NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP Township Board Minutes February 11, 2014

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2 NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP Township Board Minutes February 11, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Supervisor Engstrom at 8350 Main Street. PLEDGE Supervisor Engstrom led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Marilyn Engstrom, Supervisor Shelle Manning, Clerk Kathy Braun, Treasurer Janet Chick, Trustee Wayne Dockett, Trustee Jacki Otto, Trustee Tracy Thomas, Trustee Also present: Township Manager Howard Fink Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Tim Hardesty Police Lt. Tim Greene Deputy Fire Chief Chris Bishop Senior Center Director Tami Averill Recording Secretary Lisa Lemble Members of the community CONSENT AGENDA: Minutes Bills Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Dockett asked that both the minutes and bills be pulled for discussion as items 8 and 9. ADOPT BALANCE OF AGENDA Motion: Manning moved, Thomas supported, that the balance of the agenda be adopted as presented. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. Police. Lt. Tim Greene reviewed the written report. In response to a comment from Dockett, Greene said the very cold weather resulted in a significant reduction in calls. Motion: Otto moved, Chick supported, that the Police Department s Ford Crown Victoria, 2000 Ford Explorer, and 2006 Chevrolet Impala be placed out of service and sold at public auction. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote Wastewater Treatment Plant. Superintendent Hardesty referred to his written report. Senior Center. Center Director Averill referred to her written report/. Other Zoning Board of Appeals. Otto reported no meeting was held in January, but one is scheduled for February 24 th. Planning Commission. Chick reported that the Commission completed a proposed change to the Master Plan, and voted to schedule public hearings on revised Commission by-laws Parks and Recreation. Thomas referred to information in the Manager s Report. Financial. Braun referred to the Revenue and Expenditure report and graphs/ Township Manager. Fink referred to his written report and added provided additional information about economic development leads received from Ann Arbor SPARK, hiring of a code enforcement officer and an assistant assessor, the ruling for the Township by the Michigan Court of Appeals in the Grand Sakwa Case, reassessment of the mobile home park, and the success of the recent Pond Hockey Tournament. BUSINESS ITEMS FIRST CALL TO THE PUBLIC Mary Devlin, 9211 Brookside, commented on the agenda item regarding paid time off for part-time employees, and she said it is not fair to voters for Board members not to attend Board meetings. REPORTS 1. Northfield Township Sewer Treatment Plant Rate Study Motion: Manning moved, Otto supported, that the Wastewater Cost of Service SmartRate Study by Tetra Tech be approved at a cost not to exceed $8,900. Motion carried 6 1 on a voice vote, Dockett opposed. Department Heads Fire. Deputy Fire Chief Chris Bishop reviewed the written report. Dockett said he appreciated having the list of staff. 2. Paid Time Off Ordinance for Part-time Employees Fink referred to the proposed resolution and said there are two issues: (a) whether the Board wants an ordinance for paid time off (PTO) for part-time employees, and (b) what

3 Northfield Township Board Meeting Minutes of Regular Meeting Public Safety Building; 8350 Main Street February 11, 2014 the compensation would be when there are emergency closures of Township offices. Motion: Manning moved, Chick supported, that A Resolution Amending the Northfield Township Employment Handbook providing personal time off for part-time employees be approved as amended. Motion carried 6 1 on a roll call vote, Dockett opposed. Motion: Otto moved, Manning supported, that payment be authorized to those part-time staff who were scheduled to work on January 6, Motion carried 6 1 on a voice vote, Dockett opposed. 3. Motion to Distribute Master Plan Amendment Northfield Township. He said the contract is still being prepared. 7. Adams Outdoor Advertising Billboards Fink referred to the information in the packet and explained that the digital advertising being offered for the Township by Adams would be free, but static advertisements are also available for the $1100 cost of printing. It was agreed to try the free advertising to see what it looks like. 8. Minutes Fink noted he had distributed revised minutes of the January 28 th workshop session. Motion: Manning moved, Chick supported, that the distribution of the Master Plan Amendment be approved as requested by the Planning Commission. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. 4. Bi-annual 2014 Budget Amendments Motion: Manning moved, Chick supported, that the minutes of the regular Township Board meetings of January 14, 2014, and January 28, 2014, be accepted as amended, and to dispense with the reading. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. 9. Bills Motion: Chick moved, Manning supported, that the Resolution of the Township of Northfield, Washtenaw County, Michigan, Transferring Monies and Amending the 2014 Budget within the General, Police, Fire, Donation, State Narc, PSB, and WWTP Fund Budgets be approved as presented. Motion carried 7 0 on a roll call vote. Resolution adopted Policy Guidelines for Property Tax Hardship Reductions Motion: Manning moved, Otto supported, that the resolution 2014 Policy Guidelines for Property Tax Hardship Reductions be approved as presented. Motion carried 7 0 on a roll call vote. Resolution adopted. Staff answered two question from Dockett. Motion: Manning moved, Engstrom supported, that the bills be paid. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. No comments. SECOND CALL TO THE PUBLIC BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Board members commented on attendance at Board meetings and pay received by Board members, discussed investigating the possible purchase of the Flying Dutchman property, and thanked the hundreds of volunteers who worked on the Pond Hockey Tournament. 6. Hiring of Code Enforcement Officer Fink reported that an offer was made to William Lenaghan. He said this will be a contractual position at $25/hour under his supervision. He said Lenaghan has had experience with code enforcement in Brighton Township and another township and previously worked for ADJOURNMENT Motion: Manning moved, Engstrom supported, that the meeting be adjourned. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:06 P.M. Submitted by Lisa Lemble. Corrections to the originally issued minutes are indicated as follows: Wording removed is stricken through; wording added is underlined. Approved by the Township Board on March 11, Michele K. Manning, Clerk Official minutes of all meetings, as well as expanded notes, are available on the Township s website at 2

