Waverly Township Regular Meeting M-43 Hwy., Paw Paw, MI December 4, 2014

Transcription

1 Waverly Township Regular Meeting M-43 Hwy., Paw Paw, MI December 4, 2014 At 7:00 p.m., Supervisor Reits opened the meeting and invited the board members and 9 members of the audience to join in the Pledge of Allegiance. The board members introduced themselves: Bob Reits, Supervisor; Tony Millek, Trustee; Sandra Oakleaf, Clerk; Lois Towne, Trustee; Marcy Dorr, Treasurer. Attorney Harold Schuitmaker and Deputy Clerk Fay Dorr were present. In respect for John Tapper who passed away today and his family, Reits called for a moment of silence. John Tapper is a former Waverly Township supervisor, former County Commissioner, former representative on the Historical Restoration of the courthouse, and longtime business man in Paw Paw. Sheriff s Department Report: Deputy Deloof reported the following for November 2014: assaults 5, accidents 15, vehicle/traffic complaints 6, BOL 11, harassment complaints 1, health & safety 3, general assists 15, larcenies 2, conservation/dnr 1, civil/family disputes 1, obstruction 2, alarms 1, invasion of privacy 1. Total dispatched calls 74, total cleared 66. There is still time to sign up for the Citizens Police Academy classes that will be held on Wednesdays in January. Agenda: Motion by Millek, which was seconded by M. Dorr to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Rezoning: The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the rezoning request from residential to commercial as requested by Kevin Killeen , M-40 Hwy., north 360 feet x 500 feet west on Highway M-40 from R-3 to commercial zoning. This request does adhere to the Master Plan. Motion by Millek, which was seconded by Towne to approve the Killeen rezoning as presented. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Senior Services of Van Buren County: Executive Director, Jennifer Carver, was present. Attorney Schuitmaker went over the 1-year contract, noting the additional requirements of quarterly reports from Senior Services and a 60-day opt-out provision. Treasurer Dorr reported that Current Tax collection payouts occur between December 25 to March 10 th and the delinquent portion from the County Treasurer during May/June. Motion by Reits, which was seconded by Towne to sign the Senior Services of Van Buren County contract as presented. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Clerk Oakleaf and Jennifer Carver signed the contract tonight. Meeting Calendars 2015: Oakleaf presented the meeting calendars for the Board and P&Z meetings for 2015 to the board members. Oakleaf will publish the meeting dates in the newspaper. Page 1 of 5

2 Minutes from November 6, 2014: Motion by M. Dorr, which was seconded by Reits to approve the November 6, 2014, minutes as presented. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Presentation of the bills: Motion by Oakleaf to pay the following bills: 20, GF vender checks to , GF payroll checks to , GF payroll direct deposits 1, GF FICA & WH GF State WH 27, Total General Fund Expenditures for November Sewer vendor checks Sewer payroll direct deposit 6.04 Sewer FICA & WH 1.68 Sewer State WH Total Sewer Fund Expenditures for November , Grand Total Expenditures for GF & Sewer for November 2014 Second by M. Dorr. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Supervisor Bob Reits Comments: Reits reported the water tank was replaced at the township hall because the old one was broken and made very loud noises. The cemetery mapping project estimate does include the cost of travel/lodging. Almena Township is very satisfied with the service. Glendale $ , Austin $ for a total of $ Tabled until January meeting when Reits will inform the board when the 50% down payment is due. The sexton contract, which requires all three sextons to sign, was given to Chester Haluch to sign and return. Michigan Township Services will retype the zoning ordinance with the latest changes regarding the reasons for the requirement of a special use permit. Board of Review member Barney Huff moved out of the township. Reits will appoint Orrin Dorr and Nichole Sharon next month, which will make 3 members and 1 alternate on the BOR. Motion by Reits to hire Michigan Township Services to retype the zoning ordinance for $47 per hour for estimated 5-7 hours, which was seconded by Oakleaf. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Page 2 of 5

