Meyer Township

W5480 1st Street- PO Box 185

Hermansville, MI 49847

Regular Meeting Minutes

February 19, 2014

  1. Meeting was called to order at 6:35 by Bob Gurgall with the Pledge of Allegiance.
  2. Present at the meeting: Pat Dani, Mark Schoen , Bob Gurgall, Sheryl Lauscher and Beth Bertolini.
  3. Visiting: John Anderson, Greg Lauscher, Mary Lee LaBonte, Paula Ayotte, Brent Ayotte, Betty Broeders and Jan Ducat.
  4. Approval of agenda- Motion to approve the agenda made by Beth Bertolini, supported by Mark Schoen. Motion carried, 5-0.
  5. Guest- John Anderson wants us to make sure that we let the people who have applied for a disabled veterans property tax exemption that is is strongly advised that they attend the March Board of Review (BOR) meeting (yearly) to insure that their paper work is in order and to learn more about how they will need to proceed with this on a yearly basis. If they miss the March BOR meeting they should attend the BOR meeting in the summer. The BOR meeting will be on March 11th from 9 am- 3 pm and March 12th from 3 pm- 9 pm. at the Meyer Township hall. John said the current CPI is 1.6. The assessments in our township are stable, very little change. SEV notices should be sent out before the end of the month.Bob Gurgall had questions for John about Qualified Forest Land applications. John had received most of those already and they are being processed. Anyone with issues concerning their Qualified Forest Land is advised to attend the BOR.
  6. Public comment- Ray Gurgall asked about the results of our meeting with the County Road Commission. The County will be doing some line painting on 1st Street. There are no County funds to get any of our requested projects done. Our Township board, the County board and the Road Commission will all keep pushing for the 3-Way Road Funding to be brought back. We feel that is the best way for townships like ours to be able to afford the major repairs we'd like to see done. Janet Ducat asked about the size the signs that advertize our local businesses, churches and organizations should be. Bob will measure a sample one and get back to her.
  7. Approval of Bills, Minutes, Treasurer Report and EDC report- Motion to approve Bills, Minutes, Reports, etc made by Sheryl Lauscher, supported by Mark Schoen. Motion carried 5-0. (Sheryl brought up that she found a $.03 difference in last months balance on the Fire Deparatment Operating account. She corrected the balance.)
  8. Action item- Dam Maintenence- The DEQ (Department of Envionmental Equality) requests that we have an inspection of the Dam by the end of 2014. We must notify the DEQ if we will hire our own inspector or if we'd like them to do the inspection by March 1st. The spillway will likely need some repairs. We will need to pay close attention to the Dam and Spillway when the tempuratures rise and melting begins. A reminder to anyone with ice shacks on the Hermansville Lake-The DNR requires these to be removed by March 31.st.
  9. Action item- Job descriptions- We would like to revise the written job descriptions for each department. Mark will go over the sewer requirements, Pat will take care of the Clubhouse, Beth, the cemetery and Bob, grass cutting and township property. We would like the job descriptions to be looked at and signed by each employee and have this process done yearly to insure that things are getting done the way they should be and that the board and employees are in agreement on each task. We will present these at the March meeting. Mark mentioned that the tractor used for the sewer area needs some work. Mark will check on what this will cost. The baseball field was discussed. After the work and expense that has been put into our field we need to make sure that it is well taken care of in the future.
  10. Action item- Clubhouse upstairs upgrades- Pat and Bob have gone through the upstairs to evaluate what repairs are necessary. They would like to have some painting done, repairs or upgrades to the bathrooms, rearrange the back room to accommodate the tables and chairs while still maintaining a proper exit and get the floor refinished. It was brought up that if we redo the floor then we should invest in a better dust mop/mop head to keep the floor in good shape. Since the next meeting isn't until March 19th we would like to pre-approve the cost of the floor finishing so it can be done before the Gold Medal Tournaments. A motion to pre-approve the work to be done on the gym floor for up to $2,500.00 was made by Sheryl Lauscher, supported by Mark Schoen. Motion carried 5-0. Bob will take care of getting someone to do the painting in the bathrooms and possibly the kitchen. Pat will arrange the floor work.
  11. Action item-ATV fire and rescue purchase-The Hermansville Volunteer Fire Department is requesting to purchase a 6x6 Wildland Polaris Ranger Fire and Rescue ATV. This vehicle has a skid, water tank, hose reel and basket for extracation. It would be very useful in remote location fires or resuce situations. It can also be used for ice rescue. Pat Dani explained that it can be very helpful in grass fires because it can quickly go where trucks can't. This can save intervention from the DNR needing to go in and take over. It could save the property owner having to pay suppression costs to the DNR. It could also be helpful in situations in remote areas where a fire fighter or resident could have a health crisis such as heart attack or breathing problems. It would give the VFD a better chance to sucessfully save lives. The lowest cost of this vehicle is $24,242 from Cozzy's Polaris in Marinette. The VFD does have funds for this purchase. A motion to approve the Hermansville Volunteer Fire Department's purchase of a 6x6 Wildland Polaris Ranger Fire and Rescue ATV at the cost of $24,242.00 from Cozzy's Polaris.made by Mark Schoen, supported by Sheryl Lauscher. Motion carried 5-0.
