Lake Linden Village Council

Public Hearing

December 8th, 2011

President Fisher called the public hearing to order. He summarized the purpose of the meeting. He discussed the water fund budget and the deficit condition that has existed over the past three years. Fisher introduced a spreadsheet outlining a proposed 5% increase in rates. After a brief Council discussion the floor was opened for public comment.

            There were a couple of questions regarding the bottom line in the water fund budget over those three years. Clerk Poirier presented a chart of the last three years that showed a progressively larger negative number at the end of the year.

            Fisher thanked the public for the comments and a further discussion amongst the Council members resulted in a consensus for approving the rate increase.

            A motion was made by President Fisher and supported by Trustee Frendewey to adjourn the hearing. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

Lake Linden Village Council

Regular Meeting

December 8th, 2011

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:, Hoffman, Frendewey,  Schuldt. Hamlin, Vendlinski.  

Approval of Minutes:        

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

Approval of Agenda:

A brief discussion of the agenda and one change resulted in a motion from Trustee Schuldt, supported by Trustee Hamlin, to approve the agenda.  All were in favor.  Motion was carried.

Public Comments:

President Fisher introduced the campground reservation topic to those present. He said that there had been discussion among Council and office staff regarding the 4^th of July reservation policy for some time and he saw little reason to spend such an inordinate amount of time on it. He produced a proposed policy that outlined a procedure similar to that which had been done previous to the lottery from last year. The policy was presented as follows:

2012 Campground Reservation Policy

• The doors will be opened at 7am on the first business day following New Years Day (January 3^rd). People there in person shall be given the opportunity to reserve one campsite.
• Payment will be made for a minimum of three nights ($60) at that time. Only one site per person in line.
• There will be a $20 cancellation fee for 4^th of July sites. This will help reduce the number of sites reserved.
• Once all people in line are given a site (8am) phone reservations will be taken. One site per caller and with a time frame for payment. This will fill the remaining full sites.
• A waiting list will then be filled from walk-ins and phone calls after that. These people will be called upon cancellations or no-payment for the full sites.
• This allows village and local residents first chance at the sites and also a chance for visitors to reserve sites as well. (The “waiting line” has not filled all the sites in the past so I believe there will be some available for phone reservations.)
• Waiting list names will be called as sites open. Names will be added to the list in the order they are received with no preference given to those coming in person or those calling in.

After a brief discussion of the proposal, a motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve the policy for this coming year. Five members voted in favor. Trustee Hamlin voted against. The motion was carried.

Bills and Financial Statement:

The bills and financials were introduced. The clerk pointed out that the BS & A water billing program had been paid-in-full with this month’s payment. He also said that the installment of the fire truck payment had been made in the amount of $6,062.50. This was the 6^th annual installment out of 15 total.

Upon a finalreview of the attached monthly expenses, Trustee Frendewey  supported by Trustee Hamlin made a motion to approve the following totals for payment:

General Fund                       $22,979.35

  Water Fund                           $  1,925.53

Major Streets Fund              $  4,524.78

Local Streets Fund              $  4,914.03

Sanitation Fund       $  6,636.35

TOTAL                                  $40,980.04

Poll vote: Yes: Frendewey, Hamlin, Schuldt, Hoffman, Vendlinski, and Fisher.

      No: None.

Motion carried.

Correspondence/Clerk’s Information:

Clerk Poirier presented two letters expressing interest in the vacant commissioner position at the Lake Linden Housing Commission. They were from Joan Marcotte and Frances Buschell. There was a brief Council discussion regarding how the position should be filled and whether it should be filled by a resident of one of the facilities or from the general public. Lake Linden housing Commission President Jason Reese was on hand and said the commission had not yet discussed filling the position themselves yet. After another brief discussion it was decided that a small ad be placed in the Daily Mining Gazette for the position and a decision be tabled until responses from that ad could be reviewed.

