PRESQUE ISLE TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
held July 12th, 2010

Supervisor Patrick Pokorski called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Members Present: Supervisor Patrick Pokorski, Treasurer Bette Tadajewski, Clerk Cynthia Paavola, and Trustee Lynn Morrison were present.

Audience: Assessor Clarkson Most, Zoning Administrator Linda Taylor, Clayton Peters, Attila and Sharon Paltelky, Karen Pettalia, Pat Hart, Dan Rivard, Sharon Jacobs, A. Ratterree, Floyd Selves, Bill Fay, Sharon Gregus, James Gregus, Jean LaPointe, Jackie Popielec, John Porter, Dennis Fay, and Clif Taylor.

Minutes-June 14th, 2010: B. Tadajewski made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held June 14th, 2010 as printed. C. Paavola seconded. All ayes; motion carried.
June 21st, 2010: B. Tadajewski made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 21st Special Meeting as printed. L. Morrison seconded. All ayes; motion carried.
June 28th, 2010: B. Tadajewski made a motion to approve the minutes of the June 28th Special Meeting as printed. L. Morrison seconded. All ayes; motion carried.
July 8th, 2010: B. Tadajewski made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 8th Special Meeting as printed. C. Paavola seconded. All ayes; motion carried

Comments from the Audience: S. Paltelky suggested, due to the recent change over, that the Township consider having an independent forensic auditor do an audit to protect C. Paavola, K. Fournier, and the Township. L. Morrison asked for clarification as to what she meant by forensic. S. Paltelky replied that it's a much more in depth and thorough audit; not just books and matching receipts. C. Peters asked about a payment of $185.35 to Lakeshore Plumbing and Heating. From what he understood, the problem was a result of the lack of proper winterizing from the concessionaire. B. Tadajewski responded that she thought it had been approved at last month's meeting. C. Peters stated that he was not aware of that, and would have questioned it at that point had he known. B. Tadajewski explained the detail of the bill. C. Peters did recall the heat issue, but not the women's bathroom issue. C. Taylor stated that the url is up for renewal for the township website (August 23rd). He added that he has been working with E. Comerford, and feels that she is ready to take over the website. He has been doing the website for eight (8) years and has been paying for it on his own credit card, but feels that it's time to move on and figure out something else. He also stated that K. Fournier had been the contact person for the company when the account was set up. He gave options on how to renew the url. He offered to renew it on his own credit card, and then be reimbursed, however added that a long term solution needs to be determined. When asked, C. Taylor stated that, last he knew, they did not accept checks. He also clarified that E. Comerford would also have to become the webmaster, and would have to be responsible for renewals and so forth. C. Taylor also mentioned the Range Light Park survey. P. Pokorski interjected that it is already on the agenda. C. Taylor lastly added the he's getting a bit tired of all of the anonymous things flying around; letters of accusation, websites of accusation, flyers in mailboxes. He added that there's no merit in anonymous correspondence, and he feels that the Board should take a stand to not accept anonymous critique because it leaves everyone trying to figure out who's doing what, and is making people paranoid. C. Paaovla agreed. K. Pettalia stated that she received a call from Alex Hunter. He was looking for P. Pokorski's cell phone number as he had a stone that needed to be placed at the cemetery. She gave him Deb Trelfa's number, and stated that Gene Campbell is the one who does most of the work there. P. Pokorski stated that Alex had been given his contact information when he took over as sexton, and they have since been in contact. K. Pettalia asked if he had any kind of back up in case he wasn't available, and suggested that, if not, he look into designating one.

Agenda: B. Tadajewski asked to add the waiver for first right of refusal from County Treasurer in regards to all of the parcels that are up for auction. P. Pokorski stated that it will be added under NEW BUSINESS. C. Paavola made a motion to approve the agenda as presented with the above stated addition. Second by L. Morrison. All ayes; motion carried.

