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