Lake Linden Village Council
Regular Meeting
March 11th, 2010
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, Schuldt and Hoffman.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the February regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
A motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the February 11th Closed Session meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Approval of Agenda:
A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in three additions to correspondence and a motion from Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Hoffman to approve as submitted. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Public Comments:
Clerk Poirier said the Lake Linden Hubbell 5th grade class was supposed to present their idea for a disc golf course on the Village sands but the teacher was ill and they couldn’t make it. He did read a couple of emails from the students saying they would be on hand at the April meeting to make their presentation.
Bills and Financial Statement:
The bills and financials were introduced. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Aittama to approve the bills as presented. Poll Vote: Yes: Aittama, Hamlin, Hoffman, Schuldt and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Correspondence:
Clerk Poirier read a request for grant proposals from the Michigan DNR Coastal management Program. President Fisher said that the grant had been very important in the development of the marina and dock area and that perhaps a proposal could be submitted to place the last two docks on the pilings that had already been installed. He said he would flesh out some details and submit ideas at the April meeting.
Clerk Poirier informed the Council that Pepsi had announced a series of grants, large and small, that were being awarded each month throughout the calendar year. He said many of the applications were not necessarily completed designs but some were worthwhile ideas for small communities. He said that each trustee should look over the details at www.refresheverything.com and come up with some ideas for the community to submit.
Poirier said that Gary Marcotte had come in to request that the Council support the Knights of Columbus Fishing Derby, being held this year on June 5th. He said the request was for the same support as the previous year; copies in the village office, use of the pavilion in the park for registrations, and a page on the Village website to download registration forms. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Aittama to support the event in the same way as the previous year. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Poirier introduced a letter from UPEA saying that monies were available through Rural Development and that loan rates are historically low. No action was taken.
Poirier read a letter from Portage Health Pharmacy director Jason Evans responding to a letter sent by the clerk about locating a pharmacy in Lake Linden. The letter stated that they were aware of the situation in town and were looking at all options. He said also that Portage had delivery service to the lake Linden area as well.
Poirier said that he read a newspaper article stating that Craig Sundblad was named as the superintendent at the school. The Council agreed to send a letter congratulating him on his new position.
Committee Reports:
Executive (Chair: Trustee Fisher):
President Fisher gave an update on the MSHDA grant. He said the Village did not get funded in the winter round of funding but said Ray Gerhart of Northern Consultants was optimistic that the Village could get a grant in the spring, albeit for around $150,000 instead of the $350,000 initially sought. He said he would be working with Mr. Gerhart to get that accomplished.
President Fisher informed the Council that he had gone to the Torch Lake Township Board of Review regarding the Sportsman’s Club Property. He said that after his presentation the Board seemed to think that there had been a mistake in classifying the property and would look in to the discrepancy. Fisher said he expected that the situation would be corrected upon recommendation of the board of review.
President Fisher informed the Council that the application for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant as approved at the last meeting had been submitted. The total was $243,000 and would pay for the paving of two parking lots and substantial remediation around the shoreline in the park near the outlet from the storm sewer system on the south end of the village.
President Fisher said we had not yet come up with a number for the Americana grant application for this year. He said discussions about restoring the woodwork on the interior of the village hall had been going on but a final determination had not yet been made.
President Fisher informed the Council that the Youth Council had met and he had been in email contact with the group. He said that two contacts had been identified at AT & T and that the Council was eager to start a letter-writing campaign to persuade AT & T to join Verizon in leasing space on the new tower that was being erected in the spring on Gregoire Rd.
President Fisher said that the committees could be revisited if someone wanted new appointments. He said that trustees could request new assignments until the March meeting when they could be reviewed.
Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):
President Fisher introduced a draft of a contract agreement to provide water to Torch Lake Township for their new proposed water system. He said a final decision had not yet been made but that one was imminent as the deadline was drawing near for Rural Developments requirement for spending the money. He said that Dick Supina had come up with much of the wording for the contract and that he was comfortable with the language. He said the bottom line was the charge per thousand. After a brief discussion about some of the clauses in the contract Fisher said that until a final decision no action would be required.
President Fisher said he had revisited a spreadsheet he developed for justifying a water rate increase from the last meeting. The Council had discussed the rate increase in February but took no official action. He presented the proposed new rate, a 5% increase over the current rates, and a discussion ensued. The trustees generally agreed that a rate increase was necessary to meet the upcoming budget requirements in the water fund. A motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve a 5% rate increase in water rates charged and to implement the change on the May regular billing cycle. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):
Trustee Hamlin gave a brief summary of the 2010 MTU Mini-Baja. He said 41 cars competed from all over the country. Feedback on the new track design had been positive and the weather was excellent. The venue really works well for the event and the hope is to hold it in the village park again next year.
Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):
Trustee Aittama stated that he thought the money to repair the snow blower should be expended as soon as possible. He said it was originally purchased to replace the one being utilized but had not yet been restored to working condition.
Streets(Chair: Schuldt):
Clerk Poirier said that the street budget was looking good since there had been no plowing operations throughout this new fiscal year which began on March 1st. He said the burden would fall more on the general fund in the long run since equipment rentals weren’t being charged during a normally busy time if the year.
Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman):
Clerk Poirier introduced the fire department’s budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year. He said it was in deficit by $725.00 but since they had funds on hand it would be acceptable. There was a brief discussion regarding the efforts of the fire department to bring their books in order and keep the Council informed. There had still been no word on the FEMA grant application for a fire station.
Zoning Task Force:
Clerk Poirier said after addressing many of the fiscal policies over the past six months he was beginning work on an Employee Handbook to outline policies and issues for current and perspective employees. He said no handbook currently existed and such policies needed to be drafted into written form. He hoped to have a reviewable draft in the next few weeks.
Downtown Development Authority:
President Fisher explained that as the next step in the process to extend the boundaries of the district the Council could hold their Public Hearing before the April regular meeting. He also said the DDA was addressing Christmas decorations downtown.
Trustee Aittama said that UPEA engineer Jim Koskiniemi informed the Board that the inflow had been greatly reduced through the implementation of the last capital improvement project, in some places as much as 30%.
Lake Linden Housing Commission
Clerk Poirier said the minutes of the last Housing Commission meeting were on file in the clerk’s office for review.
Late Agenda Items:
None.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
None.
Closed Session: A motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Schuldt to enter into closed session to discuss employee issues. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
A motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by trustee Hamlin
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 2 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]