REPORT OF OFFICES

Treasurer: B. Tadajewski presented the treasurer's report. Additional copies were handed out. She asked for any questions on expenditures or fund balances. None were submitted. C. Paavola made a motion to accept the treasurer's report as presented, subject to audit. L. Morrison seconded. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried. The tax receipt summary for July will be posted. So far, she has collected $223,567.52, and gave a breakdown of the allocations.

Clerk: C. Paavola presented the Bills & Claims report in the amounts of $638.00 out of Capital Projects, an addition of $15.66 for a total of $5,940.34 $5,414.99 out of Enterprise, and $9,519.67 $3,751.86 from the General Fund for a total of $16,092.35in expenditures. Total payroll was $11,006.76 $11,271.43. L. Morrison made a motion to accept the Bills and Claims report as presented. B. Tadajewski seconded. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried.

Planning Commission: C. Taylor reported that they are working on the Capital Improvement Plan. They are trying to get some other projects started. He briefed on the plans for revamping the Range Light Park. A majority of the plan is scheduled for next year, however, their immediate goal is to have toilets installed. He summarized the current plan, and discussion was had. C. Paavola made a motion to approve up to $1,000 for the surveying of the Range Light park property. L. Taylor explained that the current legal description for the property is from when chains were used, and the surveyor is most likely going to need to work off of the descriptions of the adjoining properties which will probably result in an additional cost. C. Taylor stated that they spoke with the gentleman they intend on working with, and he agreed that if someone were to do the clearing, the cost would be less, but the additional work with the legal description was not discussed, as L. Taylor just learned of it that day. L. Morrison made a motion to amend the motion to increase the approval to up to $1,500 for the cost of surveying. C. Paavola seconded. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried. B. Tadajewski stated that they needed to go back and make a motion to approve the $15.66 to be paid out of the Enterprise fund. It was only mentioned earlier. L. Morrison made a motion to approve $15.66 to be paid out of Enterprise. C. Paavola seconded. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried.

Parks and Recreation: L. Morrison reported that they had another member resign, so there were now two vacancies to fill. They had a special meeting in regards to the fireworks, and at that time, they also discussed applicants. They interviewed all interested applicants and chose two based on geographics as well as skills to ensure that the entire Township is represented on the committee. George Johnson from Long Lake and Richard Spencer from the north end of Grand Lake were the two candidates chosen for recommendation to the Board. Both men have a lot of expertise they will bring to the board. L. Morrison made a motion to accept the recommendation to appoint Richard Spencer and George Johnson to fill the vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Committee. C. Paavola seconded. P. Pokorski clarified that typically, their recommendation would go before the full Parks and Rec Board for approval, and then onto the Township Board. L. Morrison responded that it was agreed upon by all members of Parks and Rec that whomever the interview committee chose was acceptable to them, and they had the right to present the recommendations to the Board. All ayes; motion carried. He continued on with his report stating there were letters presented from B. Schatz and Dawn Barrett; both were addressed. The paranormal group that came was thought to have been sitting on, touching, or moving artifacts, and N. Kinney spoke with them to address the concerns. The Range Light Pavilion project was discussed. The work on the Old Lighthouse road has not yet started. In regards to the Fresnel Lens, due to all of his past work, knowledge, and contacts, per the request of the Parks and Rec. Committee, L. Morrison made a motion to appoint P. Pettalia as liaison for the Fresnel Lens. B. Tadajewski seconded the motion. She agreed that due to the history of it, there is probably a lot in P. Pettalia's head that has never been put on paper. C. Peters clarified that not only did the Parks and Rec make the recommendation, but P. Pettalia volunteered as well. All ayes; motion carried. In regards to any incurred expenses, B. Tadajewski stated that they reimburse any reasonable expenses, and if they are submitted appropriately, then there shouldn't be an issue. She just asked to determine "reasonable expenses" so as to not run into any problems. L. Morrison made a motion to approve reimbursement of reasonable expenses as incurred by P. Pettalia as liaison. C. Paavola seconded. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried. The fireworks shoot was a success. They received positive feedback, and the canisters generated a good amount of donations. B. Tadajewski reported $1,583.54 to be exact. L. Morrison stated that a letter of thanks needs to be addressed to those who helped. He added that next year, the intention is to not have to dip into the Enterprise fund for the fireworks. They need to be able to raise enough funds in advance to cover the cost, and entertained ideas for how to do so. C. Peters clarified that what they raise for next years fireworks is all that can be spent on them; no more. L. Morrison asked for clarification as to, if the money for the fireworks has always come out of the Enterprise fund, why is it now being limited to only what they can raise. P. Pokorski responded that because there is more and more maintenance being done at the parks, and that money is needed to go towards those costs. The memorial is set and taken care of. Dennis Fay asked who had resigned from the committee. L. Morrison responded that Barry Schatz and Peter Pettalia had both resigned.

