Meeting of the
Presque Isle Township Parks and Recreation Committee
held April 19, 2010
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman Peter Pettalia.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Roll Call: In attendance were Chairman Peter Pettalia, Barry Schatz, Clayton Peters, Norma Crouch, and Lynn Morrison. Absent were Nancy Kinney and Judy Kimball.
Audience: Also present Supervisor Patrick Pokorski, David Lange, and Dan Rivard.
Minutes: No one had copies of the March minutes, therefore, they were not reviewed and could not be approved until next month's meeting.
Member Items: C. Peters had items to present. It was decided that he would present under "Budget for Cutting Clean Up". L. Morrison asked to present and discuss a plan format that is being used by the Planning Commission. P. Pettalia added the topic under "New Business".
Agenda Approval: P. Pettalia made a motion to accept the agenda with the above stated additions. L. Morrison seconded. All ayes; motion carried.
Audience Items: D. Lange had copies of the plan format that L. Morrison had referred to earlier. He would pass them out for members to review while he and L. Morrison present and explain them.
Correspondence: P. Pettalia had an item, but stated he would like to present it later on in the meeting. D. Lange passed out copies of the updated projects/plan. Items were discussed and reviewed. It was requested to change the acquisition of Besser Bell Natural Area to Besser Bell Clubhouse for clarification. L. Morrison, N. Crouch & B. Schatz volunteered to head the Township Park feasibility study/concept plan. P. Pettalia suggested mentioning the 27 acre DNR property acquisition plan to the NRTH committee members at their meeting here at the hall on April 27th. D. Lange stated that he will make sure someone is there. P. Pokorski also presented the idea of linking into the Pure Michigan website to help promote the township. B. Schatz will contact Deb Pardike to look into it, and he will report back next month. D. Lange reminded that he needs the maintenance budget figures by next month.
OLD BUSINESS
Park Concession: P. Pettalia asked P. Pokorski to provide an update. P. Pokorski responded that the contract has been signed, and he will provide copies to the members. P. Pettalia volunteered to ensure that the rules of the contract are being strictly adhered to this season. There was also discussion regarding the audit of the concessionaire's books, and P. Pokorski presented a draft copy of the wording to consider including in next years contract to ensure that the township is entitled to a full audit for following seasons. Otherwise, everything is on course to open on time.
Members Responsibilities: There was nothing new to report at this time regarding member responsibilities.
CIP Project/Budget for Cutting Clean Up: D. Rivard presented the site plans that were drafted as a result of last Saturday's meeting. C. Peters went through each number on the plan, reported, and presented costs and/or estimates for the New Lighthouse as follows;
Area #1 - parking area- $200.00 to grade & $390.00 for 30 yards of gravel
Areas #3, 4, 6 & 7 + handicapped parking - $450.00 stump/level & $390.00 for 30 yards of gravel
Area #6 - additional gravel and items for the low area will be done in conjunction with part of parking Area #2
Area #5 - cannot obtain estimate until board agrees on size of area to be top-soiled and seeded.
Members agreed to get an estimate on 75' x 100' and another for just the clearing of the 75' x down to the shoreline, and they can work from there.
Some of the gravel has already been delivered, and Gene Campbell has already gotten most of it spread.
The Old Lighthouse areas were also presented as follows;
Areas #3 & 4 - need to clean up brush before estimate can be obtained. Install cedar post parking barriers to prevent from driving on wetland.
Area #5 - remove stumps & contour - $400.00 or less
Area #1 - keep at 2-car width- fill w/ gravel to make width consistent-no estimate yet
Area #2 - clear dead trees that are immediate hazard & do remainder in fall-volunteers
Area #6 - tower and cottage- waiting for painting/refinishing estimate
Area #7 - bushes have been removed. $150.00 per day for stump grinder & 150.00 day for chipper to complete project.
