Tri-County Citizen

NEWS BRIEFS


MAPLE GROVE TWP. SCHEDULES MEETINGS, ACCURACY TEST – The Maple Grove Township election commission will meet at 6:45 p.m. on Monday, July 13 at the township hall, 4017 Peet Road, Chesaning, to review and approve the list of election inspectors scheduled to work during the Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary election. The township board will then meet at 7 p.m. A public accuracy test of the township’s electronic election equipment will follow the township board meeting.

MAPLE GROVE BOARD OF REVIEW TO MEET – The Maple Grove Township Board of Review will meet on Tuesday, July 21 at 8 p.m. in the township office, 17010 Lincoln Road, New Lothrop.

SWAN CREEK BOARD OF REVIEW TO MEET – The Swan Creek Township Board of Review will meet at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 22 at the township hall, 11415 Lakefield Road, St. Charles. For more information, contact the township office at (989) 865-6251 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SWAN CREEK ELECTION COMMISSION TO MEET – The Swan Creek Township election commission will meet on Monday, July 13, following the regular monthly board meeting at the township hall, 11415 Lakefield Road, St. Charles. The purpose of the meeting is to grant the township clerk the authority to appoint election inspectors and carry out any other duties that may be required to conduct the Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary election.

FOOD PLOTS SEMINAR PLANNED – The Marion Springs Conservation Club will be hosting a food plots seminar on Sunday, July 19 at 2 p.m. at the club, 20390 W. Brant Road, Brant. The seminar will be held outside, unless indoor restrictions have been eased by that date. The seminar is free and open to the public. For more information, call (989) 292-1951.

CHAPIN TWP. BOARD OF REVIEW SET – The Chapin Township Board of Review will meet on Tuesday, July 21, at the township hall, 21481 Peet Road, Elsie. The board will meet to correct clerical errors or mutual mistakes of fact. Homeowners, principal residence, poverty, qualified ag and disabled veteran exemptions will be reviewed.

KC RAFFLE WINNERS ANNOUNCED – The winners of the Chesaning Knights of Columbus raffle for July are Richard Maxa, Jim Cooper, Richard Barancik and Rick and Becky Wenzlick.

BRADY TWP. BOARD OF REVIEW TO MEET – The Brady Township Board of Review will meet on Tuesday, July 21, at 7 p.m., at the Brady Township Hall, 16020 W. Peet Road, Oakley. The purpose of the meeting is to correct clerical errors or mutual mistakes of fact.

ST. CHARLES TWP. BOARD OF REVIEW TO MEET – The St. Charles Township Board of Review will meet on Tuesday, July 21, at 4 p.m. at the township office, 1003 N. Saginaw St., St. Charles. The purpose of the meeting is to correct clerical errors; mutual mistakes of facts; taxpayer requested poverty exemption; Qualified Agricultural Property Exemption which has been denied by the assessor; Homeowner’s Principal Residence Exemption that was not on the assessment roll for the current year, but was not denied by the assessor, county or Department of Treasury; assessor has determined that a taxable value uncapping should be reversed, or a Disabled Veteran’s Exemption for the current year. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call assessor Rob Grose at (989) 239-6455 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Letter appeals must be received by noon on Tuesday, July 21.

BRANT TWP. ELECTION COMMISSION TO MEET – The Brant Township Election Commission will meet on Tuesday, July 14 following the regular scheduled monthly board meeting which is held at 7 p.m. at the Brant Township Hall, 11012 S. Hemlock Road, Brant. The purpose of the meeting is appoint the election inspectors and to grant the authority to make decisions that are required to conduct the election that will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 4, This is a public meeting.

NL VILLAGE SEEKS DDA MEMBER – The Village of New Lothrop has a vacancy on the Downtown Development Authority. Interested persons should send a letter of interest to the Village of New Lothrop, P.O. Box 313, New Lothrop, MI 48460.

CHAMBER RAFFLE WINNER ANNOUNCED – Natalie Skaryd was the winner of the Chesaning Chamber of Commerce biweekly raffle for Wednesday, July 8. Her ticket was drawn by Steve Keck, chamber treasurer and owner of H&R Block.

GRAVE BLANKETS PROHIBITED – During its June meeting, the St. Charles Township Board agreed to prohibit grave blankets at the St. Charles Township Cemetery. St. Charles Township Supervisor Tommy Sargent explained that grave blankets are made of a combination of plastic, wood and pine boughs. Under newer environmental regulations, grave blankets cannot just be burned, because of the plastic ties used. They cannot be placed in landfills because of the large amount of brush. Each one must be disassembled and the plastic separated from the brush and the wood frames. Sargent said contractors are charging $15 each for disposal of grave blankets. It’s cost prohibitive for the township. As a result, St. Charles Township won’t allow grave blankets in the cemetery anymore. The new rule will be added to the cemetery sign before this fall.

STC TWP. CHANGES FEE SCHEDULE – During the Monday, July 6 meeting of the St. Charles Township Board, building administrator/code enforcement officer Scott Crofoot recommended some changes to the fee schedule in order to cover the actual costs paid by the township. He began by explaining how the township currently charges for building permit fees, which relies on the contractors’ estimated cost of the building. He said most contractors estimate on the low end. The State of Michigan, however, uses an estimated cost per square foot. He explained that changing the way the permit fees are structured will more accurately reflect the costs the township incurs for inspections. St. Charles Township Supervisor Tommy Sargent asked Crofoot if this is what surrounding townships are doing. Crofoot said, “Yes.” The board approved several fee schedule changes which cover actual costs.

