Bingham Township Board



Bingham Township Board

Special Meeting

Monday July 7, 2008 5:30 p.m.

Bingham Township Hall

1637 S. DeWitt Rd., St. Johns, MI 48879

MINUTES

|The meeting was called and posted for the purpose of discussing: 1. City – Township Agreement 2. Election|Purpose |

|Inspectors for August Primary and November General Elections. | |

|Supervisor Ostrowski called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. with the Pledge to the Flag. |Invocation/ |

|Trustee Harger gave the Invocation |Pledge |

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|Members Present: Supervisor Ostrowski, Trustee Trebesh, Treasurer Bond, Trustee Harger, Clerk Kus. |Roll Call |

|Others attending: Jeanette Mehney, Tony Hufnagel. | |

|Clerk Kus presented the Election Inspectors for the August Primary and November General Elections to the |Election Inspectors |

|Election Committee which consists of Board members Ostrowski, Bond and Kus. | |

| |Motion |

|Motion by Ostrowski, supported by Bond to accept the Election Inspectors as presented. Motion carries | |

|Supervisor Ostrowski forwarded the City/Township Sewer Agreement to Bill Fahey the Township’s counsel for|Inter- |

|this project. Mr. Fahey responded with his comments numbered 1-44. The Board went through each comment |Governmental |

|and discussed changes that it would like made. The board feels there are three points of concern. 1. The |Agreement for |

|exclusivity has to be rectified. We have to have an option. We do not want to get ourselves into a |Sanitary Sewage Service |

|corner. 2. The capacity issue. 3. Utility billing, specifically relating to delinquent billing and the |between the |

|time line the Township has to pay the City for delinquent bills. |City of St Johns and the |

| |Township of Bingham |

|The intent of Supervisor Ostrowski and Trustee Harger is to present our questions and concerns to the | |

|other two committee members as soon as possible. If the changes requested by the Township are agreeable, | |

|the changes would be made and a joint meeting between both boards would be scheduled to finalize the | |

|agreement. | |

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|Motion by Trebesh, supported by Harger to adjourn. Motion carries |Adjournment |

|The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. | |

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|Respectfully submitted, | |

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|Helen Kus, Clerk | |

|Subject to approval at the Regular board meeting of July 14, 2008 | |

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Bingham Township Board

Regular Meeting

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

Clinton County RESA

4179 S. BR127, St. Johns, MI 48879

MINUTES

| |Call to Order |

|Deputy Clerk Mehney called roll: present were Supervisor Ostrowski, Trustee Trebesh, Treasurer Bond. |Roll Call |

|Absent: Clerk Kus and Trustee Harger. Others Present: Tony Hufnagel, Harold Rappuhn, Joe Thelen, Don | |

|Potts, Leon Searles, Tom Wiersma, Chris Manning, Patricia Horan, Dennis Koenigsknecht and Paul | |

|McNamara. | |

|Supervisor Ostrowski led in the pledge to the flag. Treasurer Bond gave the Invocation. |Invocation |

| |Pledge |

|Adjustments to the Agenda. No.6 – Communications - ADD c) Trott & Trott - bankruptcy, d) PA116-Earl |Agenda |

|Barks Jr., e) Tri-County Electric, f) Mid Michigan Health Department annual report, g) Mahle Permit. | |

|No. 8 – Old Business – ADD d) Auditor Status, DELETE a) Invoice Payment Policy. Trebesh moved, | |

|supported by Bond to approve the agenda as amended. motion carries. | |

|Minutes of June 9, 2008. Trebesh moved, supported by Bond to approve the minutes of June 9, 2008 as |Minutes |

|written. motion carries. |June 9, 2008 |

|Minutes of July 7, 2008-Special Meeting. Trebesh moved, supported by Bond to approve the minutes of |July 7, 2008 |

|July 7, 2008 as written. motion carries. | |

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|The following Communications were presented: |Communications |

|a. A draft of the Proposed Clinton County Future Land Use Plan was presented. It looks like a very good| |

|plan for Bingham Township. | |

|b. The monthly Sherriff report was presented. | |

|c. Correspondence received from the law firm of Trott & Trott concerning a bankruptcy for a Mark | |

|Bruin. Bingham Township is listed as a creditor. It was passed on to Treasurer Bond. | |

|d. A PA 116 request was submitted by Earl Barks Jr., for land located at the northeast corner of US 27 | |

|and M-21. It is farm land that is land locked. | |

|e. A letter was received from Tri-County Electric concerning a public hearing scheduled for July 30, | |

|2008 at 9:00a.m. They are going to raise rates for the Avery Rd area which is serviced by Tri-County. | |

