Lake Linden Village Council
Regular Meeting
October 8th, 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: Hamlin, Aittama, Frendewey, Schuldt and Hoffman. Absence was granted to Trustee Frohmader.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Hoffman to approve the September regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried. A motion was then made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve the September 28th special meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Approval of Agenda:
A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in a motion from Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve as submitted. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Public Comments:
Two students from the Michigan Tech Mini Baja Team were on hand to present some initial details on the 2010 event. They said that each year the event has gotten bigger and bigger and this coming year they hoped to get 60 vehicles, almost twice as much as the 2009 event (39). Because of that the idea was to expand the track for the coming year over to the gates of the campground areas and around the hill to come back down through the rustic site area. Parking and spectator areas were still on the table as preparations were still being done. Maps were presented for the trustees. They said as in the past, help was needed from the Village public works crew to form the track. This year, because of the expanded track, the help required would be greater. After several questions from the Trustees a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the necessary aid for the event preparations and costs incurred by such help. Poll vote: Yes: Aittama, Schuldt, Hamlin, Frendewey, Hoffman and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried. Afterward, the students were encouraged to provide more advertising and advance notice of the event.
Bills and Financial Statement:
The bills and financials were introduced. Clerk Poirier pointed out that the package premium and the two street paving projects were reflected in the bills. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve the bills as presented. Poll Vote: Yes: Aittama, Frendewey, Hamlin, Hoffman, Schuldt and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Correspondence:
None.
Committee Reports:
Executive (Chair:Trustee Fisher):
President Fisher outlined the application and process for the MSHDA grant program as had been approved at the September 28th special meeting. He said that although some of the financial requirements were a bit more stringent than he believed at first it would still be an alluring program for landlords who wished to make improvements on their buildings. He said Ray Gerhart, the consultant who had submitted the application on behalf of the Village, expected that it was unlikely to receive the full $350,000 applied for but thought that $150-200,000 was likely to be more accurate number to hope for. Trustee Aittama said that in a prior round of MSHDA funding twenty years before some of the money went towards infrastructure improvements, specifically sewer work, but President Fisher said he was not aware that this was possible under the new funding opportunity. It was expected that word on funding would be received in the coming weeks.
Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):
President Fisher mentioned to the Council that Lindell’s had once again undergone a management change. He said the former new owner had defaulted on the land contract and that the new owner, under the tutelage of Fran Grunow, would be taking over. He said that there were many outstanding debt issues to be overcome and that one of those was the outstanding water/sanitation bill for the village services. Fisher said that he thought forgiving the water portion of the bill would set a bad precedent for future issues but suggested that the Council consider waiving the dumpster fee of $160.00. Trustee Aittama said that that was also a bad precedent and that processes were in place to recoup that money already. He thought extending a collection deadline was a more prudent solution. After a brief discussion a motion was made by trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Frendewey to waive the dumpster charge of $160.00 for the new owner. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):
Clerk Poirier told the Council the overhead door in the workshop had been hit several times and needed to be replaced. He said an insurance claim would be filed to try to recoup costs but if that was refused the costs of the door was about $2,600.
Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):
Clerk Poirier said that Jude was in the process of determining what needed to be done with the snow thrower this year. He said Trustee Frohmader would have more info at the November meeting.
Streets(Chair: Schuldt):
No report.
Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman):
Trustee Hoffman read the police report. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Hoffman to accept the reports. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Zoning Task Force:
Clerk Poirier said that a draft of a Red Flag Rules policy for identity theft was included in the packet for review. He said these policies were required by state and federal regulations and though the deadline had been extended several times. He explained that although some of the issues covered in the draft did not pertain to current Village procedures, such as discerning altered ID documents, he thought that in conjunction with the new utility billing software new policies would be developed to authorize water changes and account fees. Those would also be reviewed over the next few months and submitted to the Utilities committee for initial review.
President Fisher presented the final draft of an ordinance regulating the use of outdoor wood-burning furnaces in the Village. He said it was the same draft that had been on the table for a few months and it was now time to pass it. Several questions were asked and Fisher responded by saying the ordinance was strong enough to keep hard rules regarding new installations but flexible enough to allow the Council to review concerns on a case-by-case basis. After another brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Aittama to approve passage of the ordinance, Series9000, Chapter 9030,regulating outdoor wood-burning furnaces. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier introduced a draft of an ordinance creating a President’s Youth Council, consisting of high-school students, which would serve to bring the issues of young people in the community to the Village Council’s attention. It outlined the procedures for organizing the Council. President Fisher said he thought that the ordinance fit perfectly into the goals of the strategic plan, which was to focus on the needs of youth in the community. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the passage of the ordinance, Series 1000, Chapter 1200, President’s Youth Council. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier said he also included a draft of a blight ordinance. He said that Schoolcraft Township officials had approached him several months ago with the idea. He explained that the current dangerous buildings ordinance was extremely cumbersome and practically unenforceable, so he thought it was prudent to look into a more streamlined, modern alternative. He said he would field suggestions and refer it to the task force if new ideas were given.
Downtown Development Authority:
President Fisher informed the Council that the DDA was beginning the process of expansion for the area of the DDA to include 9th Street down to Gregory Street. He said that the procedure was under way.
No report.
Lake Linden Housing Commission
No report.
Late Agenda Items:
Clerk Poirier presented the Council a copy of an email submitted to Carolyn Schamberger, a public relations representative for Verizon Wireless. In it she answered his request for consideration that the Village get a cell phone tower to improve service in the community. Her reply indicated that a review was under way for 2010 sites and that Lake Linden was on the “hit list” which the clerk took to be a good sign.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
None.
Announcements:
None
Adjournment:
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Aittama. All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:27pm. There were 4 members of the public in attendance.
_____________________________ __________________________
Edward R Fisher, President Robert A. Poirier, Village Clerk
[Posted on the website of the Village of Lake Linden]