage for schools will be 21 mils this year as compared with 11 mils last year. The homestead rate will be 12.3603, an increase of 1.23 mils. The PTAF will not appear on the summer bills so that amount will offset the increase for the PRE bills. The online tax data program has had 1800 hits in the past 2 months. This greatly reduces the number of telephone calls that come in for the treasurer and clerk.
10. Public Comment: John Hastings reported that the vault building at the Ellsworth Cemetery is in need of scraping and painting as the doors and posts are peeling.
11. Planning Commission: Rubingh reported that the Public Hearing was held on June 8 for the wind turbine ordinance. The proposed ordinance was amended and sent to the County Planning Commission for review. The wind board public hearing is scheduled for August 24. Supervisor Mann plans to attend. In May, the PC held a public hearing on the proposed zoning map changes. They have decided to review the master plan before completing work on the map changes. The PC has scheduled a public hearing for July 13 on a request for language amendment to the zoning ordinance from Richard Beemon. The amendment would add a definition of cabin and accessory buildings would include hunting & fishing cabins. This hearing is pending receipt of the $1000 escrow account deposit by the applicant.
12. Cemeteries: DeKorne reported that the Atwood Cemetery neighbor, Brian LaRue, has asked that the fence be replaced on the south border of the cemetery. This amounts to 410 ft of fencing. Bids were opened from Petoskey Fence Company for $4305; Perfect Fence for $4143.21; Charlevoix Fence for $3837.40 for a heavier wire, $3292.10 for a residential grade, $1171.00 for a woven wire fence. A proposal that would move some front fence and reuse it along the south & east sides was also suggested. The Board learned that the Village of Ellsworth has a large quantity of used 7 ft chain link fence available for a donation to the park project. DeKorne will contact Charlevoix Fence for a cost of installation of the used fence with cutting the first 50 ft to a 4 ft height and the remainder at the 7 ft height. MOTION Mann, Heeres, CARRIED to offer $1000 to the Village of Ellsworth for 410 ft of used fencing. MOTION Rubingh, DeKorne, CARRIED to authorize DeKorne to get the installation completed for up to $2000 by Charlevoix Fence. Roofing on the buildings at Ellsworth Cemetery: Bids were opened. Person Construction $1300 for shingles on the storage, $1800 on the vault building. $1800 for steel roof on the storage building, $2600 for the vault building. Also, a bid to repair/replace the few torn shingles on the storage building for $100. CDS Enterprise bid for re-shingling both buildings for $1488. Rubingh offered a donation of used steel roofing. No decision was reached on the roof repairs. The Ellsworth Cemetery water tank needs screening, a hose and a sign to identify contents as water.
13. Phragmites: A huge thank you goes out to Heidi Lang & Christy Roman of the Antrim Conservation District for their assistance in our Phragmites eradication program. Grants have been applied for that may bring funds from the National Stimulus Funds. Voluntary contributions are over $4000 at this time. A letter of commitment with documentation of time spent on the project was submitted to the MDEQ. A special assessment fund was discussed. MOTION Postmus, Mann, CARRIED to have the township’s legal counsel begin working on an ordinance for a revolving special assessment fund. The voluntary contributions will be returned when the special assessment district is established. A public hearing on the eradication zone will be held during our regular meeting on July 20. Heidi Lang will be present to explain the program’s components.
14. Planning Commission & ZBA Appointments: Supervisor Mann appoints David Muladore to a three year term on the Planning Commission. Term will expire July 1, 2012. MOTION Mann, Postmus, CARRIED to approve this appointment. Supervisor Mann appoints Dennis Penfold, Jack Danbert, Mike McDuffie, Sarah Essenberg and Jack Costolo to one year terms on the ZBA. Terms will expire July 1, 2010.
15. Roads: Crack seal application is scheduled to start soon. Scott Road residents have voiced concerns over 4-6 inch rocks that have surfaced after grading. Klooster Road residents are requesting gravel as their road is fine dirt only. The ACRC has been contacted and bids for this work are expected soon. Lakeshore Drive residents have concerns over potholes. It was requested that the ACRC grade this road soon. No word yet on the proposal for relocation of a portion of Lakeshore Drive. The Board learned that Norwood Township is now considering paving of their end of Lakeshore Drive at 14 ft if the Charlevoix County Road Commission will approve the specifications.
16. Breezeway Cruise: Scheduled for Thursday, June 18, beginning at Boyne Mountain and ending at Antrim Dells Golf Club. The Charlevoix & Antrim Sheriff Departments will escort the procession. Citizen of the Year awards will be presented approximately 8:30 PM at Antrim Dells. Boyne Valley and Wilson Townships have joined the Breezeway group. Awaiting approval by the Village of Boyne Falls. The signs will be ordered in the next couple of days.
17. Info items: Sheriff’s report of incidents was shared. MTA County Chapter meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 23 @ 7 PM at Mancelona Township. Charter Communications restructuring information was shared. Park picnic tables & cemetery bench decision was tabled.
18. Bills represented by the attached list were presented for approval for payment. MOTION Mann, Postmus, CARRIED to approve the bills as presented.
19. Next meeting will be Monday, July 20 @ 7:30 PM. Public Hearings on the Phragmites Eradication Zone will be held during the meeting.
20. The meeting was adjourned at 10:36 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Donna L. Heeres
Banks Township Clerk