Lake Linden Village Council
Public Hearing
May 13th, 2010
The Lake Linden Village Council convened a public hearing on the above date at 6:30pm at the Village Hall meeting room. The following trustees responded to roll call: Hamlin, Schuldt, Aittama, Frendewey and Fisher. President Fisher presided.
Fisher gave a brief summary of the process undertaken so far in the MSHDA grant application. He said the grant amount currently being sought was $300,000 and that this public hearing was a final opportunity for the public to weigh in on that process. He said the grant/loan would concentrate on creating new units within the proposed area but that it could open the door to future funding opportunities in the future.
He then opened the hearing to comments from the public. Hearing none a motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by trustee Frendewey to adjourn the hearing. All were in favor. Hearing was adjourned at 6:35pm.
Lake Linden Village Council
Public Hearing
May 13th, 2010
The Lake Linden Village Council convened a public hearing on the above date at 6:35pm at the Village Hall meeting room. The following trustees responded to roll call: Hamlin, Schuldt, Aittama, Frendewey and Fisher. President Fisher presided.
Fisher gave a brief summary of the process in expanding the Downtown Development Authority District to include the businesses along 9th Street. He said that the boundaries had been drawn so that the population of the district did not exceed 100 residents, a number which would require the convening of a separate board to approve boundary decisions. He said the new area would include 4 new businesses.
Randy Roberts, owner of All Styles Salon, one of the four new businesses, asked a few questions regarding the scope of interests and mission of the DDA. Both Fisher and DDA Chairman Steve Pummill gave some details on DDA programs currently available. Mr. Roberts suggested a letter to the members of the new area to give them an overview of the DDA and its goals. All agreed that was an excellent idea.
After a call for further public comment, a motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Frendewey to adjourn the public hearing. All were in favor. The public hearing was adjourned at 6:40pm.
Lake Linden Village Council
Regular Meeting
May 13th, 2010
The Lake Linden Village Council met on the above date at the Village Hall at 6:40pm. President Fisher presided. The following Trustees responded to roll call: Hamlin, Frendewey, Aittama and Schuldt.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the April regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
A motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve the April 8th Closed Session meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Approval of Agenda:
A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in one addition and a motion from Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve as edited. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Public Comments:
None.
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. Clerk Poirier pointed out that the April 2010 street lighting bill was $300 higher than in 2009. Poll Vote: Yes: Hamlin, Aittama, Frendewey, Schuldt and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Correspondence:
Clerk Poirier read a letter from the Michigan Strategic Fund stating that the grant application for upgrades to the Village water system had not been funded. Fisher said while the project was worthwhile more detailed plans for future improvements would be formulated for future funding applications.
Clerk Poirier read a letter from Local Council #25, AFSCME which requested that the Village contact them regarding opening negotiations for a new CBA. The clerk said the current agreement was set to expire on June 30th of this year.
Poirier read a letter from the Michigan DNRE which announced an upcoming round of grant funding for a Wellhead Protection program development. No action was taken.
Poirier introduced an ad solicitation for a Gazette publication that highlighted local camping areas. After a brief debate a motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Aittama to purchase a 3” x 4” ad at a cost of $165. Poll vote: Yes; Schuldt, Aittama, Hamlin, Frendewey and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Clerk Poirier said a seminar on the Brownfied Redevelopment was being held in Marquette by the Northern Michigan Public Service Academy. He said President Fisher and he should attend for the information and that the total cost was $160.00 plus travel reimbursement expenses. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve the costs associated with having the clerk and President attend the seminar.
Finally, Clerk Poirier informed the Council that he had received a notice of intent review from WUPPDR regarding Osceola Township’s plan to apply for Rural Development funding for a new tanker fire truck. He said the Village had an opportunity to comment if it was deemed the application had an impact on future Village plans. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Schuldt to send a letter of support to WUPPDR for the application. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Committee Reports:
Executive (Chair: Trustee Fisher):
President Fisher brought to the Council’s attention the staffing issues facing the Village. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the filling of the now-vacant police chief position and the status of current employees within the public works department. Fisher said the overriding factor in filling either position was the budget. Was there room in the budget for hiring two full-time employees? Trustee Hamlin floated the idea of a targeted millage proposal but that was quickly dismissed as being premature.
President Fisher said that the recent discontent by residents with various events in the Village had brought the police issue more to the forefront. Trustee Hamlin, supported by Trustee Aittama, made a motion to open the search for a new chief of police and advertise for applications. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
President Fisher brought the Council up to speed on the lack of progress to date on the Torch lake Township tax bills received on the Rice lake properties owned by the Village. He said that Village attorney Dave mechlin had been researching the problem and thought that a petition to the State tax Tribunal could get the classification of the property changes in the Village’s favor. The deadline for that petition was the end of July and he would have more information at the next meeting.
Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):
President Fisher said that the agreement issue to provide water to the townships had not yet been decided but that both townships were expected, at their meetings this week, to sign agreements with both the Village and Michigan-American Water to provide water for their new system. He said the intention was for MI-Amer to be the primary provider with Lake Linden being connected to the system as a back-up source. He said the improvements necessary on the Village system would be done in the event that it would be necessary to switch to the Village water source.
Clerk Poirier said that the purchase of four dumpsters for the sanitation fund would come to a total of $2,027. He said the poly dumpsters had a five-year warranty and would be put to good use as rental dumpsters for residents, a popular service provided by the Village. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Hamlin to approve $2,027 for the purchase. Poll vote: Yes; Aittama, Hamlin, Frendewey, Schuldt and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):
Clerk Poirier said Jude had told him the moving of the beach volleyball court from the upper park to the beach/swimming area required about 5 loads of sand to complete. DDA Chairman Steve Pummill said the DDA had discussed the purchase of sand for that purpose and so the Council tabled the discussion for their meeting.
Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):
Trustee Aittama said he noticed the snow blower behind the building and hoped that repairs to the unit were being made and we would have two working units for the next plowing season.
Streets(Chair: Schuldt):
Trustee Aittama inquired as to the possibility of compiling potential paving projects for the summer season. President Fisher said none were currently planned but if the grant application through the GLRI was approved, paving crews would be in town and additional projects could possibly be considered at that time.
Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman):
Police department staffing issues were covered under the Executive committee discussions.
Fireman Jason Reese was on hand to let the Council know that the FEMA grant application for a new fire station submitted the previous fall had not been funded.
Zoning Task Force:
Clerk Poirier submitted a partial draft of an employee handbook to the Council. He said he would provide copies for the Task Force and they could get together to discuss the provisions for a report to the Council.
Downtown Development Authority:
President Fisher explained that he was designing placemats for use in local restaurants. He said they would highlight some of the historic sites and have business card-type ads on the face. An initial run of about 5000 would be done and paid for by the DDA.
Chairman Pummill said they were still looking into getting molds for planters but the company he had been dealing with was far too expensive.
No report.
Lake Linden Housing Commission
President Reese said that the public meeting for the housing commission’s 5-yr plan was coming up and that all trustees were invited to participate.
Youth Council:
No report.
Late Agenda Items:
· Clerk said a special-edition newsletter to address some ordinance issues in town would be forthcoming.
· Clerk said Pat Lajimodiere had taken the water operator test administered by the DEQ. Results had not yet been received.
· Clerk said he was pursuing the placement of surveillance cameras in the park that had been previously approved by the Council.
· Two firefighters had gone to the hospital to be checked out after the fire at PCI. He said worker’s comp had been notified.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
None.
Announcements:
None
Adjournment:
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Aittama and supported by Trustee Frendewey. All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:42pm. There were 5 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]