Bingham Township Board



Bingham Township Board

Regular Meeting

Monday, April 14, 2008, 7:00p.m.

Clinton County RESA

4179 S. BR127, St. Johns, MI 48879

MINUTES

|Supervisor Ostrowski called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. |Call to Order |

|Clerk Kus called the roll. Present were: Trustee Trebesh, Treasurer Bond, Supervisor Ostrowski, Clerk |Roll Call |

|Kus, and Trustee Harger. A quorum was declared. | |

|Others Present: 17 members of the public. Sign in sheet on file. | |

|Supervisor Ostrowski led in the Pledge to the Flag. Trustee Harger gave the Invocation. |Invocation |

| |Pledge |

|Adjustments to the Agenda. No.5 Approval of Previous Minutes - a.) Nov. 1, 2007 minutes previously |Agenda |

|approved. No action needed. No.5 ADD c.) March 25, 2008 special meeting minutes. No. 6 Communications -| |

|ADD c.) Chamber of Commerce letter, d.)Clinton County Drain Commission letter, e.) letter from Michigan| |

|Department of Agriculture, f.) letter from Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. No. 7 Public | |

|Comment – ADD Cara Clore-Waste Management. No. 9 New Business – MOVE UP TO b.) Planning & Zoning-Murphy| |

|Oil/ATM. c.)Status of Ballot Proposals. d.) revised investment policy. e.)Assessor contract. f.)Auditor| |

|letter. Revised investment policy MOVE TO Treasurers Report, 3.) Harger moved supported by Bond to | |

|approve agenda as revised. Motion carries. | |

|Minutes of March 10, 2008 corrections: pg 4-Supervisors Report-strike a job, insert his job as |Minutes |

|Supervisor. Bond moved, supported by Trebesh to approve minutes of March 10, 2008 as amended. motion |March 10, 2008 |

|carries. |March 15, 2008 |

|Minutes of March 15, 2008 corrections: pg 1-CAFR Budget- strike budge an inch, insert modify the |March 19, 2008 |

|budget. pg 2-Bingham Township Budget- insert “There are” two checking accounts; Bond moved, supported |March 25, 2008 |

|by Trebesh to approve minutes of March 15, 2008 as amended. Harger abstains. motion carries. | |

|Minutes of March 19, 2008 corrections: pg 1-Purpose-7. Any other business to come before the board-“not| |

|allowed”. It was noted for special meetings, The aforementioned phrase “Any other business to come | |

|before the board is not allowed at any special meeting. Special meetings need to be explicit in the | |

|purpose for the meeting. Pg 1-Waste Water Treatment- strike INI insert I & I also strike April, insert | |

|March. Pg 2-Resolution Meeting Dates & Times-strike Risolution insert Resolution. Bond moved, supported| |

|by Trebesh to approve minutes of March 19, 2008 as amended. motion carries. | |

|Minutes of March 25, 2008 corrections: pg 1-Engineering Proposals-strike Bogner, insert Bodner. Pg | |

|2-Adjournment-strike Tresbesh insert Trebesh. Bond moved, supported by Trebesh to approve the minutes | |

|of March 25, 2008 as amended. no discussion. motion carries. | |

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|The following Communications were reviewed: |Communications |

|a. Minutes from Library Board Meeting of December 13, 2007 presented. The Library communicated their | |

|gratitude for the Bingham Township Boards approval of renewing the to place on the ballot the renewal | |

|of correction 5/12/08 one half mills for Library usage. The renewal will be on the ballot for the | |

|August Primary. | |

|b. Clinton County Officers Association meeting. | |

|c. Chamber of Commerce – Board sponsorship of the Mint Festival. This year we will not be able to do | |

|anything as a board financially. | |

|d. Letter from the Drain Commissioner on the Dieter Drain: The Drain Commission will be bottoming out a| |

|portion in the near future. | |

|e. Department of Agriculture communication regarding replacement of PA 116 all having to do with Barks | |

|land. | |

|f. Communication from DEQ notifying us of permit for Mahle Engine Plant expansion. | |