ZBA: C. Paavola reported that they had appointed Bill Lewis as a full time member, and Barbara Sharpe as the alternate, and reviewed rules and regulations.

Zoning Administrator: L. Taylor stated, in regards to the ZBA meeting, that she had received a call from a citizen who had been informed that if they came in and paid their fee, that the ZBA would hear their case that night. She is sure that they misunderstood that point, but they did understand that they could apply for a use variance, and so she did send an email to all of the ZBA members to inform them that Presque Isle Township is precluded from granting or hearing requests for use variances because they did not historically do so. The amendment to the Planning and Zoning Enabling Act of 2008 stated that if a Township did not grant use variances prior to that date, that they were precluded from doing so forever in the future, and so that needs to be known and remembered. She clarified exactly what a use variance was and provided example. She explained to the party that their only option would be to apply for a rezoning which would be quite iffy since they would be asking to rezone one parcel within a zoning district which would be considered spot zoning which can also get very dicey, and get Township's into a lot of trouble. She added that they do have a right to make the request if they desired to do so, but they didn't have a right to request a use variance. She thinks they were unhappy because they were getting two different stories, and just recommended that the Township be aware of the rules of what they can and cannot do so that everyone is on the same page. L. Taylor also added that we are having major problems with hardware at the hall. Ever since the wireless printer was installed in the office staff's office, she has not been able to use her wired printer more days than she has not been able to use it, and the result is that she is constantly mailing things to herself so that she can print them off at her private office, and mail them from there. She added that on Thursday, not only did her printer not work, but the internet was down as well, so she was not able to print or email any of her work that day. She recommended having someone come in to check their entire system to fix the ongoing problems. She requested that the Board make a motion to allow Darren Zimmerman from Computer Ease to come out and do a system check. B. Tadajewski made a motion that they call Darren Zimmerman from Computer Ease and have him come out to do an overlook of what they need. C. Paavola seconded. L. Taylor stated that perhaps he can identify some problems, and give them a checklist so that they can troubleshoot in the future and keep things going. She wouldn't want to have to call him back every time there is a problem. B. Tadajewski will call him and have him make arrangements with E. Comerford. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried. There is a funny situation going on with the light meter. They had a complaint, and tested the light strength but could not read the meter. It will require more than two hands since someone will need to be shining a light on the meter in order to read the results.

Assessor: C. Most reported that Board of Review is next week. The State has been relatively quite for awhile so he didn't have much to report. He stated that they are in the middle of a sales study and thinks there should be enough sales to complete one.

Office Staff: E. Comerford was not present to report.

