Ortonville Village Regular Council Meeting – March 28, 2016

Village of Ortonville

Brandon Township Offices

395 Mill Street
Ortonville, MI 48462

Ortonville Village Regular Council Meeting

March 28, 2016

President Wills called the meeting to order at 7:04p.m., followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation.

Roll Call:Present: Baker, McClerren, Brice, Skornicka, Eschmann,Dylus,Wills

Absent: None

Also Present: John Lyons – Village Manager; Julie Hanna – Village Clerk;Susan Bromley – Reporter for The Citizen; Dennis Hoffman – VFW Post 582 Commander

Approval of Agenda:

  • Motion by Trustee McClerren,seconded by Trustee Skornicka,to approve the agenda as presented. All in favor, the Motion carried.

Approval of Meeting Minutes:

It was noted that there was an error with a motion on the minutes from the special meeting of March 9, 2016. This would be corrected.

  • Motion by TrusteeBaker, seconded by Trustee Brice, to approve the minutes of the March 9, 2016,special meeting asamended.

All in favor, the Motion carried.

Acceptance Items

A. Treasurer’s Report –February 2016

Item Accepted.

Disbursements:

Clarification was sought for the following expenditure(s):

#16 – Visa– $930.73 (several purchases including funeral flowers, which were $68.90): Trustee McClerren asked whether the funeral flowers for former council member Elizabeth Waters’s father’s funeral were delivered. Julie Hanna said she received a delivery notice, but that she had not heard from Waters following the funeral. It is possible the flowers went with another family member, as they were delivered to her father’s name, and not addressed to Waters herself.

#9– Detroit Edison– $1,809.42 (Street Light Electricity): Dylus asked whether the Village had looked into switching the street lights to LED lights for cost saving purposes. Manager John Lyons said that every year, he gets some information about doing a project that would switch the lights to LEDs. He will look into it when he receives this.

#26 – Brown’s Do It Center – $10.69 (Mailbox replacement): Skornicka wondered if the addresses could be noted when the Village replaces a mailbox due to plowing snow.

#34 and #35– Grand Blanc Outdoors– $23.51 (Snow blower parts) and $560.15 (New snow blower): Council wondered about why parts were needed if a new snow blower was purchased. It was clarified that the parts were for an older blower.

Eschmann asked about how the disbursement report is organized. Julie Hanna explained that the report is generated by the A.P. system, which organizes the invoices by check run date and alphabetically per check run date. Julie adds the descriptions and a few other details.

It was asked whether the new carpet at the Old Town Hall would be on the disbursement report. It will not be present on the disbursement report as it was a donation from the Lion’s Club, who meet regularly at the Old Town Hall free of charge.

  • Motion byTrusteeEschmann, seconded by Trustee Brice, to pay the bills in the amount of $14,919.32.

Roll Call:

Ayes:Baker, McClerren, Brice, Skornicka, Eschmann,Dylus,Wills

Nays: None

Absent: None

All in favor, the Motion carried.

Public Comments on Agenda Items:

None

Items from Trustees:

President Willsasked Council to give an update for the subcommittee(s) of which they are a part.

DDA (Baker, Wills): Baker said that the Beets, Beats & Eats focus group had provided some good ideas for BB&E, which is planned to open on June 17.

Fire Authority (McClerren): There has been no recently meeting, though they are planning to have one soon. There will be a discussion about a new hire.

Historical Society (Dylus):There has not yet been a meeting since he was a part.

I.T./Website (Skornicka):There was nothing really new, but Julie Hanna made the website changes suggested at the February meeting.

Parks (Brice):Brice noted that the Skate Park will be opening on May 3rd. Flyers were distributed at the schools and there was an article put in the paper. There was also an advertisement placed in the paper for second skate park monitor. Brice said she would like to get into contact with Noah, who showed interest in being a skate park mentor in 2015.

Personnel (Eschmann, Skornicka, and Wills): Skornicka mentioned that the Personnel Policy needs updating to reflect the new wellness stipend for employees.

Planning Commission (McClerren):The March meeting was canceled due to the weather, but the Planning Commission should be meeting on April 5th.

Streets (Dylus):There were no new updates.

Planning Commission (McClerren):The March meeting was canceled due to the weather, but the Planning Commission should be meeting on April 5th.

Eschmann:He asked if anyone had been following the progress of the Iron Belle Trail. There was a brief discussion about the four proposed routes to go through the Village. Several Council members said they would like to discuss this at the next Council meeting.

Wills: There will be a resurgence of Ortonville Days in June. This three-day festival would include a circus and fireworks as well as other items. Skornicka said she had heard people wanting the fireworks to be nearer to July than they have been in recent years. They should be a bit closer this year.