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|f. The Township received a copy of the Mid Michigan District Health Department’s annual report. It will| |

|be placed at the hall for anyone interested in reading it. | |

|g. Supervisor Ostrowski received by e-mail a copy of the permit issued for the Mahle expansion. | |

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|Public comment opened at 7:15 p.m., closed at 7:15 p.m. | |

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| |Public Comment |

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|Correspondence received from Leon Searles, manager of Searles Development LLC relating to the land |Old Business |

|gifted by Searles to the Township of Bingham in 1999. Additional real estate contiguous to the donated |Searles Correspondence |

|land was purchased by the Township in an installment purchase agreement. Searles Development LLC would | |

|like the gifted land returned to them, as well as the Township deeding back to Searles the contiguous | |

|real estate with the same terms as the original installment purchase agreement when the Township | |

|purchased the property from Searles. Searles believes that because Bingham Township is now undertaking | |

|steps to tie its sewer system to the City of St. Johns’ sanitary sewer system, that returning the | |

|donated land and selling back to Searles, the purchased land is the fair and appropriate thing to do. | |

|The warranty deed by which Searles Investments donated the land to Bingham Township contains the | |

|language “for so long as the land is used for municipal purposes, but if ever ceases to be so used, the| |

|land shall revert to the Grantor and its successors and assigns.” The fire hall is located on this | |

|land. Mr. Searles feels the donated land was for a mechanical treatment plant. He understands why we | |

|have gone in the direction we have concerning hooking up to the City. The Myrtle Parker land was also | |

|purchased by the Township as part of the plan. Mr. Searles has no problem with the Township retaining | |

|some of the property for a Township Hall; however the Township does not need thirty (30) acres for a | |

|Township Hall. Motion by Trebesh, supported by Ostrowski to contact the Township attorney, James Kiefer| |

|of Dykema Gossett for review and comment on this matter. | |

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|The board held a special meeting on July 7, 2008 and discussed forty four (44) comments that resulted | |

|from attorney Bill Fahey’s review of the City/Township Sewer agreement. Four basic issues were | |

|discussed and the board agreed to pass these issues on to the City/Township Committee for | |

|clarification. The issues were: 1.) Collection of delinquent bills, 2.) Usage, 3.) Exclusivity and 4.) |Motion to |

|Moving toward an Authority. It is the committee’s intention to meet and finalize this agreement. |Contact Township Attorney. |

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|The Audit Process has been started. |City/Township |

| |Sewer Agreement |

|Commissioner McNamara presented a Tax Allocation Fact Sheet concerning the Countywide Proposal that | |

|will be on the August 5, 2008 Primary ballot. The County has been very prudent in its financial | |

|matters. Supervisor Ostrowski commented on the County helping the Township financially in the appeal to| |

|the Michigan Tax Tribunal concerning land at 2401 Ontario Drive. | |

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|Supervisor Ostrowski heard from Steve Schafer concerning a check approved by the board for purchase of | |

|Mr. Schafer’s computer that is at the Township Hall. Mr. Schafer has not yet received his check that |Auditor |

|was approved at the June 9, 2008 board meeting. Treasurer Bond is holding the check pursuant to the | |

|return of alleged township records. The records are available to us. Treasurer Bond will turn the check|County Commissioner |

|over to Supervisor Ostrowski and he will get it to Schafer. |Report |

| |Invoice Payment Policy |

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| |Steve Schafer |

| |Check for computer |

| |purchased by Township |

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|Correspondence received from the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce concerning membership. Table until |New Business |

|the August meeting. |Chamber of Commerce |

| |Membership |

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| |Township Hall |

|A policy for Township Hall access needs to be discussed. Motion by Bond, supported by Ostrowski to |Access |

|table until the August meeting. Motion carries. |Motion/Table |

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|BS&A charges $25.00 a month to do a back up of the entire software system. Motion by Bond, supported by|Computer Backup |

|Ostrowski to table until August meeting. | |

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|CAFR received their audit for the year ending March 31, 2008. It appeared to be a clean audit. There |Reports |

|are some policy issues that our representatives on the CAFR board are concerned with. |CAFR update |