4 NORTHFIELD TOWNSHIP Township Board Notes February 11, 2014 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Supervisor Engstrom at 8350 Main Street. PLEDGE Supervisor Engstrom led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Marilyn Engstrom, Supervisor Shelle Manning, Clerk Kathy Braun, Treasurer Janet Chick, Trustee Wayne Dockett, Trustee Jacki Otto, Trustee Tracy Thomas, Trustee Also present: Township Manager Howard Fink Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Tim Hardesty Police Lt. Tim Greene Deputy Fire Chief Chris Bishop Senior Center Director Tami Averill Recording Secretary Lisa Lemble Members of the community CONSENT AGENDA: Minutes Bills Present Present Present Present Present Present Present Dockett asked that both the minutes and bills be pulled for discussion as items 8 and 9. ADOPT BALANCE OF AGENDA Motion: Manning moved, Thomas supported, that the balance of the agenda be adopted as presented. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. FIRST CALL TO THE PUBLIC Mary Devlin, 9211 Brookside, commented on the agenda item regarding paid time off for part-time employees, and she said it is not fair to voters for Board members not to attend Board meetings. REPORTS Department Heads Fire. Deputy Fire Chief Chris Bishop reviewed the written report. Dockett said he appreciated having the list of staff. Police. Lt. Tim Greene reviewed the written report. In response to a comment from Dockett, Greene said the very cold weather resulted in a significant reduction in calls. Motion: Otto moved, Chick supported, that the Police Department s Ford Crown Victoria, 2000 Ford Explorer, and 2006 Chevrolet Impala be placed out of service and sold at public auction. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote Wastewater Treatment Plant. Superintendent Hardesty referred to his written report. In answer to a question from Dockett, Hardesty said the cost of replacing the culvert under the driveway at the plant was $120,000 plus $21,000 for engineering and this work should note have to be repeated for many decades. Senior Center. Center Director Averill referred to her written report and said the center s events at the Pond Hockey Classic this past weekend went very well. Other Zoning Board of Appeals. Otto reported no meeting was held in January, but one is scheduled for February 24 th. Planning Commission. Chick reported that the Commission completed a proposed change to the Master Plan, and voted to schedule public hearings on revised Commission by-laws Parks and Recreation. Thomas referred to information in the Manager s Report. Financial. Braun referred to the Revenue and Expenditure report and graphs and noted Fink has information in his report about personal property tax collection. Township Manager. Fink referred to his written report and added: He had met with Ann Arbor SPARK representatives and expressed concern about Northfield Township not being given economic development leads. He said as a result of that they recently provided the Township with its first lead, and while there are no suitable properties in the Township for that business, this is a sign that Ann Arbor SPARK is now sending information to the Township as requested.