Sexton: P. Pokorski reported that they had one burial that was earlier that day. He also had two requests. One, they have a volunteer group that wants to paint the pavilion. They are asking for money for the paint. The projected cost was not to exceed $500.00. C. Paavola made a motion to approve an amount not to exceed $500.00 for the painting of the pavilion. L. Morrison seconded. A. Paltelky stated that the ceiling is to be baby blue, the outside and posts will be dark beige, and the back wall will be lighter beige. He also stated that the quotes were obtained from Ace Hardware in Rogers City. It was confirmed that funds would come out of the Cemetery Enterprise fund. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried. P. Pokorski also updated that the new drive that was put in is ready; all they need is gravel. A quote of $180.00 for 18 yards of gravel was submitted. B. Tadajewski asked whose property it was going on. P. Pokorski responded that it is PIHA property until they sign something over. B. Tadajewski stated that she did not think they could approve funds for something that was not on Township property. She also mentioned the possibility of the PIHA paying for the gravel and then seeking reimbursement once the property is transferred.

Supervisor: P. Pokorski stated that he did not have anything to report. All of his items were covered elsewhere in the agenda. B. Tadajewski asked to rewind back to the Sexton's report as she was wondering if there was anyway of determining how many burials have been prepaid. She wants to make sure that, regardless of the amounts of projects or expenditures, the prepaid amounts remain in that fund. Members agreed it was a good thing to do.

CORRESPONDENCE

L. Morrison read a letter from Sharon and Attila Paltelky;

Dear volunteers;
We would like to thank you for the beautiful display of fireworks on July 3rd. As we watched, each seemed to be more spectacular than the previous and the grand finale was amazing. All around us we heard positive comments from people on the beach. One person said that they had seen fireworks many places, but these were the best. Not only did you spend many hours getting certified, planning, and executing the show, but you were also not able to enjoy the evening with your family and friends. We want you to know that we appreciate what you have done, and look forward to next years fireworks.

Sincerely,
Attila and Sharon Paltelky

L. Morrison also passed on information regarding a resident who had burning debris falling into his yard. He likes the fireworks and, although he was not upset, he did ask for the issue to be addressed. L. Morrison confirmed that the issue is being looked at to determine why it happened, and to figure out how to prevent from happening again in the future.
B. Tadajewski received an email correspondence from Dawn Barrett, although she believes she received it by mistake because it was addressed to Karen Fournier. Due to this fact, she stated that she would just like to have it kept on file.
P. Pokorski stated that so far, they have received one interested applicant for the vacant Trustee position. Once the deadline has passed, the Board will review the packet of applicants. P. Pokorski also read a letter from John Porter;
Patrick -
The Grand Lake Library is open several hours per week when the township office is closed, and for many township residents the library is more easily accessible. For this reason, in my opinion at least, all bound official township publications such as studies, reports, plans, etc., should be available to the public at the library. In awarding a contract to a bidder to produce such a report or plan, it could be stipulated that an additional copy be published for placement in our public library.
I wanted to check the township Parks and Rec Plan the other day and was saddened to find that the library has received NO township publications in the last six years. The last township document that the library has received so that the library can share it with the public is the township's 2004 Comprehensive Plan.
Just a thought on one simple way that communications can be improved between the township and the community.......
- John

P. Pokorski thought that it was a wonderful idea, however, they would need to designate someone to be responsible for ensuring that all publications get updated as needed. P. Pokorski will meet discuss the matter with the office staff as she was recommended as being the designated person.

P. Pokorski addressed the Clerk's resignation. He stated that there was a Special Meeting held to discuss the matter and her letter was read into the minutes of that meeting, therefore, he did not feel that it needed to be read again. However, he added that he would like to state that they have lost a great resource and he's sad to see her go. He felt her resignation letter was done very eloquently, and done very well. She expressed family, community, and her dedication to them.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Policies and procedures: P. Pokorski stated that he and K. Fournier had started this project and they were gong to be creating committees to work on the development of the policies and procedures. K. Fournier attended the training session a couple weeks ago, and she did pick up the copies of the publication. He will look at who he can get to work on the committees. This will extend to Parks and Rec. and D. Rivard can help facilitate to tie everything together. L. Morrsion added that Jake Johnson, new Parks and Rec member, has extensive experience with policies and procedures and suggested he be contacted regarding that.