|Public Comment opened at 7:30 p.m. Cara Clore from the Department of Waste Management, Terry Link |Public Comment |

|Clinton County Commissioner and Joe Tomczyk were present in support of the Recycling efforts in Clinton| |

|County. Ms Clore spoke on the County’s reduction of financial support in the amount of $10,000.00. She | |

|gave a brief history of usage by all the Townships. Last summer a survey was sent out with the tax | |

|assessments and 20% of the Bingham Township residents responded. Of those 20% approximately 85% do use | |

|the County recycling facilities monthly. Waste Management is asking the board to consider a minimum of | |

|six dollars ($6.00), or a maximum of eight dollars ($8.00), per the 916 households in the township for | |

|recycling services. A funding mechanism was adopted by the county three years ago to help with | |

|recycling funds: Act 138 of 1989 allows, by board resolution, implementation of a special assessment to| |

|be added to the tax roll, to establish a per household rate for recycling services. The Townships | |

|contribution to the St Johns Lions Recycling program, budgeted for the 2008-2009 fiscal year is | |

|$2500.00. Ed Lamb feels not every tax payer should be taxed for this. Not everyone uses the recycling | |

|services and only the ones utilizing should be paying. The board will give this due consideration. The | |

|board needs to get past the hurdle of our financial situation. The board sincerely appreciates Ms. | |

|Clore and the entire Waste Management Departments efforts. Public Comments closed at 7:52 | |

|Road Commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 was very productive. The Road |Old Business |

|Commission is pleased with our effort to pay back to the road fund. They will be present at our next | |

|meeting with proposals to use the money that we have in our Road Fund. An agreement was presented for |Road Commission |

|improvements on Clinton County Roads by and between the Township Board of Bingham Township and Board of|Agreement |

|Clinton County Road Commissioners for three applications of chloride covering 39.51 miles. Total | |

|estimated project cost: $33,830.00. Cost share does not apply to this project. Special Note: This is an| |

|estimate and cost may vary. | |

|Bond moved, supported by Kus to approve the Agreement For Improvements On Clinton County Roads by and | |

|between the Township Board of Bingham Township, Clinton County Michigan parties of the first part, and | |

|the Board of Clinton County Road Commissioners, parties of the second part. Discussion held. motion | |

|carries. | |

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|The township has resumed meeting with the City concerning an agreement for Sewer treatment. The last | |

|meeting was very positive. The City is pleased with the progress the Township has made. With some | |

|tweaking of the agreement from late last year, November or December, we are very close to signing an | |

|agreement with the City that would expand our usage of the City’s waste water treatment plant up to | |

|200,000 gallons with the desire to move towards an authority between the municipalities. They still |Sewer/DEQ |

|have issues with the Township doing the utility billing. The City desires to do all sewer billing and |City agreement |

|reimburse to the Township our portion of the fees. All waste water would be pumped to the city. | |

|Ostrowski feels this agreement is the most attractive alternative to the Township at this point. The | |

|DEQ has informed us that the lagoon will need to be decommissioned. DEQ says to not even think about | |

|using any part of the lagoon. This agreement appears to be the most cost effective solution to the | |

|Township’s waste water treatment dilemma. Kus is concerned about the rates and fees that would be | |

|assessed to the current sewer users of the Township. She feels they have been paying a set rate, many | |

|of them for years and would like to know what increase they will be paying to tap in to the City’s | |

|sewer treatment. A financial company would be hired to give an initial rate assessment and user charge | |

|system. | |

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|Dave Kudwa from Trinity Engineering presented a proposal for Bingham Township to connect with the City | |

|of St Johns Waste Water Treatment Plant. Included was a proposal from ACI Finance, Inc. to provide the | |

|Township financial advisory services related to the proposed sewer infrastructure improvement plan. ACI| |

|Finance, Inc. proposed the following fees: The fee for the initial rate assessment will be $1,500.00. | |

|The full rate review and “user charge system” will be another $4,000.00 for a total of $5,500.00 The | |