3 Motion by Reits to pay the required classes for BOR certification for the two new members, which was seconded by Towne. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Paul DeYoung Fire Department Report: DeYoung reported (1) the air pack batteries were replaced; (2) annual fit testing on the air packs was completed; (3) PPFD will join Lawton FD to purchase a new fit tester $9000; (4) pumper 1205 hubs were changed; (5) ladder truck 1203 annual inspection was done; (6) Waverly had 1 structure fire on M-40; (7) the 2015 annual budget was increased 3%, which relates to $1300 more for Waverly. Reits reported that he is meeting with other township supervisors regarding a needs assessment for the fire department and will report their findings to the township board. Clerk Sandra Oakleaf Comments: Township received a Christmas card from the auditors, Siegfried, Crandall, Vos, PC. Treasurer Marcy Dorr Comments: Dorr reported the Winter 2014 property taxes were mailed on December 1 st. Collection is in full swing with many taxpayers already sending in their payments. The township s purchase of the Wheeler property requires that the township pay the Winter 2014 tax bill of $ because tax day falls on December 31 st each year and the township did not own the property on tax day, the tax bill will be paid with the normal bills in December. Attorney Schuitmaker said the taxes were deducted from the closing price of the property. Dorr urged the board to take action on the recent letter from the Van Buren County Road Commission titled, Your state representative needs to hear from you on the urgent need for road funding! Dorr reminded the board that Waverly s citizens are very concerned with our township roads and have positively approved our local road millage since originally established in The governor s plan HB 5477, which recently passed the Senate would phase in increased revenue over four years with the proposal providing approximately $1.4 billion for transportation funding. The bill would replace the current 19-cent per-gallon fuel tax and the current 15-cent per-gallon diesel tax with a new percentage-based tax on the wholesale price. MTA supports HB 5477 as a comprehensive solution to restore and preserve Michigan s roads, which is a critical component of economic prosperity for Michigan and its communities. A competing plan has been proposed that would remove the 6 percent sales tax currently charged on gas while increasing the regular gasoline tax. This would shift all state gasoline taxes to transportation funding. While this shift would provide increased revenue to roads, it comes at a cost of $850 million to local units of government, schools and the state s general fund as a portion of the current sales tax collected is dedicated to constitutional revenue sharing and school funding. State representatives need to hear from townships that we support a long-term solution to fix state and local roads and bridges and not a plan to shift revenue at the expense of constitutional revenue sharing cuts to locals and cuts to schools. Page 3 of 5

4 Motion by Reits, which was seconded by Dorr that Dorr write a letter on behalf of the township board to our State Representative, Aric Nesbitt, in support of Governor Snyder s plan HB5477 as the solution to restore and preserve Michigan s roads. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Trustee Lois Towne Comments: Senior Services is reviewing their options regarding how they will change how they do business with expected reductions in revenue. The administration will be focusing on a needs assessment for the next 8 months. The Festival of Trees fund raiser went well. They are in a bid process for their newsletter and an easier to read format. They have trained counselors to assist seniors with the Medicare Part D questions. Trustee Tony Millek Comments: Road Commission: Millek said 7 miles of seal coat and fog seal is planned for Areas south of M-43 roadsides will be sprayed for vegetation overgrowth in Planning and Zoning approved the Killeen commercial rezoning. The P&Z agenda for December will include a discussion of the $400 fee for special use permits. Michigan Township Services, the permit and zoning enforcer for the township, sent a memo describing the State of Michigan Construction Code Changes by Director Irvin J. Poke. Poke is mandating that all jurisdictions have a library of essential standard code books, which cost $3000. MTS has proposed two options (1) The township pay the state $3000 per code cycle, which is every 3 years. Or (2) increase each permit fee on building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing with the extra $20 going to the state as a donation to the Irvin Polk Library Fund. MTS must make a change by January 1, Attorney Schuitmaker believes Polk s orders are a violation of the Headlee Amendment; however, it will take 90 days or longer for a State Attorney General ruling on this. In the meantime, Schuitmaker recommended the township adopt the plan for $20 per permit. Motion by Reits, which was seconded by Oakleaf, to adopt the $20 per permit increase on a temporary basis to comply with the MTS memo dated 12/4/14 request for action. Roll call vote: Towne, yes; Dorr, yes; Reits, yes; Millek, yes; Oakleaf, yes. The motion carried by majority roll call vote. Attorney Report: All local treasurers collect the personal property taxes levied on businesses, even if they go delinquent. About 4 years ago, the Michigan State Tax Tribunal ruled certain businesses were required to pay personal property taxes. Treasurer Dorr has tried every avenue to collect on these businesses unsuccessfully. The state has a provision that after a period of due-diligence the local unit can discharge these taxes by court action. Attorney Schuitmaker said this will cost about $800; however, he suggested the other local treasurers should be contacted to discover if they also have delinquent personal property taxes that need to be discharged so the cost could be shared by all the units of government needing this service. Schuitmaker suggested this may be the final time this type of court ordered discharge may be required because the state is phasing out the system of personal property taxation on businesses. Attorney will bring a report in January or February after he canvasses the local units of government. Page 4 of 5

5 Unfinished Business: None. New Business: Dave VanDoren, representative from the Lake Brownwood Association, presented the weed control action being planned for 2015, which includes Waverly and Paw Paw Townships. Attorney said Waverly will wait until Paw Paw finalized their plan of action, as has been done in the past. Board Comments: None. Audience Comments: Question regarding the status of the recently purchased property next to the Township Hall. The Wheeler property will be used by the fire department for smoke practice in January followed by raze or demolition, which will require a permit from MTS, in April or May. The older rotted trees will be removed before any fire. Reits explained the lengthy burning permit process, if it is razed. County Commissioner Mike Toth reported the single entry construction project at the courthouse is nearing completion, which will allow a highly improved safe environment to employees and customers. The county purchased a house south of the jail, which will either be demolished or given away free to move from the location and will provide 22 additional parking spaces to the courthouse complex. Reits declared the regular meeting adjourned at 8:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Fay A. Dorr, Deputy Clerk Page 5 of 5