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ANN ARBOR CHARTER TOWNSHIP MONDAY, JANUARY 17, 2005 The regular monthly meeting of the Ann Arbor Charter Township Board of Trustees was called to order by Supervisor Moran at 7:30 p.m. at the Township Hall, 3792 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105. Present: Supervisor Michael Moran, Treasurer Virginia Forshee, Clerk Rena Basch, Trustees John Allison, Della DiPietro, Gene Ragland and Richard Dieterle. Also present, Attorney Sandra Sorini Elser and Fire Chief Rick Ericson. Citizen Participation: No one signed up for citizen participation. Approval of Minutes: A few typographical errors were noted and corrected. Under the 2004 Budget Amendments the first sentence should be corrected to read “2004 Amended Budget.” The vote to uphold Christopher Steeb’s termination was a role call vote not a voice vote. The Resolution to Amend Fee Schedule should be corrected from “admitting” to “adopting” the fee schedule. In the Supervisor’s Report, a correction of spelling to “Pam Byrnes,” should be made. Also, the portion of the sentence starting “Supervisor Moran indicated that the Washtenaw Metro Alliance involving,” should be deleted. MiOSHA should all be in capitals under the Fire and Safety section. With those said corrections, Mr. Allison moved to approve the minutes from December 20, 2004 and Ms. DiPietro seconded the motion. The Board adopted the motion unanimously. Appointments, Resolutions, Reports, Discussions Resolution to appoint Trustees: The motion to appoint Rena Basch as a Trustee to the Ann Arbor Charter Township Pension Plan and to reappoint both Supervisor Michael Moran and Ms. Virginia Forshee to act as Trustees was made by Ms. DiPietro. The motion was seconded by Mr. Dieterle. The Board unanimously adopted the motion. Board of Trustees’ Rules: Mr. Ragland made the motion to adopt the Board of Trustees Rules which Mr. Allison seconded the motion. The Board adopted the motion unanimously. Resolution to appoint members to Board of Review: Supervisor Moran stated that there is still an opening on the Board of Review. Mr. Allison made the motion to reappoint Mr. Robert Mullins and Ms. Dawn Foerg to the Ann Arbor Charter Township Board of Review. Basch seconded the motion which the Board adopted unanimously. Renewal of Washtenaw County Central Dispatch Contract: Fire Chief Rick Ericson reported that the contract was basically the same contract as last year. The rate per run was $16.55 in 2004 which is down from 2003. Mr. Allison made the motion to approve the renewal of the Washtenaw County Central Dispatch contract with the conditions to remove Article 11 and the approval from the Board Attorney, Ms. Sorini Elser. Ms. DiPietro seconded the motion and the Board adopted the motion unanimously. Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board: The FOSPB will meet on the last Monday of the month during 2005. Mr. Allison reported that the deadline for applications for the Federal Program is February 4, 2005. The amount of money allocated to the State of Michigan is $2.1 million. The FOSPB worked on and finalized a template for the standard Conservation Easement. The FOSPB also elected officers: Raymond Grew as Chairman, Warren Heston as Vice Chairman, and Peter Kotilla as secretary. A major modification to the PDR is the removal of the retained residential rights. Discussion of Conservation Easement for Use in PDR: The size limits for animal husbandry operations comes from the state limits and EPA limits times 2/3. This recommendation comes from the Michigan Farmland Community Alliance. The Board thought that these numbers were very high without some kind of set parameters. The Board thought that a number of animals per acre would help eliminate some potential problems. Other issues discussed by the Board are where the buildings could be built on the property and the right to divide the property into parcels. Supervisor’s Report: Supervisor Moran reported that the County has decided to go forward with the jail millage. Sergeant Campbell will be meeting with Supervisor Moran to discuss issues in the township. The WCRC has made no decision regarding appointments. The Water and Sewer contracts are still not signed. There will be another meeting with the city regarding whether or not to appeal the opinion Judge Shelton gave in the Pall/Gelman case. The Union negotiations for the Fire Department Contracts are going well and an agreement should be reached soon. The County Wide Phase II Stormwater Permit is creating a citizen advisory committee. It is requested that we have 3 people join that committee – one elected official and 2 citizens. Mr. Liebenski has again filed a petition to build a private sewer treatment plant near our border on Stein Road. Public Safety – Fire Department: Chief Ericson reported that the recent fines that MIOSHA imposed upon the Fire Department were drastically reduced to only $75. Chief Ericson also stated that he would be starting to gather information for the Board to review for the Resolution that is needed for the NIMS program. The Resolution is needed before September 2005. The Capital Improvement Plan shows the expected purchases through the year 2019, and the balance is ahead by about $50,000. Chief Ericson went over the Year End Report indicating that the Ann Arbor Township Fire Department went on 810 calls in 2004 versus 702 calls in 2003. The Department assisted with 66 mutual aid calls and the Department only asked for assistance on 22 calls. The Fire Department received $28,000 from the Federal Fire Grant Funds for the Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support class. The Chief indicated that it costs approximately $1,000 per call and that his Department’s response time is on average 6.13 minutes. Planning Commission: Mr. Allison reported that the Planning Commission set 3 public hearings, scheduled for February 7, 2005. The hearings consist of the Dari Daycare Home, the definition of a daycare center, and the removal of Conditional Uses in the A-1 areas. The Commission also set the meetings for 2005. A vacancy still remains on the Planning Commission Board. Public Safety – Sheriff’s Department: A report from the Sheriff’s Department was provided in the briefing packet. Personnel Committee: The Personnel Committee met on January 17, 2005. It is expected that the Committee will have a recommendation for the Board next month. Building Department: The report from the building department was reviewed. Treasurer’s Report: The report from the treasurer was reviewed. Discussion of Indemnity for Township Board and Committee Members: A policy is needed stating what exactly is covered for the Township. Mr. Ragland would like to reserve the right to make a case by case decision. It is Mr. Dieterle’s thought that a special Board meeting should be held to make any decisions regarding the Indemnity for the Township Board and Committee Members. Attorney Sorini will draft a policy for the Board to review. Approval of Claims Listings: Ms. DiPietro moved approval of the claims listings for January 4, 2005 in the amount of $58,733.27. Mr. Allison seconded the motion which the board adopted unanimously. Mr. Allison moved approval of the claims listings for January 14, 2005 in the amount of $85,659.31. Ms. DiPietro seconded the motion which was adopted unanimously. Information Michigan Townships Association Updates: Were included in the packet for information only. 2005 Schedule of Meetings: Were included in the packet for information only. Washtenaw County Road Commission December 2004 Newsletter: Was included in the packet for information only. Non-Agenda Items An Election Commission was formed including Trustee Richard Dieterle, Trustee Gene Ragland and Clerk Rena Basch. Mr. Allison moved to approve the Election Committee members and Ms. DiPietro seconded the motion. The Board supported the motion unanimously. Mr. Allison states that he has been speaking with Representative Byrnes and she is interested in putting legislation forward that would provide the townships the ability to give tax abatements to the farmland that is in PDR. Public Comment: There was no public comment. Adjournment: At approximately 9:50 p.m., Ms. DiPietro moved that the meeting be adjourned. Ms. Forshee seconded the motion; the motion was unanimously adopted and the meeting was adjourned. _________________________ _________________________ Michael Moran, Supervisor Rena Basch, Clerk Minutes prepared by Mary Volger |