|fee for the bond issue will be $4,000.00, with a cumulative total of $9,500.00. Mr. Kudwa presented an | |

|Engineer’s Opinion of Costs, broken down into the following Categories: Category 0002 – Sanitary & | |

|Storm, which includes the decommissioning of the lagoon, estimated cost $935,000.00. Category 0004 – | |

|Roadway Replacement, estimated cost $1,766.80. Category 0006 – Erosion Control, total cost $35,000.00. | |

|Category 0007 - Consulting Fees, total cost $297,000.00 and Category 0008 – Municipal Costs, | |

|$230,000.00, consisting entirely of the City of St Johns Sanitary Capital Charge Fee for existing | |

|users. The Estimated Grand Total $1,498,766.80. At this point this is the most cost effective plan to |Trinity Engineering |

|submit to the DEQ. The plan for a mechanical treatment plant that was paid for last year and was |Proposal |

|turned down by DEQ will also be presented, but we will need to indicate to DEQ which plan we prefer. | |

|Bond asks if the Supervisor will have the authority to go ahead with ACI Finance, Inc.’s plan. Bond | |

|does not want to have a motion for a contract that has not been signed by ACI Finance, Inc. Kus does | |

|not want to act on a proposal with out the sewer assessment fees finalized and the Municipal Costs | |

|nailed down. The Township has a lot more room for growth than the City. We will continue to work toward| |

|an authority. Because of the time frame involved we need to move to the next step. We are not accepting| |

|the proposals as gospel. We need approximate costs to go forward. The cost initially will be $1,500.00 | |

|to ACI Finance, Inc. to get started with the initial rate assessment. Bond moved, supported by Trebesh | |

|to accept the Engineering “Opinion Of Cost” created 04/02/08 and presented 04/14/08 by Trinity | |

|Engineering in the project amount of $1,498,766.80 based on the map dated 04/14/08 for Trinity Contract| |

|85001, project 85000. Discussion held about the $230,000.00 Municipal Costs. Harger abstains. All | |

|opposed. Motion is denied. | |

|Bond moves, supported by Kus to accept the Engineering “Opinion Of Cost” created 04/02/08 and presented| |

|04/14/08 by Trinity Engineering in the project amount of $1,498,766.80 based upon the map dated | |

|04/14/08 for Trinity Contract 85001, project 85000, for the purpose of preparing a submittal to DEQ for| |

|SRF funding. No further discussion. Roll call vote: Trebesh-yes, Bond-yes, Ostrowski-yes, Kus-yes, | |

|Harger-abstain. motion carries. Trebesh moves, supported by Harger for Trinity Engineering to contact | |

|ACI Finance, Inc. to hear their proposal and present to us a contract for review. No discussion. Motion| |

|carries. | |

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| |Motion for Engineering |

| |Opinion of Cost |

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| |Motion for Engineering |

| |Opinion Of Cost |

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| |Motion to contact ACI |

| |Finance, Inc. |

|Case PC-10-08 SLU – Special Land Use Amendment. The subject of PC-10-08 SLU is an application to amend |New Business |

|an existing special land use permit, PC-44-07 SLU, submitted by the Community Development Department on|Murphy Oil-Special Land Use|

|behalf of John Hart, Kimley-Horn & Associates, on behalf of Murphy Oil, to accommodate the installation|Amendment |

|of a drive-up ATM machine to be located at the existing Murphy Oil site, 1123 Superior Drive, St. Johns| |

|(Parcel ID#19-030-022-200-077-00), Section 22, Bingham Township. Mr. John Hart of Kimley-Horn presented| |

|a thoughtful and safe site plan, adequate traffic control and appropriate landscaping to soften the | |

|appearance of the ATM. The ATM will be screened and buffered by landscaping and the existing berm along| |

|Superior Drive, and located away from the intersection of Ontario and Superior Drives. Questions were | |

|asked concerning signage and lighting. After discussion with Mr. Hart it was moved by Harger, to | |

|approve Case PC-10-08 SLU Special Land Use Amendment to amend an existing special land use permit, | |