Circle drive - Grade & gravel -will be obtaining estimate
There was discussion regarding how much more money was going to be needed to order to get all of the projects listed completed. C. Peters was not able to guess since he didn't have all of the estimates back yet. After much further discussion, it was decided that C. Peters will obtain a bid for the road work as soon as possible. Once the bid is received, he will call P. Pettalia, and the board will call a special meeting to review the bid and move forward. C. Peters continued with his report. He mentioned that an arborist may be contacted in the future to inspect the cluster of birch trees behind the 1905 house. He also stated that he and P. Pokorski met with B & R Electric for an assessment of upgrades. An estimate of $4,400 was received and approved by the Township Board at last night's workshop. Work should begin shortly, and the plywood will be removed to allow access to the cottage. C. Peters also asked where they could store the plywood from the lifeboat cover once it is removed. P. Pokorski suggested the Old Library, and will give him access to it. P. Pettalia asked P. Pokorski for a gate key to the Old Lighthouse Park. P. Pokorski responded he would get copies made.
Budget: There were no new items to discuss.
NEW BUSINESS
Old Lighthouse Landscape Report: B. Schatz, N. Crouch, and J. Kimball met to discuss and prepare plans. It was decided that no further action will be taken, in regards to physical planting, until all of the painting and exterior work is completed. A site plan will be drafted and presented for review.
Basketball hoops at hall: L. Morrison had been contacted by a member of the community about installing basketball hoops in the parking lot of the Township Hall. The board agreed it was a good idea and agreed to have L. Morrison obtain an estimate of what it would cost to install one and present it to the board.
Fresnel Lens-Extend Grant: P. Pettalia reported that the Coast Guard Bill is still on hold, and he received a reminder that the grant is due to expire on June 1st. He read the letter that he had received from Susan from the DNR, and it stated that if we wanted to use the remaining grant funds, they would have to do so by June 1st. An extension would only be possible if we had plans in stone and are up-to-date on progress reports. P. Pettalia stated that he has the progress reports up to date. He spoke with Susan, and she requested a letter of support for the extension from the Township Board. Levin's and Stabenow's office also drafted letters of support for the grant extension which he read aloud to members. At this time, C. Peters also presented photos of the roof of the New Lighthouse tower. The paint is peeling, and is in need of work. He will speak with J. Kimball to see if they can determine what type of metal the roof is made of in order have a better understanding of what type of paint needs to be applied the next round to possibly make it last longer. This maintenance should be covered under the grant.
Grant Quarterly Report: P. Pettalia will sign this quarterly report and send it in.
Fireworks Display: P. Pettalia passed on an email letter that he had received from P. Pokorski asking for the Parks and Recreation Committee to add the "fireworks display" item to the agenda and to come up with options and/or a plan for this years display. P. Pettalia provided a brief history of how the event had been run and organized in the past. There was much discussion regarding the committee who recently resigned and events that took place last year. There were three conditions set for the Supervisor and/or Township Board to meet in order for the past members to consider a meeting due to that fact that there are still rumors regarding accusations of misconduct and/or consumption of alcohol by members of the fireworks team. P. Pokorski confirmed that he has repeatedly stated and clarified that the people who were drinking were not part of the fireworks shooting team. Members asked either for a formal letter or to have such a statement recorded into the minutes for clarification and for hopes of publically resolving the issue. P. Pokorski responded that he will discuss the matter with all members of the Township Board. Following lengthy discussion regarding what to do for this year, L. Morrison made a motion to table action on the fireworks display until a cost for the shoot is obtained and a letter from the Township Board to the volunteers is sent. P. Pettalia will be responsible for obtaining the cost of the shoot. The motion was seconded by C. Peters. All ayes; motion carried.
Five Year Master Plan: Members received their copies of the final plan. The copies for N. Kinney and J. Kimball were put into their mail bins.
NRTH Meeting: P. Pettalia reported that a NRTH Meeting is scheduled for April 27th at the Township Hall at 7:00 p.m.
Other: Memorials will be discussed at next months meeting.
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:18 p.m.
The next meeting is scheduled for May 24th, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Erika M. Comerford