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|A search is under way for a new permanent director. Promising candidates are being contacted to set up | |

|interviews. |CAASA update |

|The City who is the major contributor to the ambulance authority has submitted a letter of withdrawal | |

|from the authority. The City can rescind their withdrawal if major changes are made to the Authority. | |

|Board members of Clinton Area Ambulance were invited to attend a meeting tonight to hear alternative | |

|ideas for ambulance service. Lansing Mercy and Lansing Mason presented their options on what they could| |

|do to provide Ambulance service. Lansing Mercy is already in Southern Clinton County. Both services | |

|said they would have units stationed here. | |

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|Deputy Mehney presented the invoices for approval. Question concerning mowing service done by Robert | |

|Newman. Newman will be asked to submit a contract to the Township. Motion by Ostrowski, supported by | |

|Trebesh to approve invoices in the amount of $63,592.01 with clarification on check #5517 in the amount| |

|of $1,104.30. motion carries. | |

| |Clerks Report |

|Treasurer Bond presented receipts for June. A quarterly report and monthly report were presented. The | |

|June 1, 2008 beginning balance in the general checking was $217,018.86 and the beginning balance in the|Motion |

|Debt retirement account is $161,221.04. The ending balance as of June 30, 2008 in the General fund is | |

|$150,224.86 and the ending balance in the debt retirement is $161,414.50. Motion by Ostrowski, | |

|supported by Trebesh to accept the monthly and quarterly report as presented. Motion carries. | |

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| |Treasurer’s Report |

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|Correspondence received from MDEQ concerning the sewer proposal has been very positive. The time table |Supervisor’s |

|of how things need to be submitted as we move forward: Comments from MDEQ would be received by October |Report |

|9, 2008. We would know the approval of the MDEQ project plan no later than February 26, 2009; however |Sewer Proposal MDEQ |

|we will probably get it quicker than that. | |

|The format for the Townhall Meeting of July 28, 2008 would roughly have the CAFR fire chief and | |

|assistant present. Sue Lounds of the Clinton County News will be contacted to run an article about the |Townhall Meeting Format |

|Townhall meeting and the Township proposals. Supervisor Ostrowski will contact Sara Morrison of Briggs| |

|Public Library and ask her to be present to address any questions. The director or project director | |

|from the Road Commission will be invited to discuss questions concerning the renewal of the road | |

|millage. The Townhall meeting will take place on Monday, July 28, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at Clinton County | |

|RESA. | |

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|Trebesh moved, supported by Bond to adjourn the meeting. Motion carries. The meeting adjourned at | |

|8:47p.m. | |

| |Adjournment |

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|Respectfully submitted, | |

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|Helen Kus, Clerk | |

|Subject to approval at the Regular Board meeting of August 11, 2008 | |

Bingham Township

Townhall Meeting

Monday July 28, 2008 7: 00 p.m.

Clinton County RESA

1479 S. BR 127, St. Johns, MI 48879

MINUTES

|The meeting was called to order at 7: 03 p.m. with a welcome to all present. |Welcome |

|Supervisor Ostrowski led in the pledge to the flag. Trustee Harger gave the Invocation |Pledge /Invocation |

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|Supervisor Ostrowski introduced himself, followed by Treasurer Bond, Clerk Kus, Trustee Harger and |Introduction of Bingham |

|Trustee Trebesh. |Township Board |

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| |Purpose |

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|The meeting was called and posted as a Townhall Meeting to be informational to residents of the Township | |

|concerning the millage proposals on the Primary Election ballot of August 5, 2008. Residents were also | |

|encouraged to ask questions or offer comments relating to the City/Township Sewer Agreement and any other| |

|questions concerning Bingham Township. Sample Ballots for the August 5, 2008 Primary Election were | |

|displayed. | |

|Sara Morrison of Briggs Public Library and Sandy Steffen the Library Board Representative from Bingham |Introduction of Guests |

|Township were introduced. | |

|Joe Pulver, managing director of the Clinton County Road Commission was presented. | |

|Chief Gary Rosekrans, Dan Jorae, Cheryl Parks and numerous other personnel were present to represent | |

|CAFR. | |

|Jim Fyvie of Central Dispatch/911 was introduced. | |

|Paul McNamara, Clinton County Commissioner representing residents who live north of Parks Road in the | |

|Township was introduced. | |

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|Paul McNamara discussed the Countywide Proposal. This proposal will raise an additional 1 mill for the |Countywide |

|township. |Proposal |

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|The Library Millage is asking for a renewal of .497 mills. Approximately 54% of the Township residents |Library Millage Renewal |

|utilize the Briggs Public Library. There are roughly 1,372 active patrons from Bingham Township. Bingham | |

|Township and the City are the only jurisdictions who dedicate a millage to the Library. | |

