Banks Township Board Meeting

Monday November 19, 2007

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: Mark Groenink, Andy Veenstra, Jeff Kessler.

2. The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Supervisor Mann offered prayer.

3. The minutes of the October Regular Board meeting were reviewed. MOTION Rubingh, DeKorne, CARRIED to approve the minutes with one amend to item #5, should be “Timberlane Terrace” not “Timberlane Shores”.

4. The treasurer’s report of incomes and balances was given. General Fund Balance: $303,616.05 with $80,000.00 due from the Fire Fund; Fire Fund: $116,317.83 Liquor Fund: $2,094.77; Road Fund: $30,272.08; Grand Total: $452,300.73. Summer Tax Collection is at 90% collected for total receipts of $877,384.24.

5. Public Comment: Jeff Kessler addressed the Board and presented the Clerk with two signs to use on Election Day to alphabetically divide voters as they complete applications to vote.

6. Fire Dept: Chief Groenink invited the Board to attend the Annual Firemen’s Dinner on Tuesday, December 2 @ 6:30 PM at the Township Hall. RSVP’s are needed. Compensation report was reviewed. Total number of runs was down for the year ended November 1, 2008, with 4 more fire runs and 29 fewer rescue runs. The contract for services with South Arm Township was reviewed and allowed to renew as written. Clerk will send a written report to South Arm Township depicting runs during the year as soon as information is provided by the Fire Dept. Chief reported that he is preparing a grant application to request funds for the new radios/monitors.

7. Zoning Administrator: Andy Veenstra reported that a permit application from the Coast Guard is expected to place a communications tower on Bennett Road, close to Farrell Road. It will be less than 200 ft in height and will require Special Approval from the Planning Commission. He reported on denial of a permit application for an accessory structure in C/R zone on a parcel without a primary structure. The applicant wishes to place a structure to be used for sleeping quarters without sanitary facilities. He also reported on a letter of violation that he had sent to a property owner on Lake Michigan who has agreed to remove his travel trailer from permanent set up on the property and use it in compliance with zoning regulations (two weeks at a time).

8. Summer Tax Collection: Treasurer Postmus reported that Ellsworth Community Schools are considering summer tax collection of the 18 mills non-PRE tax. We can set the collection fee for this collection. However, the school does have the option of contracting with Antrim County to collect for them or to collect them. We would lose the State collection reimbursement ($2.50) on parcels that have school tax levied.

9. Winter Tax Bills: Treasurer Postmus noted that a mistake was identified on the winter tax bills proof sheet. The levy for the Fire Dept was listed as .0088 mil rather than .88 mil. MOTION Rubingh, DeKorne, CARRIED to set the Fire District levy @ .88 mil to match the adopted budget.

10. Planning Commission: Trustee Rubingh reported the PC held public hearing on three proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance and sent the proposals to the Antrim County Planning Commission for review. There were three parcel divisions in the past 6 months. The proposed change of the zoning map and change from Ag & C/R districts to Farm/Forest district will be a Public Hearing topic in the spring. The PC would like the information on this public hearing to be included in our spring newsletter. The PC is developing By-Laws to guide their operation.

11. Lore Road: Trustee Rubingh reported the Abstract search of records on the 2 adjacent parcels to the Lore Road end does not reveal ownership of the property. Additionally, the right of way for the road is not described. MOTION Mann, Heeres, CARRIED to send the information to the Township Attorney for review.

12. Cemeteries: Trustee DeKorne reported that the south fence at the Atwood Cemetery has been removed, stakes have been left. Discussion regarding the need for a survey to depict the boundaries of the cemetery was held. DeKorne will contact the adjacent property owner in the spring to discuss. DeKorne reported that the water tanks at all of the cemeteries have been drained.

13. Wooden Shoe Holiday Festival: Clerk Heeres reported that the Village of Ellsworth is again sponsoring the Holiday Festival. It will be held Thursday, December 11 @ 6:30 PM and begin with lighting of the Christmas Tree, caroling, and then come inside the building for refreshments, craft making for the children and entertainment. They have asked for cost-sharing of the $250 expense for Twister Joe, a balloon specialist, who will entertain the children. MOTION Mann, Postmus, CARRIED to contribute $125 to the Village of Ellsworth to support this festival.

14. Light Up Atwood: The Chamber is helping the Atwood businesses with promotion. They have requested a tree at the Fire Hall be lit. Also, Royal Farms is planning to transplant a tree to their property, across from the intersection of US 31 & C-48 to designate the beginning of the “Breezeway”. MOTION Mann, Heeres, CARRIED to appropriate up to $250 for lights & a timer for the Atwood Fire Hall tree. The firemen will decorate the tree when the lights are available.

15. Township Hall Exterior Renovations: Clerk Heeres reported that it was recommended by the mason that the sealant be sprayed on the mortar this year, if possible. The building temperature must be over 40 degrees for the sealant to stick properly. MOTION DeKorne, Rubingh, CARRIED to award the bid to Fairway Painting for $1200 for application of the sealant as weather permits.

16. Information Items: MTA County Chapter Holiday party scheduled for Saturday, December 6 @ Torch Lake Township Hall. MTA Educational Conference scheduled for January 27-30 in Detroit. Sheriff’s report of incidents within the Township was shared. Jordan Valley District Library newsletter was shared. Michigan Association of Municipal Cemeteries newsletter was shared. Clerk is investigating alternative telephone service contracts with Verizon. Supervisor announced that he issued a proclamation regarding the East Jordan Iron Works’ 125^th anniversary celebration.

17. Visitors Guide: Review of the ad and cost for 2009 Guide. Clerk to contact Harbor House to obtain more info. Possibly this ad space will be used for the Breezeway promotion.

18. Breezeway Meeting: Held November 11 with good participation from the Atwood businesses following the kick-off with the “Wake Up Atwood” meeting on October 30. The Charlevoix County Road millage passed so the probability for upgrade of C-48 is improved. The advertising grant application results are still pending.

19. Planning Together Workshop: Discussion was held on inviting a speaker to this meeting. The date was set for Monday, February 9, 2009 @ 6 PM with the Planning Commission meeting scheduled to follow.

20. Roads: Letter from Burt Thompson, manager of the Antrim County Road Commission was received. Minutes of the Township Roads Committee were submitted. Rubingh noted that the Roads Committee has done an excellent assessment and recommendations for road improvements for the Township Board and we are grateful for their efforts.

21. Copier Replacement: Supervisor Mann reported that a Minolta Di200 copier has become available from Torch Lake Township. It was new in 2002 and has been under maintenance contract. Torch Lake Township has requested $1000 for the machine. The Village of Ellsworth is willing to cost share with us for the purchase. MOTION Mann, DeKorne, CARRIED to approve the purchase. We will plan to sell the Xerox 5818 when the Minolta unit is in service.

22. Board of Review: The December Board of Review meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9 @ 3:30 PM. New Bd of Review appointments will be made at our December meeting and will take effect January 1.

23. Phragmites: Clerk reported conversations with townships in Antrim County regarding presence of Phragmites and need to develop a plan of eradication. All have been interested. She will contact townships in Charlevoix County and the City of Charlevoix to see if they are interested in joining with us in the plan.

24. Newsletter: With all the information that we need to get out to property owners, the Board discussed the need to expand the newsletter in size. We will also plan to put the information on the website for further distribution.

25. Internet Contract: Supervisor Mann will contact Cherry Capitol Connection and other providers to develop a proposal for internet services for 2009.

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

27. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 15 at 7:30 PM.

28. The meeting was adjourned at 11:12 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Donna L. Heeres

Banks Township Clerk