STC VILLAGE ADJUSTS FEE SCHEDULE – During the Wednesday, July 8 meeting of the St. Charles Village Council, Village Manager Hartmann Aue addressed the council about changes to the fee schedule for building permits. New building administrator Scott Crofoot explained that the fee schedule established by the previous building administrator hasn’t been covering the costs associated with inspections. He also explained that the village had been using the contractors’ cost estimates to determine the permit costs. However, the State of Michigan calculates its permit fees by square footage. Crofoot recommends the village use the state’s method. He said, “It’s designed to break even and cover the (actual) costs.” He said the village has been paying more in inspection fees than its been collecting in fees. The St. Charles Village Council unanimously approved the changes Crofoot recommended for the building permit fee schedule.

PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBER RETURNS – St. Charles Township Supervisor Tommy Sargent informed the township board that Larry Smith will be moving out of the township and will have to step down from the planning commission. Jerry Kovach, who previously served on the planning board, has agreed to return. Sargent recommended Kovach’s appointment. The board approved the appointment during its Monday, July 6 meeting.

CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT – For the past several years, each time the Village of Chesaning prepares for street repairs, village residents are recruited to participate in the citizens’ street improvement committee. On Tuesday, July 7, Chesaning Village Administrator Troy Feltman asked council members if they know of anyone whose interested. “The more the merrier,” he said. Village President Joseph Sedlar, Jr. said, “People having issues with their streets would like to have a say in it.” Chesaning Village residents who are interested in participating in the citizens street improvement committee should contact the Chesaning Village office at (989) 845-3800.

NEW FIREFIGHTERS INTRODUCED – The Chesaning-Brady Fire Department has two new firefighter academy graduates, Nick Fall and Kayla Amman. Chesaning-Brady Fire Board member Phil Larner said the department assisted with a fire in Marion Springs on Monday, July 6. Larner said this time of year, there’s always a shortage of firefighters responding. Area fire departments responding to the Marion Springs fire included Chesaning-Brady, Maple Grove, Albee and James townships.

NO ROOSTERS ALLOWED IN VILLAGE – During the Tuesday, July 7 meeting of the Chesaning Village Council, Councilwoman Danielle Chludil said, “There’s a rooster somewhere on my street. I’ve been hearing it for a couple of weeks.” Councilwoman Tina Powell said, “I think I know who has it. I’m not sure they’re aware that they’re not supposed to have roosters in the village. I thought they just had ducks.”

ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICERS NEEDED – During the Wednesday, July 8 meeting of the St. Charles Village Council, interim Police Chief Julie Church asked the council to consider hiring additional officers. “I’m looking to create my team of superheroes. I’m requesting the addition of two part-time officers at 30 hours each per week,” Chief Church said. She wants to start looking for the first part-time officer this week. She’s looking to start posting the first position immediately and another later on. Church has been trying to work with the St. Charles school district to have a school resource officer. “I want the right person in there. Based on the needs of the community, I’d like to get the right people,” she said. Councilwoman Christine Newman asked, “Do we have the money?” Village Manager Hartmann Aue said, “You know I was looking at the numbers. Yes, we have the money.” The council voted unanimously to hire one part-time officer at 30 hours for now. It was briefly discussed that the village is looking to hire a full-time officer, but Church wants to start with part-time officers to see how they work out.

SIDEWALK SPECIFICATIONS STANDARIZED – St. Charles Village Manager Hartmann Aue and Spicer Group engineer/planner John Olson proposed that the village adopt standardized specifications for sidewalks constructed within the village. During the Wednesday, July 8 meeting of the St. Charles Village Council, councilwoman Christine Newman commented that 700 pages seemed like a lot of pages for sidewalk plans. She wondered if contractors would actually read it. Olson responded, “The people who order materials look at it.” Aue said he wanted the council to adopt the specifications in preparation for when they go out for bid on sidewalk projects. The council adopted the sidewalk specifications. Village of St. Charles DPW Director Don Ackerman said, “We would expect (contractors) to pull a permit and abide by the sidewalk specifications.” Aue said, “The goal is to bid it out yearly and make this policy.”

STC VILLAGE DECLINES TO RECONSIDER CHICKENS – Over the years, the St. Charles Village Council has repeatedly been asked, by a small group of residents, to allow residents to keep chickens on residential property. Councilwoman Diana Kutz said, “As a member of the planning commission, we’ve worked repeatedly on this. Two people want (chickens) and everyone else in town explicitly says ‘no’.” Councilwoman Christine Newman said, “We’ve discussed this so many times it’s sickening. I don’t think we need to discuss this again.” The council discussed proper procedure. President Richard Hoerner said, “I would entertain a motion to change the chicken ordinance.” Someone offered a motion to change the chicken ordinance. There was no second to the motion. The motion died.

MARIJUANA ORDINANCE – The St. Charles Village Council has requested Village Manager Hartmann Aue provide information about a possible marijuana ordinance for the village. The council has received the information about the options municipalities have under the Michigan Medical and Recreational Marijuana statutes and regulations. The St. Charles Village Council has requested that the topic be placed on the August council agenda.