Waterloo Township Board Unapproved Meeting Minutes 31 July 2018 7 P.M. 9773 Mt. Hope Road Munith, MI 49259

Waterloo Township Board Unapproved Meeting Minutes

31 July 2018    7:00 P.M.

9773 Mt. Hope Road Munith, MI 49259

Call to Order:  7:00 p.m.

Present:  Lance, Walz, Kitley, McAlister, Morency.  Also present: 7 residents.

Public Comment:  Billie Diel expressed concern regarding the car show that will take place at the Portage Lake Parlour on Seymour Road Friday night in the parking lot.  She feels that there will most likely be parking along the road outside the parking lot which presents a road hazard.  She also expressed concern that there is no police coverage in our area readily available and that it may be time to have police in Waterloo again.  Randy Heatley presented another detailed document addressing the Broadband effort.  A copy of his input was given to the clerk.  Beals suggested changes to the June minutes and also stated that the Planning Commission is looking at the zoning ordinance on special events and may need something that will be requiring of permits for certain types of events that go beyond the normal land use for certain events.

Consent Agenda:  Kitley motioned with support from McAlister to accept the consent agenda with Beal’s proposed changes and date change as presented.  Yes/all; no/none.  Motion carried.  Kitley spoke of the new parking lot at the new SAESA facility.  Hopefully move in will be the end of September or first of October.

Old Business:  None

New Business:

  • Morency stated that the Planning Commission public hearing took place with no public present. The Planning Commission adopted the amended ordinance regarding additional boundary surveys needing to be submitted for boundary adjustments.  It’s being called an interim ordinance change while the work is done on ordinances.  An ordinance will be worked on for purpose of addressing solar farms.  They will also make a slight change to Master Plan to address this also.  We do not have a solar ordinance in place.

Other Business That Comes Before The Board:  Wendy Walz gave an update on the Parks and Recreation Committee meetings that have taken place.  They are still looking for another resident for the committee.  A walking trail has been started around the Town Hall building.  It will be completed in the near future.  They are working on a grant that will give some financial help to clean the path up and make it more user friendly.

  • Lance motioned with support from Walz to reappoint Wesley Schulz to a 1-year term on the Planning Commission and reappoint Mike Martin and Garth Hannewald to 3-year terms on Zoning Board of Appeals. Yes/all; no/none.  Motion carried.
  • Kitley received 4 bids for the feasibility study for Broadband Internet. The bids were as follows:  Yates Engineering – $21,382.  Design Nine Broadband Planners – amount not to exceed $22,700.  Advantage Point – $69,800.  NEO Connect – $35,770.  Morency motioned with support from Kitley not to accept any of the bids received due to the extreme cost to our small Township and the small percentage of the public who were supporting Broadband Internet.  Aye/all; no/none.  Motion carried.

Lance discussed the issue of ongoing noise at residences and on the lakes with some of our residents.  Our Zoning Enforcement person will be giving out citations.  Beals stated that our noise ordinance needs to address the special events that use the roads and other special use events according to size.  He also talked of the possibility of having some police coverage in our township.  It will be discussed again at a later date.  Full time officers cost approximately $80,000/year. Possibly will look for options with Jackson County township police forces.  There will be more discussion at a later date.

Public Comment:  Randy Heatley thanked the board for putting up with his comments the past few months regarding the Broadband Internet issue.  Walz asked about permits for special events and activities depending on size.  Planning Commission will be looking at different possibilities for changing the current ordinance.  Beals stated that the state government is looking at downsizing some of their responsibilities such as county parks are being thought about and being abandoned and wondered if townships would take over them.

 

Walz  motioned with support from McAlister to adjourn at 7.59 p.m.

The next Planning Commission meeting will be on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 7:00 p.mThe next regular Board meeting will be on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 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

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