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|The Road and Bridge Millage is asking for a renewal of 1 mill, a reduction of ½ mills from the previous |Road & Bridge Millage |

|millage. All of the dedicated millage money for this proposal stays here in the township and is used on |Renewal |

|township roads. Many projects and repairs have taken place this spring and summer with the money that was| |

|paid back to the Road & Bridge Fund. Joe Pulver stated that a Road Millage is a very solid way for the | |

|township to get a payback for the buck. The money is all used locally on Township Roads. Everyone | |

|benefits from this millage and it is a wise use of a good tax. An additional 35% of money is received | |

|from the County. | |

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|The Fire Protection Services and Equipment Millage is asking for 1 mill. This is a new request. This | |

|would help fund our participation in CAFR. Chief Rosekrans will answer any questions. |Fire Protection Services |

| |& Equipment Millage |

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| |Public Comment |

|Public Comment opened at 7:20 p.m. | |

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|Questions and concerns were raised about fire run billing, the recent fire in Bingham Farms, fire fighter| |

|response times and other questions concerning fire service. The ISO rating was discussed and what benefit| |

|it would have on Homeowners Insurance. | |

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|The City/Township Sanitary Sewer Agreement was discussed. Supervisor Ostrowski explained the ACO from | |

|MDEQ concerning the lagoon. | |

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|Clinton Area Ambulance service was discussed. | |

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|Approximately 49 persons attended this meeting. | |

|The meeting ended at 8:20 p.m. with cookies and punch. | |

Bingham Township

Special Meeting

Monday August 18, 2008 7: 00 p.m.

Clinton County RESA

1479 S. BR 127, St. Johns, MI 48879

MINUTES

|The meeting was called to order at 7: 00 p.m. with a welcome to all present. |Call to Order |

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

|Trustee Harger arrived at 7:07 p.m. | |

|Others present: 65 members of the public. Sign in sheet on file. | |

| |Pledge /Invocation |

|Supervisor Ostrowski led in the pledge to the flag. Treasurer Bond gave the Invocation | |

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|The meeting was called and posted as a Special Meeting to discuss Fire Service for the Township. The Fire|Purpose |

|Service and Equipment Millage Proposal on the August 5, 2008 Primary Election Ballot failed. Items to be | |

|discussed are as follows: Overall Fire Protection Services in the Township. The Township’s involvement in| |

|Clinton Area Fire & Rescue. The funding options that could be available to Bingham Township and a course | |

|of action to fund the Fire Service. The deadline to submit a proposal to go on the November ballot is | |

|August 28, 2008. The Township Board is committed to listening to what the public has to say. A decision | |

|will be made this evening on whether or not to place a millage proposal for Fire Service on the November | |

|Ballot. | |

|Supervisor Ostrowski introduced board members: Trustee Harger, Trustee Trebesh, Clerk Kus, Treasurer |Introduction of Board |

|Bond. | |

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|The board members outlined the following options: Do Nothing, which was found unacceptable because of the|Options |

|pressure put on the General Fund budget. We can not afford to support Fire Service out of the General | |

|Fund. The other option was to ask for another millage or a variation of the previously proposed millage. | |

|Depending on the results of the opinions of the public, a decision would be made on the future of Fire | |

|Protection Service in the Township. | |

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|A Power Point presentation was given by Chief Rosekrans and Bob Parks of CAFR. It outlined services and | |

|equipment of Clinton Area Fire & Rescue. 85 % of CAFR calls are Medical First Responder calls. Bingham |Power Point presentation |

|Township is one of three partners in CAFR. Greenbush and Victor Townships are the other partners. The |by CAFR |

|CAFR agreement was signed in June of 2001 and is for a period of ten years. The formula used to fund CAFR| |

|is: 1/3 SEV, 1/3 population and 1/3 previous year fire runs. Each partner pays their share according to | |

|this formula. Chief Roskrans stated that CAFR is out there to serve and protect the Townships. | |

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|Public Comment opened at 7:17 p.m. | |

|The following members of the public offered comments and opinions: Chief Rosekarans, Bob Parks, Doug | |

|Weir, Julie Jandernoa, Lieutenant Sullivan, Martha Andrews, Alan Harr, Frank Pauli, Tim Smith, Patricia | |

|Horan, Jeff Silm, Joyce Crosby, Jennifer Johnson, Harold Rappuhn, Dale Jury, Neil Barnhart, Glenn | |

|Jandernoa, Gary Van Orsdol, Bob Crosby, Dan Jorae, James Johnson, Dick Plowman, Larry Love, Cheryl Parks.| |

|Discussions concerning the best service for the least amount of money. No duplication costs. Separate |Public Comment |

|Fire and Rescue so there is not double coverage for ambulance and MFR. Can we join with the City for fire| |

|service? Is an effort being made for a joint venture with the city? The township has ownership in CAFR. | |