Unfinished Business:

A. VFW Post 582 – Purple Heart Day/Community

Dennis Hoffman, Commander of VFW Post 582, would like to designate a day to be proclaimed as Purple Heart Day and for Ortonville to be known as a Purple Heart Community in recognition of veterans, especially those in the local community. He gave a brief list of several wars for which several community members haveearned a Purple Heart Award. August 1st was the date decided upon to designate as Purple Heart Day.

  • Motion by Trustee McClerren, seconded by Trustee Eschmann, to designate August 1st as “Purple Heart Day” and approve Resolution No. 2016-328 establishing the Village of Ortonville as a Purple Heart Community.All in favor, the Motion carried.

President Wills read the proclamation provided by the VFW which declared the Village of Ortonville a Purple Heart Community.

New Business:

A. Oakwood Road Shoulder Extension

In October of 2014, the Village Council approved the proposal for design services for the Oakwood Road Shoulder Extension Project in the amount of $2,300.00.This project was delayed for two years due to the possibility of Oakland County resurfacing Oakwood from M15 to Leece Rd. The County project has been delayed indefinitely and due to this being a safety concern, it is John Lyons’s recommendation that the Village moves forward with the project. The project consists of a six-foot-wide shoulder extension on the south side of Oakwood from Cedar St. westward to the eastern drive of Bueche’s Food World within the road right of way of Oakland County. This will be a .26 mile long addition coordinated through the Tri-Party Program. The project is estimated to cost $60,000.00, of which $20,000.00 plus engineering will be the Village’s responsibility. This approval is for the design portion only, which is now $3,600.00. The price had been raised originally to $4,800.00, but John negotiated with the company, saying that the delay didn’t warrant such an increase. Eschmann brought up concerns about the project and suggested a ten-food-wide shoulder that reaches to Church St. He was thinking about the Iron Belle trail potentially coming through the Village. This trail is ten feet wide. John said that there is only about $58,000.00 available in the Tri-Party fund and that the bridges and culverts that would be needed to go all the way to Church St. would be expensive. Also, if it is designated as a path, there would be ADA compliance and other considerations to take into account. There was a discussion about safety of the area, costs of projects, and path walkways. John said he would look into the ten-foot shoulder option.

  • Motion by Trustee Baker, seconded by Trustee McClerren, toapprove the proposal from Rowe Professional Services Companyfor design services for the Oakwood Road Shoulder Extension Project in the amount of $3,600.00.

Roll Call:

Ayes: Baker, McClerren, Brice, Skornicka,Wills

Nays:Eschmann,Dylus

Absent: None

Themotion carried with a 5/2 vote.

B.Ortonville Days Special Road Closure Permit

Brandon Township Parks and Recreation has submitted a permit request to close South St. between Mill and Church St. for Arts and Crafts vendors in conjunction with the Lions Club Ortonville Days. The event is June 24, 25, and 26th and the roads would be closed on just the 25th from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The permit has been approved by local public safety officials. There was a conversation about how the road closure days and times were not specified on the permit application; however, John said he called and verified the date and times prior to the meeting.

  • Motion by Trustee McClerren, seconded by Trustee Brice, toapprove the special permit application submitted by Brandon Parks and Recreation closing the roads on Saturday, June 25, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and event days June 24, 25, and 26th for the Ortonville Days celebration.All in favor, the Motion carried.

Public Comments on Non-Agenda Items:

Dennis Hoffman, VFW 582 Post Commander, said that they recognized Brandon High School teacher Jeff Malicke and Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School Fourth-Grade Teacher Sharon Voyer as Post Teacher of the Year winners. On May 1st, there will be a banquet at Waterford VFW Post 1008 where they will receive a certificate and check.

Items from the Manager:John Lyons stood to address the Council. He said that, due to recent health concerns, he would be resigning as Village Manager effective May 26, 2016. He said he had enjoyed working in the Village of Ortonville and he complimented Village DPW, office staff, and the Council. He handed each member of Council a copy of his resignation letter. Council thanked and complimented John for his work. John also mentioned that he and the office staff have been looking into getting a quote for scanning and digitizing some paper files in the office.

Trustee Skornicka had a question about number 37 on the disbursement report, which was $321.95 paid to Huron Valley Fire Protection. She wondered what all that the inspector did and what it included. Julie explained that he came in and inspected the Village office and DPW fire extinguishers and serviced them.

  • Motion by Trustee Skornicka, seconded by Trustee McClerren, to adjourn the regular Village Council meeting. All in favor, the Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Julie Hanna– Village Clerk

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