Waterloo Township Board Meeting Minutes, December 22, 2020
Call to Order and Pledge: 7:00 p.m.
Present: Lance, Kitley, McAlister, Walz. Absent: Morency. Also present: 5 residents.
Public Comment: Bill Richardson spoke regarding the request to have a marijuana growing facility as put forth by Nate Glenn and Mallory Glenn. He is very much opposed and has included a letter which he read to the board and residents. The letter is available at the Township if anyone else would like to read the statement in its entirety.
Consent Agenda: Walz motioned with support from McAlister to accept the consent agenda as presented. Aye/all; no/none. Absent: Morency. Motion carried. Kitley motioned with support from McAlister to pay the bills as listed on the Post Audit report in the amount of $5,474.90. Roll call vote: Yes/Kitley, Lance, McAlister, Walz. Absent: Morency. Motion carried. Kitley reported that there was no SAESA meeting in December. The Board was introduced to Ben Roe who will be our deputy on duty from the Sheriff Department in Jackson. He is scheduled to begin on January 4th, 2021. He is very eager to be located out here and has been involved working with schools and students as a liaison over the past years and has also worked in marine patrol and is qualified to teach boating classes. It looks like he will be a good fit for our Township. He will attend monthly board meetings to give reports.
Correspondence: None.
Old Business: Wendy stated that there was no Parks and Recreation meeting in December, but they are planning to meet in January. The Walton Insurance quote will be voted on at January meeting. It doesn’t take effect until February 1, 2021.
New Business: Planning Commission discussed the date for the public hearing regarding zoning change permit application regarding the possibility of a Dollar General going in on Territorial Road. It was also decided to add Bill Richardson as a licensed Zoom user for the Township.
Walz motioned with support from Lance to add Christine Harrison as Deputy Treasurer at the Township and have her name added as a signer on the bank accounts. Aye/all; no/none. Absent: Morency. Motion carried.
Walz talked of the possibility of adding 2 millage proposals to the May ballot. One would be to help support the cost to have a Sheriff’s deputy on duty in our Township and one to help toward paving roads that are in great disrepair. The Township is required to pay 70% of the cost of replacing/repairing secondary roads and the County pays 30%. We are asking for input from the residents on their feelings toward either of these proposals before we decide to move forward. Supervisor will call lawyer to get proposal language started.
Other Business That Comes Before The Board: Kitley motioned with support from Walz to amend our current budget to put $50,000 in new account number 101-301-801-000 to cover the cost of having a sheriff’s deputy for 6 months in our Township. Roll call vote: Yes/Lance, McAlister, Walz, Kitley. No/none. Absent: Morency. Motion carried. $45,000 of the money is money left over from previous police account and could only be used for police or other public safety going forward.
McAlister spoke about the marijuana facility request and that we need to address it before long. Lance said the ordinance could be changed before a zoning change is pursued.
Public Comment: Cynthia Richardson read a very detailed statement regarding her sister in Oregon who worked in a marijuana growing facility as a Controller and all of the problems encountered while doing so. She gave the letter to the board. It is available for the public to view in its entirety.
Adjournment: Walz motioned with support from McAlister to adjourn at 7:38 p.m. Aye/all; no/none. Absent: Morency. Motion carried.
The next Planning Commission meeting will be on Tuesday, January 19, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. The next regular Board meeting will be on Tuesday, January 26, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. Minutes will be published in the Stockbridge Community News at the end of each month, on our website at www.waterlootwpmi.com and on our Facebook page at: waterlootownshipmichigan. Submitted by: Janice Kitley, Clerk
