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ONTONAGON VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING

HELD AT 6:00 PM ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2016

AT 315 QUARTZ STREET, ONTONAGON

PRESENT: President Waldrop; Trustees: E. Marks, J. Hamm, T. Smydra, M. Mogan, B. Seid, D. Chastan and Manager, J. Erickson

ABSENT: None

CALL TO ORDER:

AT 6:00 pm the meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by President Waldrop.

AGENDA:

A motion was made by Hamm, second by Seid, (CARRIED) to approve the agenda.

ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR: None

CONSENT AGENDA:

A motion was made by Marks, second by Chastan, (CARRIED) to approve the Village Council minutes of October 24, 2016; Marina Commission minutes of November 8, 2016.

APPROVE THE CURRENT BILLS:

A motion was made by Hamm, second by Seid, (CARRIED) to approve payment of the current bills for November 2016 in the amount of $160,904.45

Included in the above total is:

Previous bills paid $41,087.58

Current Bills - $ 38,229.85

Blue Cross Retiree – 707.68

USDA Fire Truck loan - $14,728.12

Employee Payrolls (10/20 & 11/3) GROSS- $ 66,151.22

Included in the Payroll is:

Blue Cross – November 2016 - $15,205.97

Lincoln Life - $33.30

Mers - $22,192.83

ROLL CALL:

AYES: All present at meeting

Nays: None

ABSENT: None

MANAGERS REPORT:

1.  Lansing – Governor Snyder has asked the legislature to look into post-employment health care reform. In many communities these cost exceed their pension liability costs and are much more volatile. For the Village these costs are minimal since we share the cost with employees for only three years. It is unlikely that anything will come out of lame duck, but there may be action in 2017 a non-election year.

2.  Water System Telemetry – This morning I met with engineers from OHM and GEI on the project to update the water system telemetry. Based on discussions this morning, we will receive proposals to evaluate of current system monitoring equipment (to ensure they are working correctly) and to update the system monitoring and control software systems (to provide a system that permits remote access monitoring of the system). A third component will be to update the monitoring system for the Tin Street lift station. Proposals are due on December 7th at 3:00 p.m.

3.  MDOT River Street Meeting - This afternoon Councilmen Hamm, Mogan, Smydra and myself met with Aaron Johnson MDOT District Manager to discuss the possibility of the Village taking over River Street from the State. Based on the small amount of additional revenues the Village would receive for maintenance, it is not worth it to the Village at this time. The State project next year will provide about an 8 to 10 year fix until a more formal reconstruction is needed. There was discussion of developing a streetscape concept for Rockland Road from the bridge to River Street. These plans can be coordinated with MDOT funding and enhancement grants to fund a project where the Village could accept responsibility for the road maintenance.

4.  Marina Property – Today I received information from our Attorney Ted Baird, about the property deeds and restrictions. The deeds to the Marina and Marina Park property state that the property shall be for recreational and marina purposes when the land was acquired with MDNR Waterways funds. Whether these restrictions still apply is unclear, however the “first right to buy” option of Waterways is null and void now based on the deed language. The M-64 right-of-way is still owned by the State of Michigan. Ted did confirm that MCL 67.4 of the General Law Village Act, applies and any part of the Marina that constitutes a “public park” would require a public vote before it could be sold.

5.  Meetings Attended – Marina Commission 11/08, OCRAG 11/09, Family Dollar Grand Opening 11/12

A motion was made by Smydra, second by Marks, (CARRIED) to accept and place on file the Manager’s Report.

NEW BUSINESS:

A.  VILLAGE HOUSING –IN LIEU OF TAXES REQUEST

Pam Coey, President of the Village Housing was present to ask the Village Council to waive the In Lieu of taxes for the Village Housing due to unexpected expenses that have occurred. Councilman Mogan asked if this would set president procedures for other businesses in the community. Sally Dubey asked” Why the Village Housing is paying taxes if the housing is on Village property and you don’t pay taxes”? The Village Housing wants to get away from HUD and they can’t convert from electric to gas heating until they own the property. It was decided to table this subject until the November 28th Village Council meeting to allow the Village to discuss with our lawyer. Councilman Chastan had a few questions concerning the 30% of Housing residents income being charged for rent with a $50.00 minimum and the guarantee it will remain at the 1/3 of the income. President Waldrop stated this should be discussed at a Village Housing meeting.

.A motion was made by Smydra, second by Mogan, (CARRIED) to table the Village Housing request for In Lieu of taxes until it is reviewed with the Village attorney. It will be reviewed at the November 28th Village Council meeting.

B.  2015-16 AUDIT REPORT

Manager Erickson reviewed the change in the GASB #68 set by the Government Accounting Standards Board and how it affected our audit. The Michigan Department of Treasury has mandated that Michigan governments abide by the GASB rules. GASB #68, requires that pension liability be included in the net position of the Village. The result in the Government activities of Village went from a net position surplus of $3,831,586 in 2014-15 to a new position deficit of $(-107,782) in 2015-16. In reality, the Government Activities (the General Fund) saw a net position decrease of $29,930, due to capital improvements such as the street light retrofit project. The biggest component of the Village’s pension liability is the hospital retirees. When the hospital sold, the Village accepted the pension liability for the employees. When the plan closed, MERS accelerated the payment for the unfunded liability. The Village General Fund pays out $250,000 per year for the unfunded portion of the Hospital pension plan. The Village’s contributions to the Hospital pension liability is about $250,000 per year.

Sue Lockhart asked why the audit had 7 or 8 finding that were continued finding with no changes. She was referring to the internal control in the office staff. The Manager pointed out that we are only a 3 people staff and we are unable to meet all of their requirement but are continuing to make changes and improvement. Ms. Lockhart then asked about the unrecorded Fire Department funds in the audit and the Manager said he will continue to work with the Volunteer Fire Department to try to meet the audit requirement. However if we attempt to meet these requirements at this time it is likely that all or some of the volunteers will resign.

OTHER BUSINESS:

Bill Johnson, representing his wife’s business of JJ’s Tackle Shack read a 3 page letter of concerns and asked that the letter be entered into the record. Their concerns are with the Village Manager and the Village President pertaining to the long response time on purchasing property to expand their business. Mr. Johnson’s comments included name calling and profanity.

ADJOURN:

At 6:56 pm a motion was made by Smydra, second by Seid, (CARRIED) to adjourn the meeting.

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Marcia Aho-Black - Village Clerk Date approved