|PC-44-07 SLU as presented by John Hart, Kimley-Horn & Associates, plan sheet C-1, dated 04/08/08, for | |

|Murphy Oil USA Inc., subject to all requirements as set forth by the office of Planning and Zoning and | |

|by special considerations as set forth by the Planning commission, should they arise. Trebesh seconded.| |

|Further discussion on landscaping and security. Motion carries. | |

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|Water Line Extension Agreement under item E. “In exchange, Developer shall not be obligated to pay any | |

|assessments or other fees charged by the Township or other municipal authorities in connection with the| |

|Supply and Treatment Capital Component”. D.G. Land Holdings, LLC are saying they will put it in but | |

|will not pay any capital fee that other people have paid to come into the water system. More important | |

|are the connection fees. The agreement says they will not have to pay a connection fee that exceeds | |

|$1,000.00. Their argument is that the cost of putting the system in will off set the $1,000.00 REU. | |

|Under this agreement the Township would have no ability to charge any tap fees for all of the land |Water Line Extension |

|owned by D.G. Land Holdings, LLC. This property is already in the sewer district. The tap in fees will |Agreement |

|be discussed before anything further is done concerning the Water Line Extension Agreement. | |

|Paul McNamara reported that the County is still in a good financial position and they intend to stay |Reports |

|that way. |County Commission Report |

|Bond presented a millage proposal to levy one and one half mills for a period of 3 years. Discussion |Ballot Proposal Status |

|held on the amount of mills and the amount of years to levy the proposal. Harger moved, supported by |Fire Service Millage |

|Bond to adopt the Resolution to levy one (1) mill for a period of four (4) years to defray in whole or |Proposal and Motion |

|in part, the cost of fire protection services and equipment for the Township of Bingham. No further | |

|discussion. Roll call vote: Ostrowski-yes, Kus-yes, Harger-yes, Trebesh-yes and Bond-yes. 5 - Yeas, 0 | |

|nays. Motion carries. Treasurer Bond will make the changes to the Resolution and send to the Clerk for | |

|submittal to the Clinton County Clerk, to be placed on the ballot of the August 5, 2008 Primary. | |

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|The one half (1/2) Library millage is up for renewal. Discussion on keeping it at one half mills. | |

|Motion by Trebesh, supported by Harger to renew the to place the renewal of correction 5/12/08 the | |

|Library Millage of one half (1/2) mill and place it correction 5/12/08 on the ballot for the August 5, |Renewal of |

|2008 Primary. No further discussion. Roll call vote: Kus-yes, Harger-yes, Trebesh-yes, Bond-yes and |Library Millage and Motion |

|Ostrowski-yes.5-yeas, 0 nays. Motion carries. | |

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|The one and one half (11/2) Road Millage is up for renewal. Discussion on keeping the current rate of | |

|one and one half mills or reducing it by one half or one quarter. Motion by Bond, second by Harger to | |

|renew place the renewal of correction 5/12/08 the Road Millage at one (1) mill, for the period of 2008 | |

|through 2011 inclusive, reducing the current millage by one half (1/2) mill and place it on the ballot |Renewal of Road Millage and|

|for the August 5, 2008 Primary. Discussion follows. Roll call vote: Harger-yes, Trebesh-yes, Bond-yes, |Motion |

|Ostrowski-no, Kus-yes. 4-yeas, 1 nay. Motion carries. | |

|Gregory A Armbrustmacher submitted a contract to extend his original 2006-2007 Bingham Township |Assessor Contract |

|Assessing contract, beginning April 1, 2008 thru March 31, 2009. All existing terms will remain the | |

|same. Motion by Harger, second by Bond to approve the extended contract of Assessor Gregory A |Motion to extend Assessor |

|Armbrustmacher beginning April 1, 2008 thru March 31, 2009. All in favor. Motion carries. |Contract |