5 Northfield Township Board Meeting Notes of Regular Meeting Public Safety Building; 8350 Main Street February 11, 2014 A contract for hiring Mr. Lenaghan for the Code Enforcement position is not available, but the Board can discuss this as scheduled on the agenda He and his assistant are working on finding an appropriate candidate for an assistant assessor. He and Supervisor Engstrom met with representatives of the modular manufactured home park about going through a reassessment project. He said they will also be discussing sewer billing with the park. The Pond Hockey tournament was an amazing event. He said the 200 volunteers are to be commended for their efforts. He noted that he enjoyed helping to put on the carriage rides, and noted he was also talked into jumping into the lake. probably be able to report back to the Board in April or May. In response to a comment from Fink, Hardesty said Hamburg charges $151/quarter for sewer service and Brighton charges $34/month. Fink said it would be useful to have this information included in the report to show how Northfield Township compares. Regarding connection fees, Fink said he assumes that these fees would come into play in a rate study. Rubel said generally the connection fee is based on the value of the infrastructure in place divided by the number of customers. He said this is a separate calculation from service rates. Fink said it would also be interesting to see how this fee compares to other communities. Rubel said he can provide that. In response to a question from Dockett, Fink said he is interested in this information as a way of supporting what the Township charges. He gave special thanks to Rick s Bait Shack for the resources and time provided for the carriage rides that were offered. In response to a question from Dockett, Fink announced that the Township won the Grand Sakwa case at the Court of Appeals. He noted that Mr. Sakwa may choose to file an appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court, which in turn may choose to hear the case or not. Thomas said the Supreme Court hears only a very small percentage of cases filed, and usually only cases relating to controversial issues of law or which would have a wide effect. Dockett asked where the money for the Code Enforcement Officer will come from. Fink said it will either come from unused funds in the budget or from the fund balance. Otto noted that fees would be collected for fines assessed by this officer. Fink said that is true, but very little income will be generated because the goal will be to gain compliance with codes rather than income from fees. Dockett thanked Fink and Braun for working on the issue of delinquent personal property taxes. He said the problem of people not paying these taxes for years and years has to be addressed. BUSINESS ITEMS 1. Northfield Township Sewer Treatment Plant Rate Study Engstrom noted this had been discussed during the Board s working session. Dockett said he is disappointed that the contract for this study is being given to Tetra Tech without getting other bids, and he asked about the tasks listed at the end of their letter that are not included in the proposed contract amount. Brian Rubel of Tetra Tech said the proposed fee includes attendance at four meetings, and that should be sufficient to gather information and present it, and the items listed as not being included are things he does not think will be required. Chick asked how long it will take to conduct the study. Rubel said it would take about 4 weeks and he will Motion: Manning moved, Otto supported, that the Wastewater Cost of Service SmartRate Study by Tetra Tech be approved at a cost not to exceed $8,900. Motion carried 6 1 on a voice vote, Dockett opposed. 2. Paid Time Off Ordinance for Part-time Employees Fink referred to the proposed resolution and said there are two issues: (a) whether the Board wants an ordinance for paid time off (PTO) for part-time employees, and (b) what the compensation would be when there are emergency closures of Township offices. In answer to questions from Dockett, Fink said the issue of whether part-time employees should be compensated came up when the Township offices were closed due to bad weather on January 6 th, and the discussion about whether part-time employees should be entitled to paid time off in general came out of that. Dockett said he can understand the idea of paying people for a day when they were told not to come to work, but he does not understand why part-time staff should be given the benefit of regular paid time off. Chick said this is a benefit many companies offer. Dockett said the Township is different because taxpayers pay for the staff. He questioned where this would stop. Otto asked if this benefit would also have to be given to Police and Fire. Fink said those departments are subject to collective bargaining. Manning said she would be in favor of PTO for part-time staff, but she does not think it should start immediately. Chick said it could be made effective after 90 days. Dockett said he is not in favor of this, but he thinks it would be a bookkeeping nightmare to have different amounts of time off for staff working under 30 hours and staff working hours/week. Otto suggested awarding PTO in amounts equal to hours per week worked (e.g. 20 hours PTO/year for staff who work 20 hours/week). There was additional discussion about the details of how PTO awarded would be figured based on the number of hours worked per week. 2