  12. Action item- Cell phone for Clerk- Beth told the board that she makes and receives many township work related calls on her cell phone and has been getting overage charges on her personal cell phone bill. Beth receives and needs to make calls for cemetery arrangements and questions, sewer billing issues, placing ads, insurance inquiries, legal advice and receives many calls from board members concerning township business, and residents with questions about the general running of the township. This has cost her money almost every month. She has looked into adding a line to our existing Verizon bill and was told it would cost $20.00/month plus the cost of a phone. At this time our plan has 700 available minutes to share between the 2 employees that require cell phones. They have used an average of just under 200 minutes/month for over a year. Beth feels that she would be able to keep the minutes well under the 700 along with the employees. This would be a basic, low cost, regular cell phone with no internet. A motion to approve Beth's aquisition of a cell phone and adding a line to our exisiting plan was made by Sheryl Lauscher, supported by Mark Schoen. Motion carried 5-0.
  13. Action item- Past Due sewer bills- Beth said there are many past due sewer bills and would like to find the best way to collect these. She will look into the options. Possible options include small claims court, collection agency and putting the past due amount on the tax bills. She will look into what is allowed by our sewer ordinance and what is legal for a township to do in this situation. She will also contact MTA (Michigan Township Association) and find out what other townships do in this situation. At this time she encourages anyone with a past due bill of over 90 days to stop in and discuss payment arrangements to avoid further action. This would be the best way to avoid late fees or any extra charges.
  14. Action item- Reimbursement- Bob Gurgall attended 2 meetings and drove to both of them. One in Stephenson to the Menominee County Road Commission and one in Menominee for the Menominee County Board meeting. The mileage costs come to $88.50. A motion to approve reimbursement for this mileage made by Beth Bertolini supported by Sheryl Lauscher. Motion carried 5-0.
  15. Public comment- It was mentioned that the snowbanks on the corner by Jay's Auto are very high and it makes it difficult for cars to pull out without moving into the intersection to take a look to see if anyone is coming. We will check with the MCRC to see if they can move some of that snowbank away for safety reasons. A resident asked if there is a problem with the sewer lines from the outside of the home before the hook up to the Township sewer line; would that be the homeowners problem or the Townships? It is the homeowners issue if it is before the main township line. Paula Ayotte inquired if it would be possible for there to be a free open gym night in our Clubhouse. The board would like to see that happen, but would like to have a person on record taking responsibility for unlocking and locking the doors and so we would be able to check with that person in case of any problems with the facility. We will look into the open gym night and also possible new rules and charges for groups wanting regular use of our gym. We will be discussing gym use, charges, rules and any changes to our current policies at the annual meeting on March 19.
  16. Board Comment- Mark Schoen asked who would be doing the concessions for the Gold Medal Tournaments. We will contact the usual non profit groups from our community and see who would like the opportunity to raise funds during the games. Paual Ayotte said that the Festival of Lights Take 2 made close to $3000 last year. Sheryl mentioned the NCA Cheerleaders. She will contact Kristin Graham.
  17. Board Comment- Mark Schoen said that he is looking at prices for aluminum bleachers for the baseball field. Mark is applying for a grant for these. He will need to have this information ready by the end of March to assure his grant is received in time for consideration.
  18. Board comment- Pat Dani said he checked with DTE to see if there is a possibility of getting the houses on West 3rd Street added as natural gas pipeline customers. They told Pat they would like to have 15-30 homes in that 1/2 mile stretch to make it feasible. There are 8 homes there at this time with 2 more possible. He will continue to push for this. Pat inquired if we've had any word with DTE about the free programmable thermostats they offered us this past fall. Beth has heard nothing and neither has Pat. DTE was given both Pat and Beth's contact information.
  19. Board comment- The board discussed the winter parking issues. There are cars that have been illegally parked for most of the winter. The police have been contacted. Bob will talk to the Sherriff about writing tickets for these cars that remain a problem.
  20. Board comment- Bob Gurgall gave all of the board members copies of the new By-Laws of Menominee County Townships Officers Association. Bob asked Beth to add the future dates for the Menominee County Board meetings to be held in Meyer Township. Those dates are August 12th and 26th at 6 p.m. In the Clubhouse basement. The public is invited to these meetings. Bob received an invitation for all Township Board officers to the Timber Professionals Spring Celebration at the Island Resort & Casino on April 14. This event is free of charge for Township Officers.
  21. Board comment- Bob said that the EDC Board is still requesting to go from a 9 member board to a 7 member board. We will look at the by-laws for the EDC and see if we can approve this change for them. The Housing Commission board is still short a member. Anyone interested in serving on this board should contact Bob Gurgall. We will have to re-instate Paul Serchia to the Housing Board because his term will be up in March..
  22. There being no further business before the board, a Motion to Adjourn was made at 7:36 by Mark Schoen , supported by Sheryl Lauscher. Motion carried, 5-0.