Lake Linden Village Council
Regular Meeting
July 7th, 2011
The Lake Linden Village Council met on the above date at the Village Hall at 6:30pm. President Fisher presided. The following Trustees responded to roll call:, Frendewey, Vendlinski, Schuldt.
Approval of Minutes:
A motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve the June regular meeting minutes as presented. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Approval of Agenda:
A brief discussion of the agenda resulted in one addition, one deletion, and a motion from Trustee Frendewey, supported by Trustee Vendlinski. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Public Comments:
No comments.
Bills and Financial Statement:
The bills and financials were introduced. The clerk pointed out that moving the meeting up one week resulted in a short list of bills for approval. He also informed the Council that the expense reports had been changed to reflect payroll totals for each of the funds as well.
After a further review of the bills and footnotes the following motion was introduced:
Upon review of the attached monthly expenses, Trustee Schuldt supported by Trustee Vendlinski made a motion to approve the following totals for payment:
General Fund $17,483.32
Water Fund $ 6,908.88
Major Streets Fund $ 2,075.90
Local Streets Fund $ 4,735.60
Sanitation Fund $ 3,050.07
TOTAL $34,253.77
Poll vote: Yes: Schuldt, Vendlinski, Frendewey and Fisher.
No: None.
Motion carried.
Correspondence:
Clerk Poirier introduced a letter from the Michigan Department of Treasury regarding the Village’s audit report. It highlighted three points for clarification from the report. These items were repeated from previous audits and included the continued deficiency in separation of duties, exacerbated by having only two employees in the office. Also, the fire department paperwork was an ongoing issues and expenditures exceeding budgeted amounts. To address this, a detailed corrective action plan needed to be prepared by the clerk outlining how the Village would address these items moving forward. Fisher said the items were not trivial but could be adequately addressed.
Poirier introduced an ad solicitation from the Daily Mining gazette for their Copper Country Magazine 2011 edition. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Vendlinski to approve $229 for a quarter-page ad. Poll vote: Yes; Frendewey, Vendlinski, Schuldt and Fisher. No; None. Motion was carried.
Poirier introduced a renewal request from AT & T to extend the METRO Act agreement with the Village for three more years under the current terms. Poirier said the METRO Act was created several years ago to allow municipalities to charge telecommunication companies for their lines throughout the community. He said the terms had, as far as he knew, had never been altered and the annual check was about $3,800. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Schuldt to approve the extension and authorize the clerk to sign the extension agreement. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Poirier read an email received that day from MDOT regarding a traffic study scheduled for 9th Street in the Village. He said they were looking for approval to place a cable and box for the study over and alongside the street between Gregory Street and Calumet Street. After a brief discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Schuldt and supported by Trustee Frendewey to approve MDOT’s request. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Committee Reports:
Executive (Chair: Trustee Fisher):
Fisher introduced paperwork related to the bid opening held the previous week for the GLRI EPA grant in the Village Park. He said that the bidding process went very well and that of the bids received, the lowest came from B & B Contracting, Calumet, Inc. in the amount of $178,925.00. He said OHM Engineering had submitted a letter to the Council recommending that the low bid be approved. After a brief discussion a motion was made by Trustee Vendlinski and supported by Trustee Schuldt to follow the OHM recommendation and accept the bid of $178,925.00 from B & B Contracting. All were in favor. Motion was carried.
Poirier introduced paperwork related to a proposed land sale from American Forest Management. Poirier said in 2004 during the grant project to replace and renovate inlet structures on the west side of the Village, AFM had proposed selling two parcels to the Village. The Village actually sent a deposit check of $750 at the time for the purchase, but it was never followed through. Eventually, the Village cancelled payment on the check and the issue was dropped until now. There was a lengthy discussion over the price and other financial ramifications of purchasing the property such as perspective tax rates and classifications. After this discussion the proposal was tabled until Trustee Schuldt could investigate the property, it’s classification, SEV and other pertinent information. At that time, if necessary, the Council would reconvene to discuss the issue further.
Fisher updated the Council on the progress of the union negotiations. He said there were still some lingering issues but was confident they could be resolved at the next meeting scheduled for the 11th. He said some of the issues related to Andrew Goldsworthy and his pay rate but nothing that couldn’t be worked out.
Clerk Poirier introduced paperwork from Houghton County regarding an opportunity to purchase a foreclosed property in the Village. However, the land could not be resold for more than the purchase price and no other profit could be made from the property. There is also a collapsed mobile home on the lot. The Council unanimously agreed to refuse the offer.
Utilities/Services (Chair: Trustee Hamlin):
Clerk Poirier introduced a draft of a Public Works Project Policy that he said would hopefully serve as a template for what to charge residents and others who needed the Village DPW to work on projects. He said the ordinances covered things like water rates and sanitation rates and fees, but there were occasionally other projects the public works crew did that were not covered. The policy stated that for those other projects actual labor, equipment rentals and materials would be charged. After a brief discussion the Council decided to send the draft to attorney Kevin Koch for a review and comments.
Buildings & Parks(Chair: Trustee Frendewey):
Poirier said he had compiled a list of possible changes for next 4th of July as “recommended” by various members of the community. He said among those items was to ban vehicle parking along Calumet Street during the parade, clean up rule for horse owners, no dogs in the park on the 3rd and 4th of July, and adding more access to electricity in the park for vendors. The Council said they would likely revisit some of these issues for next year.
Equipment(Chair: Trustee Frohmader):
Poirier said that he would likely look into a new riding mower in the fall when prices would be better. He said the current mower spent a lot of time getting repaired and was beyond its useful life.
Streets(Chair: Schuldt):
Public Safety(Chair: Trustee Hoffman):
Poirier said Chief Stefonich had a personal matter and could not complete the police report for the meeting.
Zoning Task Force:
Clerk Poirier said the draft of the Employee Handbook was still pending Council approval. He said that the safety manual was also being drafted and that a working first draft should be available for review soon.
Downtown Development Authority:
Fisher reported that the first edition of the Farmer’s Market was scheduled for Saturday the 9th from 10 until 2. He said it would be held around the new gazebo in the park. He also said the set-up highlighted the need to find a market master to run the event for the remainder of the summer.
No report.
Lake Linden Housing Commission
No report.
Youth Council:
No report.
Late Agenda Items:
None.
New Business:
None.
Old Business:
None.
Announcements: The Council unanimously wanted to thank the Lake Linden Fire Department for another wonderful 4th of July holiday.
Poirier said that Jude Kalcich was set to retire at the end of July which would mark over 37 years in the public works department. The Council agreed to organize some sort of reception for him in honor of all that time.
Adjournment:
A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Trustee Frendewey and supported by Trustee Schuldt. All were in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 8:04pm. There were 4 members of the public in attendance.
_____________________________ __________________________
Edward R Fisher, Village President Robert A. Poirier, Village Clerk
[Posted on the website of the Village of Lake Linden]