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|Campbell, Kusterer & Co. has submitted a proposal to provide Audit Services to Bingham Township. Layton|Township Auditor |

|Richardson, P.C. is the current Auditor for the Township. Motion by Trebesh, supported by Harger to | |

|request additional proposals from Abraham & Gaffney and Rehmann Robson. All in favor. Motion carries. |Motion to request |

|Clerk Kus will draft letters to request a proposal from Abraham & Gaffney and Rehmann Robson. |additional proposals |

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|We received a copy of a notice of a zoning violation in the Township at the corner of Scott Rd and |Zoning Violation |

|Business 27. They are in violation because of signage. The business is a Beef Jerky outlet. | |

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|We have a budget. Clerk Kus gave a fund balance. |Financial Reports |

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| |CAAS update |

|Clinton Area Ambulance Service has New Articles of Incorporation. The City has stated their intent to | |

|pull out of CAAS. There are management issues that need to be addressed. | |

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|A meeting is being scheduled between CAFR and the City of St Johns. CAFR has appointed Gary Rosekrans |CAFR update |

|as Fire Chief. Tom Hovey from Station 3 has been appointed as Assistant Chief. | |

|Invoices presented in the amount of $290,482.43 which includes the Bond payment in the amount of |Clerks |

|$206,380.00. The Trustee’s salaries include payment for the special meeting on November 1, 2007, which |Report |

|had not previously been paid. Board of Review was paid for both December and March. All payments will | |

|be paid out of the General Fund. Motion by Mike, Trebesh, correction 5/12/08 supported by Eric Harger | |

|correction 5/12/08 to approve Accounts Payable in the amount of $290,482.43 as presented. All in favor.| |

|Motion carries. |Motion |

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|All Utility Bills were sent. | |

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|Fire Run Payments in the amount of $1300.00 have been received. | |

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|Motion by Kus, supported by Trebesh to have board approval and discussion for all fire run billing | |

|prior to the bills being sent to Accumed Billing. All in favor. Motion carries. | |

| |Motion for fire run |

|Upon review of the Townships current investment policy the Treasurer would like to amend the current |approval by Board |

|investment policy. The Treasurer would like to add as a financial institution as a depository of | |

|township funds: Michigan CLASS Investment Pool administered by MBIA Asset Management. Motion by |Treasurers |

|Harger, supported by Trebesh to amend the Bingham Township Investment Policy as presented by Treasurer |Report |

|Bond. Discussion held. Roll call vote: Harger-yes, Trebesh-yes, Bond-yes, Ostrowski-yes, Kus-yes. | |

|Motion carries. | |

| |Investment Policy |

|Treasurer Bond presented the summary of accounts and gave an explanation of the Investment Portfolio. |Resolution and Motion |

|For the year 2007 for the first time we were charged an analysis activity fee in the amount of $810.81 | |

|which still allowed us to make an extra $3400.00 in the account. The Treasurer is going to change the | |

|tax account to a sweep account as she does not see the economy changing for the next couple years. By | |

|changing to a sweep account the Township is 100% invested all the time. For the Fiscal year 2007, the | |

|Township earned $19,039.60 interest from all three accounts. The treasurer made a transfer on April 14,| |

|2008 in the amount of $363,324.28 to the Debt Retirement Fund, which brings the total in the Fund to | |

|$462,723.56. | |

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|Supervisor Ostrowski asked that the clerk contact the former Supervisor and former Clerk to ask that | |

|any township documents, files or other Township related items that they have in their possession be | |

|returned to the hall. The Treasurer asked if there was now going to be files in the Township Hall that | |

|held each monthly meeting packet. The Minutes are the official record of the meeting. The packets are | |

|the board members records to have for reference. Trustee Trebesh asked about the computer at the hall. | |

|The Supervisor has never used it however the Assessor does. We need to settle this. | |

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| |Supervisors |

| |Report |

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|Harger moved, supported by Kus to adjourn the meeting. Motion carries. The meeting adjourned at 11: 28 |Adjournment |

|p.m. | |

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|Respectfully submitted, | |

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|Helen Kus, Clerk | |

|Subject to approval at the Regular Board meeting of May 12, 2008 | |

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