January 3, 2005
Regular Meeting
Charter Township of AuSable 

Meeting called to order at 7:03 P.M. by Trustee Gary.

PRESENT:
Reeder, Lamrock, Barnes, Gary, Beliveau, and Poland. 

ABSENT:
Hayes.

STAFF PRESENT:
Superintendent Wilson and Cal Taylor-DPW.

PRESS COVERAGE:
Holly Nelson.

Pledge of Allegiance recited.

Supervisor Hayes arrived and chaired the meeting.

AGENDA:
Motion by Beliveau to adopt the meeting agenda as amended, removing the Water Report from the Consent Agenda, seconded by Barnes.  Roll call: All yes, motion carried.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Bill Brandt asked the Board about enacting a law that would not allow registered criminal sex offenders to live in the vicinity of Children's Park, stressed the need for better enforcement of housing standards, blight, and junk car ordinances, and also requested that draft minutes be placed on the Township's website for public review.  Members of the board commented that they believed it would be unlawful for them to enact a law regarding where a registered criminal sex offender could live.  Several trustees also commented that the Board was in the process of reviewing several ordinances that would hopefully address the concerns previously mentioned.  Lamrock advised everyone that draft minutes are required to be available to the public within eight working days of the meeting, but no further comment was made.   
 
CONSENT AGENDA:
Motion by Lamrock, to accept the Consent Agenda with removal of the Water Report, to allow for discussion later in the meeting, approving the minutes of the Township Board from 12/20/004 and authorizing payment of bills for the General, Water, and Sewer Funds,  seconded by Poland.  Roll call: All yes, motion carried.

SUPERINTENDENT:
Wilson reminded everyone that the next meeting date was scheduled on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that the meeting would be rescheduled to the next day, Tuesday, January 18, 2005. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

AuSABLE CONTRACT TASK FORCE:
Supervisor Hayes commented that he believed the Board should create a committee to review the shared service contracts with Oscoda Township.  Trustee Gary and Superintendent Wilson added comments regarding bench marking the numbers and formulas used against those used by other townships in similar situations.  Reeder and Wilson volunteered to sit on a committee and study the situation.  Motion by Lamrock to create a committee to review and benchmark contracted services for AuSable Township and to appoint Wilson, Hayes, and Reeder to fill the committee, seconded by Reeder.  Roll call: All yes, motion carried.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS CONTINUED: 

PENSION PLAN ORDINANCE #87:
Lamrock recommended that action on this item be postponed because the ordinance had not yet been published.

ZONING ORDINANCE #88:
Lamrock made a motion to adopt the AuSable Township Zoning Ordinance #88 as previously presented and published in summary form, and to publish the ordinance again with the understanding that the ordinance would become effective eight days after publication, seconded by Beliveau.  Roll call: Hayes: no, all others: yes, motion carried.

CLOSEOUT OF OUTSTANDING UTILITY BILLS:
Prolonged discussion of the topic followed with Poland commenting that he was uncomfortable writing off the debt and wanted some assurance that we had procedures in place to prevent the problem from occurring again.  Lamrock asked if we should continue to carry the debt until the statute of limitations was reached.  Reeder commented that she believed township policies were working well because only the two accounts had gone delinquent in the previous four years.  Motion by Hayes to closeout the two 2001 outstanding utility bills and to enforce collection of the $200 deposit in the future, seconded by Gary.  Roll call: Poland and Lamrock: no, all others: yes, motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS: 

WATER REPORT: 
Cal Taylor, of the DPW, went through a report written by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality stating that AuSable Township received an overall rating of satisfactory.  Areas of concern for the MDEQ included the single transmission line from the HSRUA Plant and the high percentage of unaccounted water.  Discussion ensued regarding the lost water and efforts made to find or fix the problem.  Poland asked that more detail be provided in the water report regarding known maintenance problems such as leaks, frozen pipes, bad meters, and the like. 

ORDINANCE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER-ORDINANCE #89:
Wilson provided the Board with copies of a proposed ordinance to create the position of Ordinance Enforcement Officer for AuSable Township and a job description with proposed pay and hours that fell within the amount originally budgeted for the position.  Motion by Lamrock to introduce Ordinance #89 as presented and to have the ordinance published prior to the next meeting, seconded by Gary.  Roll call: All yes, motion carried.

FIXED ASSET CAPITALIZATION POLICY:
Discussion ensued regarding the presentation of the policy, needed for compliance with GASB-34.  Motion by Lamrock to adopt the Fixed Asset Capitalization Policy as presented, seconded by Hayes.  Roll call: All yes, motion carried.
 
STEPS FOR ENACTING NON-ZONING ORDINANCES-POLICY:
Action was postponed due to some confusion over last minute changes made to the policy at the request of the Clerk.

CORRESPONDENCE:
None

BOARD COMMENTS:
Poland asked about a request from the District Health Department to fund continued testing of the beach at Shoreline Park.  It was determined that no action had yet been taken regarding the request and that Superintendent Wilson do some research and provide a recommendation to the Board at a future meeting.  Lamrock commented that he believed the Board should hold a workshop to give the new Superintendent 

BOARD COMMENTS CONTINUED:

some direction and priorities of a majority of the Board rather than approaching her with requests as individual Board members.  
 
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Cal McLaren inquired about the current status and future of the Industrial Development Corporation.  Lamrock informed McLaren that the IDC still exists, because the townships had not yet completed an agreement regarding the future of the IDC's assets, liabilities, and responsibilities.  

Bill Brandt questioned the Board about the bills, specifically payment of Ron Gaskell for both the Zoning Administrator and Deputy Clerk positions.  Lamrock responded that the Board had authorized the payment based on a letter written by Mr. Gaskell.    

ADJOURN:
Motion by Lamrock, seconded by Poland to adjourn. 
All in favor, motion carried.  Meeting adjourned at 8:18 P.M.






Ronald J. Lamrock, Clerk				            Dan Hayes Jr., Supervisor
Charter Twp. of AuSable					Charter Twp. of AuSable 
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