Poirier reiterated to the Council that the next phase of the Economic Vitality Incentive program, a Village plan for consolidation, was due by the end of the calendar year. He introduced to them a list of current agreements and cooperative efforts, and possible future initiatives for inclusion in the plan. He said in reviewing other municipal plans from the MML web site, it seemed that communities were including any and/or all possible collaborative efforts with surrounding units and footnoting them with a disclaimer that these efforts were largely speculative and depended upon other municipalities willingness to cooperate as well. Poirier said he would have the final draft available for review soon.

Committee Reports:

Executive (Chair: Trustee Fisher):

Clerk Poirier said that the search for a part-time equipment operator had been completed and that Adam Moyle had been hired. He said there were several applicants but that the crew and staff were all impressed with Mr. Moyles credentials and abilities. Poirier said the paperwork was already started and Mr. Moyle was scheduled to start on Monday the 12^th.

Poirier introduced 2012 renewal rates for the Blue Cross Blue Shield health coverage and the worksheets submitted by the Employee Benefits Agency, Inc. from the previous meeting. He also gave Trustees a synopsis of the two options presented to the Council. The first option, which was the current plan, meant that the budget number would climb over the preceding year by up to $4,000. Poirier said this number was actually very good and much better than expected because of the 21% decrease in premiums from 2011.

The second option, he explained, would actually be the one recommended by Vincent Babcock, the agent for Employee Benefits Agency. It had a potential exposure of much more than the current plan but the overall exposure was improbable because of actuarial statistics. He said that the co-insurance option and higher deductibles meant that the Village would likely save up to $10,000 over the preceding year.

However, Poirier said under the current structure of paying the entire HSA deductible amounts into employee accounts, the Village would certainly lose money by funding the higher deductibles. He said the options presented were not an option unless some changes were made to these procedures.

After a brief discussion the Council agreed to form a committee to look at the options realistically. Trustee Schuldt and Trustee Hamlin agreed to be on the committee and make a recommendation to the Council as soon as possible.

The Trustees agreed to hold a Christmas social on Wednesday, December 21^st for the employees and Council member and their families.

Utilities and Services(Chair: Hamlin):

President Fisher re-introduced a spreadsheet outlining the effect of a 5% rate increase in the water rates. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Hamlin and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve the proposed rate increase as discussed in the public hearing:

Current                      Approved January 1 rate

Village Base rate                  $34.25                                    $35.96

Village per 1000 rate           $  3.90                                    $  4.10

Township base rate             $42.50                                    $44.63

Township per 1000 rate      $  4.85                                    $  5.09

Poll vote: Yes; Hamlin, Frendewey, Schuldt, Vendlinski, Hoffman and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.          

Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):

            Clerk Poirier informed the Council that the RRGP grant application through the Par Plan Insurance carrier, as approved at the last meeting, had been submitted. The amount was for $5,000 and the time frame was 60 days to learn if it was funded or not.

Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):

No report.

Streets(Chair: Schuldt):

No report.

Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman): 

The police report was read into the record. Several issues about the report were discussed and a motion was made by trustee Hoffman and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the report as submitted. All were in favor. Motion was carried.

Jason Reese was on hand representing the fire department and requested that the Council approve expenses to paint the fire hall. He said the department would do the work in exchange for the supplies. After a brief discussion the Council asked for a number for expenses so that a clear picture of the total could be approved.

Zoning/Ordinance Task Force:  

No report.

Downtown Development Authority:

DDA chair Steve Pummill gave the DDA report. He said the Lake Linden Christmas Festival was this weekend and would again be sponsored by the DDA. He said the ornaments were up and new ones that had been purchased were also up now. There was a comment about the flower pots and the DDA was thanked for this service which has been very popular throughout the last few years. He said the lights for the new ice rink area were up and the power would soon be run to them. It was hoped that the new rink would extend the time frame for usable ice and this largely depended on the volunteers.

Torch Lake Area Sewage Authority

No report.

Lake Linden Housing Commission

The vacant position was discussed earlier in the meeting.

Youth Council (Chair: Vendlinski)

No report.

Late Agenda Items:

            None.

New Business:

None.

Old Business:

            None.

Announcements:  

            None.

Adjournment:

A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Hamlin.  All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:34pm.  There were 9 members of the public in attendance.

_____________________________                  __________________________

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