Sheridan Township Board of Trustees Meeting
October 19, 2021
7:00 pm
I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Richard Porter at 7:00 pm.
The Pledge was led by Lance Lohrke
Present: Randy Fisher, Scott Frederick, Stephanie Craig, and Richard Porter, Hayley England.
Absent: None
Audience: Doug Pollman, Tyler Collins, Gary Tompkins, Rick Offerson, Lance Lohrke, Harold Badger
II. Approval of Agenda: An addition to the agenda needs to be made to the agenda. Item 6 in “New Business”: County Commissioner Gary Tompkins with a discussion of roads. A motion was made by Randy, 2nd by Scott to accept the agenda with the addition. All in favor. The motion passed.
III. Approval of previous Township Board Minutes. A motion was made by Scott, 2nd by Randy to accept the September 21st meeting minutes as presented. All in favor. The motion passed.
IV. Payment of Bills: Randy asks chief about one of the expenses. Chief explains that it is for turnout gear which has to be replaced about every 10 years. A motion was made by Randy, 2nd by Scott to approve the payment of the bills. Roll call vote; all in favor. The motion passed.
V. Treasurers Report: A motion was made by Randy, 2nd by Scott to accept the treasurers report as presented. Roll call vote; all in favor. The motion passed.
VI. Correspondence: Richard goes over a letter from SMBC for an irrevocable standby letter of credit. This is from Ranger Power. This letter is not satisfactory to us, and it will not be accepted.
Richard updates everyone on Tom Shedd. He came through the surgery well, and will be in the hospital for at least 5 days.
VII. Committee Reports:
1. Planning Commission/Roads – Scott Frederick. The Planning Commission is currently working on the ordinance book. They are about 80% of the way through this process.
2. Fire – Chief Lance Lohrke. See the attached report for the calls in September. Chief Lance goes over the September calls. Training for September water rescue using the new equipment that we received from the grand funds. Chief informs us that we did not receive any of the Fire Act grants that were applied for this year. An update on Engine 16. West Shore is still in the process of deciding what needs to be done with the Engine truck, replacement of the cab, or repair.
VIII. Public Comment: Gary Tompkins goes over his newsletter. There are 4 ideas for roads, none of which are actually helpful to us. He notes that we are losing revenue from gas tax due to the increasing number of electric cars. No one has an answer on how we will deal with this loss. As far as roads go, out of 5 billion that the state received for roads only 129 million actually went to the roads. He feels that they need to do better with what they have as opposed to asking for more. He also informs us that redistricting is currently happening both in the state and in our county. He goes over all the new districts in our area.
Richard lets everyone know that cars were seized from a property on Division Drive. The owner has 20-30 days to get them back before they lose their right to them, after which they can be destroyed.
IX. Unfinished Business:
X. New Business
1. Update on purchase of flag pole for City of Albion. When the tax exemption form is accepted, we will come out even with the money that came in from the millage and what we spent on the flag pole. We will have the same amount coming in next year, so we need to think of ideas on how best to use the money, and also work with the County on what is acceptable.
2. Approve Resolution 2021-08 for PAR Grant. Richard goes over the Pan Plan Risk Reduction Grant that we would like to apply for. A motion was made by Randy, 2nd by Scott to delete the lines about body armor carriers in Resolution 2021-08. A motion was made by Randy, 2nd by Scott to approve the resolution with the deletion of the lines about body armor carriers. Roll call vote; all in favor. The motion passed.
3. Approve Addendum to update decommissioning plan Resolution 2020-05. Richard goes over the decommissioning agreement. Randy notes an issue with item 3. Our ordinance states that we will accept only a bond, which is not what item 3 states. A motion was made by Randy, 2nd by Scott to table this agreement until this can be fixed. Roll call vote; all in favor. The motion passed. Richard notes that our legal advisors do not seem to be able to handle our issues as quickly as we would like. Richard will have a discussion with them about this problem.
4. Investigate creating road bond with PILOT funds from solar. The board needs to start looking at bonds that are available that we could use for roads. The bond could be for approximately 20 million dollars. Richard notes that we will also need to put an addition on the fire station at some point. There is not enough room for our trucks. A motion was made by Scott, 2nd by Hayley for the creation of a bond committee made up of Randy and Richard.
5. Notary for the needy. The library has made us aware of a need for notaries here in Albion. Richard talks about the need for notaries in our area. We have 3 notaries in our office. Richard would like to offer our services free of charge. This is accepted by the board.
6. County Commissioner Gary Tompkins with a discussion of roads. Richard spoke to the County this morning and they went over the County’s 5-year plan. The County only wants to do 27 Mile Road next year. They want to do a total reconstruction on that road. The cost of total reconstruction is approximately $475,000 per mile. The County wants to do 3 miles, which is about $1.5 million total. After this discussion the County informed Richard that they have no money to put in their 50% share. Richard wants to know why they present a 5-year plan that they are not able to participate in since they have no funds to match us. Discussion follows about the 5-year plan that was presented. This plan is not finalized. At the County level every road was listed for repaid was listed as a total rebuild. Gary notes that a total rebuild is the greatest profit for the County. Randy states that we as a township will probably be responsible for the full amount of our road repairs/replacement. Gary informs us that even if we pay the full amount ourselves, due to Act 51 we still have to go through the County. The County has the ultimate authority to decide what is necessary. Due to Act 51, we cannot even use our own contractors we must go through the county’s contractors. The county owns the roads. It is suggested that we should not put any money into primary roads until our local roads are all done. Gary informs us that there is no provision in the policy that states that the County has to match their 50% immediately. He says that he needs to have more discussion with the County about this issue. Gary suggests a meeting with Kelly and Richard to discuss this problem.
The bridge on 24 Mile Road was discussed. We were told that the funding for that bridge should be coming, and we should be on the top of the list for fixing since the County closed that road. Unfortunately, Gary does not remember seeing that bridge on the list for repair.
XI. Adjourn: A motion was made by Randy, 2nd Scott by to adjourn at 8:40. All in favor; the motion passed.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephanie Craig, Secretary
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