6 Northfield Township Board Meeting Notes of Regular Meeting Public Safety Building; 8350 Main Street February 11, 2014 Manning said she would be comfortable providing 24 hours PTO hours per year for employees who work hours, and 32 PTO hours per year for employees who work hours per week, with it being credited to each employee at the beginning of each year (prorated for hires later in the year), with a 90 day waiting period upon hire, and that employees lose any PTO not used by the end of each calendar year. Motion: Manning moved, Chick supported, that A Resolution Amending the Northfield Township Employment Handbook providing personal time off for part-time employees be approved as amended. Dockett said this is being very, very generous with taxpayer money and he will not support it. He said he thinks this will cause problems down the road. Chick said this will not cost the Township more money because the money for these employees has already been budgeted. Fink said if his assistant calls in sick she will not be replaced that day, and the same is true for three other administrative employees. He said the shifts of the two staff in the Police and Fire Departments who are not covered by collective bargaining but who would be given PT under this proposal would have to be covered, however. Motion carried 6 1 on a roll call vote, Dockett opposed. Dockett said years ago the prior owners of the Carter Lumber property had to fight to get it rezoned back to Industrial after the Township changed it to Agricultural without notice. Chockley said changes to the master plan do not change the zoning of any property, and if the Township initiates zoning of any property all owners are notified. She said this was done when the zoning of property in the downtown area was changed last year and everyone who came to the hearing was happy because it made their properties more valuable. She said she would expect the same would be true for the owners of the property in the US-23/Territorial area. Motion: Manning moved, Chick supported, that the distribution of the Master Plan Amendment be approved as requested by the Planning Commission. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. 4. Bi-annual 2014 Budget Amendments Fink noted that budget amendments are traditionally done twice each year, and this is a relatively small one. In answer to a question from Manning, Fink said the sales tax referred to is the new State tax on health care premiums. Manning said this went into effect in this year or late last year. Regarding the issue of whether staff should be paid for January 6 th when they were instructed not to report for work due to weather, Manning said in the past whenever someone was scheduled to work they were paid in situations like this. She said she does not know whether this was done as a result of a Board decision. Fink said this is correctly a Board policy decision. Motion: Otto moved, Manning supported, that payment be authorized to those part-time staff who were scheduled to work on January 6, Manning said she feels this should be paid because those part-time staff depend on being paid for those hours. Motion carried 6 1 on a voice vote, Dockett opposed. 3. Motion to Distribute Master Plan Amendment Motion: Chick moved, Manning supported, that the Resolution of the Township of Northfield, Washtenaw County, Michigan, Transferring Monies and Amending the 2014 Budget within the General, Police, Fire, Donation, State Narc, PSB, and WWTP Fund Budgets be approved as presented. Motion carried 7 0 on a roll call vote. Resolution adopted Policy Guidelines for Property Tax Hardship Reductions Motion: Manning moved, Otto supported, that the resolution 2014 Policy Guidelines for Property Tax Hardship Reductions be approved as presented. Motion carried 7 0 on a roll call vote. Resolution adopted. 6. Hiring of Code Enforcement Officer Planning Commission Chair Marlene Chockley explained that this amendment to the Master Plan was triggered by the request for a sewer assessment district for properties along Whitmore Lake Road near US-23 and North Territorial, but the Commission has always had an interest in extending the mixed use area here. She said this action will allow the proposed amendment to be distributed to neighboring communities for comment, which will be followed by a public hearing before coming to the Township Board for final approval. She said after this is complete the Commission is interested in developing a new zoning district for this US- 23/North Territorial corridor to outline the types of uses desired for this area. Fink reported that an offer was made to William Lenaghan. He said this will be a contractual position at $25/hour under his supervision. He said Lenaghan has had experience with code enforcement in Brighton Township and another township and previously worked for Northfield Township. He said the contract is still being prepared. 7. Adams Outdoor Advertising Billboards Fink referred to the information in the packet and explained that the digital advertising being offered for the Township by Adams would be free, but static advertisements are also available for the $1100 cost of 3

7 Northfield Township Board Meeting Notes of Regular Meeting Public Safety Building; 8350 Main Street February 11, 2014 printing. In answer to a question from Dockett, Fink said the static vinyl billboard could be moved from location to location depending on space available. It was agreed to try the free advertising to see what it looks like. Fink noted the Board has already seen three designs and an additional one with the tagline Northfield Township Open for Business is being worked on. He said he will show this to the Board before it is used. Chick noted Easy to Work With has also been suggested as a tagline for advertising purposes for the Township. 8. Minutes Fink noted he had distributed revised minutes of the January 28 th workshop session. Motion: Manning moved, Chick supported, that the minutes of the regular Township Board meetings of January 14, 2014, and January 28, 2014, be accepted as amended, and to dispense with the reading. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. 9. Bills In answer to questions from Dockett, staff said: There was an expenditure for water rescue suits. A engine component was repaired on a rescue unit. Dockett noted that the Township the bills being paid totaled $691, Motion: Manning moved, Engstrom supported, that the bills be paid. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. SECOND CALL TO THE PUBLIC BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Community Center Sign. In answer to a question from Chick, Center Director Averill said work is in progress to change the sign wording from Senior Center to Community Center. Board Member Attendance/Pay. Dockett said he is in favor of Board members being paid only for meetings they attend, but he was told that the annual pay set for Board members by the last Board cannot be changed by this Board. Thank you. Dockett thanked those serving in the armed services, and he asked everyone to patronize local businesses. Engstrom thanked all of the volunteers who put on the very successful Pond Hockey Classic last weekend. Property Acquisition. Engstrom noted that the Flying Dutchman property next to the Post Office is for sale and that parcel could be heart of Whitmore Lake or could be very useful for event parking. Chick said the Township has always been interested in this property but the asking price is very high. Dockett said if the Township purchased the property it would come off the tax rolls. Fink said he can do preliminary research on this. There was discussion about how this property would fit in with other Township properties and how they would connect with various pathways. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Manning moved, Engstrom supported, that the meeting be adjourned. Motion carried 7 0 on a voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:06 P.M. No comments. Submitted by Lisa Lemble. These notes are an expanded version of the official meeting minutes adopted by the Board of Trustees. Minutes and notes for all meetings are available on the Township s website: 4

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