The Austin Township Board Meeting was called to order on August 11, 2009 at 7:37 p.m. by Supervisor Kenneth Vredenburg at the Township Hall at 14132 Pierce Rd. Stanwood, MI, 49346.

Present were Kenneth Vredenburg, Carolyn Towsley, Elizabeth G. Carr, John Brockway, and John Conforte.  There was one guest present.

Public Comment: When will the minutes be available on the website?

Minutes: Moved by John Conforte, supported by Carolyn Towsley to accept the minutes with corrections. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Reports: Chemical Bank CD # 6422130648 expired and a new Chemical Bank CD #6422131729 was opened with a balance of $91,822.84, expiration date of 10/09/09, and an interest rate of 0.75%. First Bank CD #2610098895 interest rate went up from 3.5% to 3.75%. Moved by John Brockway, supported by John Conforte to approve the treasurer’s report subject to audit. The motion carried.

Payment of the bills: Certain sections of the Quikbooks program was not set up right and Kandy’s Accounting was called for assistance with the corrections. The fees are- township check #7087-$195.00, Cemetery check#1375-$40.00, Fire Department check#4178-$50.00, and First Responder check#1073-$95.00. There was a fallen limb in the cemetery. Kenn Vredenburg-Austin Township Supervisor and Phil Hanford-Mecosta Township Supervisor authorized the removal and clean up the limb. Cemetery check#1373-$275.00 to Harley and Sons needs to be approved for the clean-up. I would like permission to pay the Board of Review before the next meeting. Carolyn’s summer tax salary is in her check amount. Moved by John Brockway, supported by Carolyn Towsley to pay the bills with the addition of the Board of Review.  Motion carried.

Fire Department Report: The requirements for the ISO certification are not done yet. The firemen need to collect some information from the surrounding fire departments. They have to have all of these reports exactly right or they cannot reapply for five years. There is a new employee-Emily Turkstra. There is concern about the continual hiring of new firefighters if the Mecosta-Austin Fire Dept. continues to hire them and train them and then the new hirees  quit and move.  Entanglement training is completed.  There were 47 runs as of last month. There are burn ordinances on file in neighboring areas and the Fire Dept. is considering setting up ordinances in this area also. MMR is working on developing standardized regional reports.  Ron will be working on pre-incident plans. There are pre-incident plans on file for Ice Mt. and the gas fields, but not for most of the rest of the businesses in Stanwood. Kenn-Could you ask Marv to talk to the Chief’s Association at the county wide meeting to have the battery exchange program at all the fire stations in the county. I would also like a copy of the Fire Minutes to put on the website also.

Supervisor’s Report: We had a Board of Review meeting this month. The IRS issue with the supervisor/assessor  contracts/hiring does not affect us since I am both in this Township.

Treasurer’s Report: I have received 390 tax payments, about 22%. That is approximately $122,965.00 as of July 31, 2009. Income is up around $500.00.

Clerk’s Report: We received another MTA conference notice it is in Lansing on Sept. 21, 2009. Let me know if you are interested in going. I received a brochure from the Cadillac Insurance Center, Inc. They have a public entity insurance program they are advertising. (Filed for future reference.) The State of Michigan has paid for a one-year preventative maintenance agreements on our tabulator. That translates to a one-time cleaning of the tabulator and they will look it over for any broken parts and will replace them at no charge if there are defects. We can purchase a “Parts & Labor Only Agreement” for $71.00 but the “On -Site Repairs” charge is $175.00/ hr with a 4 hour minimum. They also are offering a “Full Service Agreement” for $271.00. There will be 3 elections next year. Marcee will be purchasing the “ Full Service Agreement” for the county’s machines. ( Tabled for now-look for an expiration date on the “Full Service Agreement”.) The total for the  order of the Intuit checks for the Township was $132.48. I have received notice of a payroll audit from the Michigan Municipal League in the month of September. I have not found the where to send the FEMA Flood Plain Resolution yet.

Roads: The Road Commission has started on 180th and hopes to be done in two weeks. After the adjustments for the price of the culverts and the Road Commission’s share, our part should even out at around $120,000.000. The Pierce Road resurfacing project is a go. They agreed to accept our offer to pay 20% up to $50,000.00. They hope to be started in October and be finished by the end of the month.

New Business

1.    Recycle: Morton Twp. Will be having a recycle day at their fire hall. They are sharing the cost of the rental of the recycling van/trailer with Fork Township. Kenn will observe and see how it goes and if it would be something we could go together with another township on.

2.    Budget-The clerk is trying to correct the line item corrections but the program is not acknowledging the changes yet. Will print the corrected reports as soon as possible.

3.    Zoning variance for Celeste McMillan for an additional out-building ok -  with township.

4.    The tree work done in the cemetery did not include removal of the wood. We gave Ron Hopkins permission to remove the wood. Moved by Carolyn Towsley, supported by John Conforte to allow the Supervisor the ability to authorize the spending of up to $1,000.00 for emergencies or unexpected expenses without calling a board meeting first. Motion carried.

5.    The Road Commission Report and the Ice Mountain Report are available to anyone who  wants to read them.

Meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m.

 

 

Elizabeth G. Carr

Austin Township Clerk