Paradise Township Board Regular Meeting October 9, 2013 Meeting called to order by Supervisor Tim Trudell at 6:00 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Board Members Present: Board Members Absent: Tim Trudell (Supervisor), Lisa Gulliver (Clerk), Robert Whims (Trustee), Tim Wicksall (Trustee) William King (Treasurer) - excused Approval of Agenda: The following was added to the Agenda: New Business 1. Healthcare Act 2. Alfie Vest 3. Thermostats for EMS Building Whims/Wicksall: motion to approve the Agenda as amended: Carried 4/0. Consent Calendar: The purpose of the consent calendar is to expedite business by grouping non-controversial items together to be dealt with in one board motion without discussion. Any member of the public, board, or staff may ask that any item of the consent calendar be removed and placed elsewhere on the Agenda for full discussion. Such request will be automatically respected. General Fund, Cemetery Fund, Park & Recreation bills Grand Traverse Rural Fire $24,931.25 Minutes of September 11, 2013 Treasurer s Report Clerk s Report Ambulance Sheriff Department County Commissioner Supervisor s Report It was decided to move the Sheriff s Department to Reports since Deputy White is present to give a report. Whims/Wicksall: motion to approve the Consent Calendar as amended: Carried 4/0. Announcements/Correspondence: 1
MTA Conference Registration: It was announced that the MTA Conference will be held at the Grand Traverse Resort this year. The Board discussed members and staff interest in attending some of the classes. Put under New Business for next meeting to discuss possibly closing the office during the MTA Conference so that staff may be able to attend classes. Reports: Fire Department: Mr. Babik reported the following: Fire Prevention Week is October 6 th 12 th. There will be an Open House held on October 12 th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the EMS Building. Planning Commission: Mr. Wicksall reported on the following: Progress on the Transportation Plan. Funding may be available to help with the development of the Master Plan. Review of the Village of Kingsley Master Plan. Progress on the Paradise Township Master Plan. Special Meeting in November. Attendance issues on the Planning Commission. Scheduling of joint meeting with the Village Planning Commission to talk about the Transportation Plan. GTC Road Commission: Deb Hunt gave a small presentation on the upcoming millage proposal for the Road Commission. CPO Report: Deputy White reported on the following: September 2013 Traffic Crashes Arrests Citations Fatal PIA PDA OWI MIP *Other Non- Traffic Crashes Total 12 0 1 12 1 0 4 77 17 21 13 128 *Other calls for service include: 911 Hang-ups; BOL; Follow-up to Complaints; Motorists Assists; Public Relations; Serving Legal Papers; Traffic Stops; Warrant Attempts. Ticket stats are based on what District Court has entered as of 09/30/2013. Arrest Stats are as of 09/30/2013. 3 rd Quarter Totals (July - September 2013) Traffic Crashes Arrests Citations Fatal PIA PDA OWI MIP *Other Non- Traffic Crashes Total 38 0 3 20 3 0 8 220 46 89 23 378 *Other calls for service include: 911 Hang-ups; BOL; Follow-up to Complaints; Motorists Assists; Public Relations; Serving Legal Papers; Traffic Stops; Warrant Attempts. Ticket stats are based on what District Court has entered as of 09/30/2013. Arrest Stats are as of 09/30/2013. Deputy White reported that there have been a number of larcenies in the Village, mainly autos and garages (11 larcenies and 4 breaking and entering complaints). He continues to meet with Mr. Radtke on the junk complaints. He visited a resident s house with Mr. Radtke to explain the junk ordinance and served a 30-day notice to the resident. 2
Mr. Whims asked if Deputy White could put together statistics from the previous year to compare to the present. Public Input (Limited to 3 minutes, non-agenda items): Tom Durfy of the Heritage Days Committee expressed concerns about recent issues regarding the usage of the sign located at the Township. This sign was provided by Heritage Days and is used by various organizations to advertise community events. He does not want to see this privilege revoked. It was acknowledge that the sign belongs to the Heritage Days Committee. Many years ago the Township agreed to house the sign at the Township Hall with the understanding that it was to be used to advertise community events. The Township has always accepted requests to use the sign on a first come, first served basis. There has never been an issue coordinating usage of the sign until recently when there was a lack of compromise between two groups who wished to use the sign. It was suggested and agreed upon that requests to use the sign will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Those using the sign cannot advertise on it for more than two consecutive weeks at a time. Compromises between groups requesting the sign is strongly encouraged when there is more than one event scheduled at the same time. A calendar of reserved times will be kept at the Township and will be maintained at the Township. Failure to follow these rules could result in the removal of the sign. Edna Sargent presented a history of Mayfield Pond Park and a list of concerns regarding the park which are as follows: The park is in need of more volunteers to work the Clean Up Day in the Spring. The park is in need of signage to direct visitors to the park from Garfield Road. Restroom maintenance the DNR has indicated that there is a paint that can be used in the restrooms to deter bees from nesting in them. The park entrance is in need of improvement railway signs. She stated that