|Fire Service with other entities would be for service only. Is Regionalization an option? No one is | |

|disputing the dedication and ability of the members of CAFR. The quality of service is not in question. | |

|The City provided good fire service when we used them before. This entire issue is about financing. Fire | |

|Service can no longer be funded out of the general fund. | |

|Supervisor Ostrowski had information received for Jim Fyvie of Central Dispatch. In 2005 Bingham township| |

|had 40 fire runs, 36 in 2006 and 49 in 2007. Resuce runs in 2005 were 69, 2006 also 69 and 88 in 2007. | |

|EMS runs for 2005 were 102, 2006 – 108 and 2007 – 139. Rescue runs are MFR (Medical First Responder) and | |

|EMS. Chief Rosekrans had figures for 2008 with 62 fire runs of which 60% were for car fires, 38 medical | |

|runs and 14 mutual aid runs. | |

|Time is of the essence. The budget is set through March of 2009. We do not want the cost of a special | |

|election. We need to make a decision tonight. Until a person is waiting for emergency service to save or | |

|help a loved one, people are unaware of the value of these services. Has CAFR looked at their budget and | |

|made cuts and reductions? The Bingham Township representatives on the CAFR board voted to not accept the | |

|budget because it was felt by the Township board the cuts need to be made. What are the options available|Fire Runs/MFR & EMS |

|for a millage proposal for the November Election? The millage proposal could be for one half mill for two| |

|years or one half mill for four years. The proposal could also be for one mill for two years or four | |

|years. Our agreement with CAFR is through 2011. What would it cost to get out of the agreement? How long | |

|is the loan extension for? The township needs to fulfill their loan agreement even if we are no longer a |Public Comment continues |

|part of CAFR. We do not have an amount for contracted services from any other authority. The City has | |

|asked us to join them put have not put a proposal in writing to us. The City option would be for Fire | |

|Service only. The Township left the City because they felt the City was not willing to invest in | |

|equipment that best served the townships. The cost to stay with CAFR would be about the same next year as| |

|this year. The township needs to come up with a solution on what to do about fire service. Numerous | |

|recommendations to go back to the people and ask for millage for two years to get us through the | |

|agreement with CAFR. That would also give the board time to look at all options. The turnout was very | |

|poor at the Primary and we would get a lot more voters for the General in November. A larger voice would | |

|be heard from the township residents. | |

|The proposal is not about CAFR versus the City. It should be about Fire Protection Services. We need to | |

|be more creative in what we ask for. Our agreement with CAFR is up in 2011, but we must continue to pay | |

|the loan debt until 2013. People are basing their decisions on things that happened many years ago. The | |

|climate has changed and people need to be educated on the services and equipment provided by CAFR. | |

|Question raised on cost per capita. According to the City of St Johns study their cost per capita was | |

|$31.52 with an annual budget for their area and half of Bengal Township of $252,277.00. CAFR is | |

|$401,812.00 for three townships. The difference in population is 8000 for the City and 7863 for CAFR. The| |

|cost per capita for CAFR is $51.10 which reflects the budget. The cost per call for the City of St Johns| |

|is $4069.00 and the cost per call for CAFR is $1362.00. Dewitt Area Fire has 9500 people with a budget of| |

|$273,150.00 with cost per capita of $28.75 and cost per call is $986.00. The distinction is that CAFR is | |

|a new Fire Station. City of St Johns does not provide Medical First Responder. | |

|Go back to the voters and ask for a two year millage. Majority is supposed to rule. The voters spoke in | |

|August and turned down the millage. Why are we asking again? Approximately 17% of the township voted. | |

|Trustee Harger is a member of CAFR and urges anyone having questions or comments concerning CAFR or any | |

|matter related to the Township to call him. | |

|Board Discussion on the number of years and amount of mills. | |

|Motion by Bond, supported by Kus to place on the ballot of November 4, 2008 a millage proposal for one | |

|mill for a period of two years for Fire Protection Services. Discussion follows. More public comment | |

|allowed. The people voted once and said no. The voters should not be asked again. There is a new proposal| |

|being asked for. It is different from the previous proposal. It is not the board’s responsibility to | |

|educate the public on this matter. Information needs to be put out there on the importance of this | |

|millage. | |

| |Cost per Capita |

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| |Public comment continues |

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|Respectfully submitted, | |

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|Helen Kus, Clerk | |

|Subject to approval at the Regular board meeting of September 8, 2008. | |

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|Respectfully submitted, | |

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|Helen Kus, Clerk | |

|Subject to approval at the Regular board meeting of July 14, 2008 | |

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