Lake Linden Village Council

Regular Meeting

August 13th, 2009

 

The Lake Linden Village Council met on the above date at the Village Hall at 6:30pm. President Fisher presided. The following Trustees responded to roll call: Aittama, Schuldt and Hoffman. Absence was granted to Trustees Hamlin, Frendewey and Frohmader.

 

Approval of Minutes:        

A motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the July regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

A motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the July 27th special meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

 

Approval of Agenda:

A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in one addition a motion from Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Hoffman to approve.  All were in favor.  Motion was carried.

 

Public Comments:

No public comment.

 

Bills and Financial Statement:

The bills and financials were introduced. Clerk Poirier pointed out that about one-fourth of the tax levy had come in so far. After a brief discussion motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Hoffman to approve the bills as presented. Poll Vote: Yes: Aittama, Hoffman, Schuldt, and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.

 

Correspondence:

Clerk Poirier read a letter from the U. S. Dept. of Justice regarding the COPS grant application submitted by the Village. It stated that the application had not been addressed and not been funded in the first round but that it would be considered for subsequent rounds through the end of 2009.

Clerk Poirier read a letter from the U. P. Michigan Works regarding a program that extended supplying workers at various sites through March of 2010. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to provide information to MichWorks and apply to be a worksite for the new program. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

 

Committee Reports:

             

Executive (Chair:Trustee Fisher):

President Fisher informed the Council that the new windows for the Village Hall project were in and Martineau & Morris had begun work on the fascia at the front of the building. He said he was in the process of finding out what work could be done by the Village crew and what should be done by M & M. He said that if necessary the windows would not necessarily have to be completed this year but that things were progressing satisfactorily.

Clerk Poirier introduced the annual package insurance premium notice for 2009-10. He said that last year’s premium was $23,571 and the proposed premium for this year was $22,165, largely due to the elimination of the boiler system. After a brief discussion a motion was made by trustee Hoffman and supported by trustee Schuldt to accept the quote and pay the annual premium for the upcoming year. Poll vote: Yes; Hoffman, Schuldt, Aittama and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.

Clerk Poirier informed the Council that he had been Informed from owners at De La terre, the new restaurant at 9th and Front that their liquor license approval from the state was imminent and that they were hoping the Council would recommend the approval. The clerk said it had not yet been received but that the Council could recommend contingent upon receipt of the request. After a brief discussion, during which the Council expressed the importance of facilitating a new business opening, a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to tentatively recommend approval of a liquor license for De La Terre, pending receipt of the resolution paperwork from the State Liquor Control Commission. All were in favor. Motion was approved. 

 

Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):

            No report.

 

Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):

            No report.

 

Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):

            No report.

 

Streets(Chair: Schuldt):

            Clerk Poirier updated the Council on the developments so far on the 7th Street portion of the school project. He said that after agreeing to have one block of 7th paved, Payne & Dolan did not meet the minimum requirements for the pavement thickness. President Fisher said a letter was sent to them stating that the job as completed was not satisfactory. He said no word had as yet had been returned from Payne & Dolan.

            Clerk Poirier informed the Council that MDOT had approached him about paving the park & ride parking lot. He said that when the Legion building was built it was thought that the lot was across the street on the corner of 4th and Front, along the north edge of the fence for Rustic Meadows building. Upon further investigation it was found that the official designation placed the park & ride in the lobby of the Rustic Meadows building. After talking it over with MDOT, Clerk Poirier approached Lake Linden Housing about re-designating the lots just north of the Rustic Meadows site as the park & ride. He said their Commission approved the designation Tuesday and the paperwork was on the way to MDOT.

            MDOT had submitted a copy of the permit for the trunkline for 2009-10. The clerk said it was unchanged from the previous year and largely a boilerplate format as the details had been worked out two years before. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the agreement and to authorize signing it on behalf of the Village. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

           

Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman): 

Trustee Hoffman read the police report. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Aittama to accept the report. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

Clerk Poirier said that three more complaints had been received about the speed of traffic on Gregory Street. A discussion ensued regarding the placement of a four-way stop on the corner of Gregory Street and 14th Street. Chief Peters had commented in the police report that special effort was under way in the police dept. to run radar on that street when possible and his opinion was that Gregory Street did not have an unusual number of speeders compared to any other Village Street. Based partially on that recommendation, the Council decided not to place the four-way stop and directed Chief Peters to continue added surveillance on the street.

Clerk Poirier said no bids had been received for the police vehicle by the deadline. He said the vehicle had been listed on ebay with a reserve price at the approved minimum bid amount the Council had agreed to. He said that there was some early interest in the auction but that the Council may have to meet next week if decisive action was necessary immediately. He said the new vehicle was in and Rural Development funding was in place to proceed as soon as the sale was complete.

           

Zoning Task Force:  

President Fisher said the four written policies before the Council had been in  the agenda for three months and he requested action be taken. Clerk Poirier reviewed each policy briefly. After a few questions were posed and answered a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the text of the four proposed written Village policies – Fiscal/Purchasing policy, Investment Policy, Gift Policy, and the Conflict of Interest Policy – as submitted. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

 President Fisher then led a discussion regarding the proposed fire ordinance as reviewed at past meetings. He said he agreed that the provision for recreational fires be included, and said that the real issue concerning enforcement should be whether or not residents were inconvenienced or hurt by the fire in question. He said he believed the ordinance as written accounted for that. After a little more discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by President Fisher to approve the draft of the fire ordinance as submitted. Poll vote: Yes; Aittama, Fisher, Schuldt and Hoffman. No; None. Motion was carried.

President Fisher recommended tabling the Outdoor Woodburning Stove Ordinance for another month.

 

Downtown Development Authority:

President Fisher said that Chairperson Pummill had spoken to a perspective new member for the DDA Board that would round out their number. The board there has been one member short for several months.

 

Torch Lake Area Sewage Authority

            No report.

           

 

Lake Linden Housing Commission

            No report.

 

Late Agenda Items:

 

New Business:

            None.

 

Old Business:

            None.

 

Announcements:

            None.

 

Executive Session:  Trustee Schuldt supported by Trustee Aittama made a motion to go into closed session to discuss employee salary matters. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

            Council reconvened the regular meeting after 6 minutes in closed session.

 

Adjournment:

            A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Schuldt .  All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:25pm. There were 3 members of the public in attendance.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________                  __________________________

Edward R Fisher, President                                    Robert A. Poirier, Village Clerk