visitors to the park have expressed that they would like to see a registry for Adam s Fly enthusiasts to sign. She would like to see a list of all the weddings held at the park compiled and published. She spoke about the new hiking trail that is in the works that will connect Kingsley to Mayfield. She would like the Township to consider changing the Clean Up Day from Saturday to a weekday after school. She thinks this will work better for the student groups who may want to volunteer after school. She expressed concerns regarding the placement of the disc golf course that is being proposed. She indicated that some years ago the Pond was designated a Michigan Historical Landmark. There used to be a sign. However, the sign was taken down years ago when there were some improvements being made to the park. She would like to find out what happened to the sign and have it replaced. 3
Old Business: 1. Summit City/Sparling Rumble Strips Eastbound Mr. Trudell reported that the westbound rumble strips have been installed. He still has received no response from the homeowners regarding the eastbound temporary rumble strips. He is hoping for a spring installation when the Road Commission repairs the rumble strips at Summit City Road/County Line Road. He requested that this be tabled until April. 2. Energy Audit Alpine Electric Mr. Trudell reported that Alpine Electric is unable to get the savings numbers from the businesses who participated in this program. He also suggested that the Board look into participating in this program at a later date. In the meantime, Consolidated Electric has been contacted to repair and/or replace the switches and lights in the EMS building. Mr. Babik expressed concern about the kitchen and office lights. The sensors need to be fixed or adjusted. The lights are left on for too long. 3. Fireworks Ordinance Mr. Trudell indicated that the ordinance still needs to be amended. He will work on it and send it to the Township Attorney for review. The Board discussed the State Fireworks Law and if it is necessary to implement a Township Ordinance. Mr. Whims indicated that he will look into the State s Fireworks Law. This will be kept under Old Business for the next meeting. New Business: 1. Healthcare Mr. Whims asked questions about the Township s obligations under the new healthcare law. Mrs. Gulliver indicated that she would ask MTA and forward the information on to the Board. 2. Alfie Vests Mr. Trudell reported that recently Mr. Radtke was out staking the intersection of Summit City and Sparling Road and was almost hit by a vehicle that was involved in an accident at the intersection. He would like the Township to purchase OSHA approved reflective safety vests for employees to use when out doing work in the roadway. He will look into getting quotes for safety vests and also inquiring about combining the order with items like shirts and coats for a discount. The shirts and coats will be purchased by staff with their own money. 4
3. Thermostats Mr. Trudell referenced the May 8, 2013 minutes in which it was stated that the Township would look into purchasing the locking thermostats once the energy audit was completed. He was unable to retrieve the quote from his email due to the server issues. However, the quote from ABI was around $850 to install new locking thermostats. Trudell/Wicksall: motion to have ABI install locking thermostats in the apparatus bay and offices of the EMS Building not to exceed $1,000: Wicksall yes, Trudell yes, Whims yes, Gulliver yes: Carried 4/0. General Board Discussion: Mr. Whims asked about the check for $896.00 to Crain Systems Group was for antivirus software. Mrs. Gulliver indicated that it was the yearly renewal for anti-virus on the server. Mr. Whims asked for a report from the Clerk regarding the election in November. Mrs. Gulliver indicated that there is only one question on the November Ballot which is the Road Commission Millage request. She expects voter turn out to be low. Mr. Wicksall inquired about the status of the letter to the Road Commission requesting stripping change for passing near the intersection of Summit City Road and Sparling Road. Mr. Trudell indicated that the Road Commission is aware of it. He will make inquiries about what action will be taken to address it. He imagines that it will be addressed in the spring when the County normally performs the striping. Mr. Trudell had questions about recent issues with the server. It was suggested that we ask Crain Systems Group to attend the next Board Meeting to answer questions. The age of the current server is a concern. We will need to inquire if it is time to purchase a new server. The Board would like a break down on money spent on computer issues in the past couple years. The temperature of the room the server is kept in is a concern as well. Public Input (Limited to 3 minutes): Mr. Radtke stated that he recently took at complaint from Linus Darga regarding the railroad crossing on Kingsley Road near the High School. The road is deteriorating badly. They wondered who is responsible for fixing it and if there are plans in the very near future to repair it. Mr. Babik inquired about the Township possibly looking into purchasing a new sign. He asked if it is possible to incorporate the Fire and Ambulance into the new sign. He pointed out that there is currently no signage for the EMS Building. The Township will put together various options and present them at a later date. Whims/Wicksall: motion to adjourn: Carried 4/0. Meeting adjourned at 7:27 p.m. Lisa K. Gulliver, Clerk Minutes prepared by Jennifer J. Scout, Recording Secretary T:\Township Board\Minutes\TB Minutes 2013\TB Minutes 10.9.2013.docx 5