NEW BUSINESS

Museum Artifacts: P. Pokorski read a request from J. Porter;
The Presque Isle Township Museum Society Board of Directors directed me to request Township approval for our sale of certain items. We would like the Township Board to approve the Society selling limited numbers of surplus gratuities that we traditionally have given annually to society volunteers as thank you gifts such as china mugs, book marks, etc. Township approval of such activity is required by the lease agreement....

P. Pokorski explained why that was in the lease agreement, and asked how many items they were considering. J. Porter responded a few dozen. B. Tadajewski asked if it was a large amount of value and J. Porter responded "no". L. Morrison asked for clarification about "artifacts", and asked if these were in fact artifacts. P. Pokorski responded that the contract also states that they cannot sell t-shirts or other memorabilia type items as that was to be done by the concessionaire. This was added to avoid competition. The items are really neither artifacts nor memorabilia; they are more of a gratuity type item. J. Porter clarified that it is in their lease agreement that they cannot sell anything without approval. B. Tadajewski made a motion to allow for the Museum Society to sell the surplus personalized gifts. C. Paavola seconded. All ayes motion carried. JakeJ002@Yahoo.com Audit: P. Pokorski stated that this item had been brought up earlier. The Board needs to decide what they would like to do. It does protect everyone incoming and outgoing. B. Tadajewski suggested they contact their current auditor to find out what his recommendation is because she thinks that he may recommend a different firm to come in and do that. B. Tadajewski volunteered to talk to Mark about it. She also reminded that they are at a point where their fiscal year has closed so their regular audit may suffice those account balances without having another audit, but Mark is a governmental auditor and he'll know what they need.

Fireworks: The topic was discussed earlier in the meeting.

Tax waiver sale: P. Pokorski asked if there were any properties that the Board wanted to consider buying. The packet of available parcels had previously been handed out for members to review. L. Taylor reminded that if we acquire any of them, they need to be used for public use. It was recommended to let Parks and Rec. review them. The available parcels were discussed. The deadline for a decision is next Monday. Upon further review, it was the overall decision of the Board to waive their first right of refusal. C. Paavola made a motion to waive their first rights to the properties. L. Morrison seconded. All ayes; motion carried.

L. Morrison asked if there would be anyway to have Gene Campbell come and weed-whack the grounds at the Township Hall. The cleaning of windows was also discussed, and B. Tadajewski suggested asking the custodian to take on that task. L. Morrison made a motion to approve up to 5 hours of labor for Gene Campbell for the installation of the mailbox and weed-whacking. B. Tadajewski seconded. She will also contact Sandy about cleaning all of the windows inside and out. A roll call vote was taken. All ayes; motion carried.

L. Morrison also asked if anyone had heard any updates in regards to the Besser Natural area and building. B. Tadajewski responded that she had a very limited conversation with he neighbor, Janet Behnke, who is an employee at Besser Company. She stated that she thought the Township was interested in buying the building not the property, and stated that it would need to be brought to the Board of Directors of Besser Co. She was going to draft something to present to the company. It was also stated that since this item is part of the Capital Improvement Plan for the Planning Commission, that perhaps they could get a recommendation from them.

L. Taylor stated that earlier in the meeting, C. Taylor had asked that the Board take a stand and address the issue of anonymous publications/correspondence. P. Pokorski suggested drafting a letter, fairly quickly, that expressed the Board's opinion or point of view regarding anonymous correspondence and have it posted. B. Tadajewski gave an example of how anonymous letters are handled at her other place of employment, and L. Taylor added that journalism is not journalism unless it is authored. C. Paavola and P. Pokorski will draft a notice to have published/posted to address the issue.

Adjournment: With no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m. The next regular Township Board meeting is scheduled for August 9th at 7:00 p.m.

Minutes submitted by: Erika M. Comerford, Presque Isle Township Office Staff