CATAWBA ISLAND TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES
MINUTES OF MARCH 24, 2009 BUSINESS MEETING
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees was called to order by chairman William Rofkar at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room. Present were William Rofkar, Robert Schroeder, Gary Mortus, Pat Cerny, Tony Corona, James Stouffer, Jack DeVore, Matt Montowski, Robert Snyder, Brian Snyder, Randy Riedmaier, Reggie Langford and Meredith Beck. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Gary Mortus made a motion to approve and accept the minutes of the last business meeting seconded by Robert Schroeder. All voted aye. Robert Schroeder made a motion to approve and pay the bills in the amount of $40,546.30 seconded by Gary Mortus. All voted aye.
Correspondence received: State of semi-annual apportionment of taxes made at the February settlement 2009 with the County Treasurer for Catawba Island Township in the amount of $496,920.19. Ottawa County Board of Elections dates to reserve for elections. The next meeting of the Save our Homes Foreclosure Prevention Task Force is April 2, 2009 5:30 p.m. in the EOC. Prosecutor Mark Mulligan Memo in regard to filing zoning charges. Complaints should be brought to the Prosecutor’s office for filing not the Municipal Court because of insufficient information. Thank you for township’s contribution to the Drug Task Force from Prosecutor’s office and their agents. Ottawa County Engineer’s Annual Report.
Randy Riedmaier, Chief Deputy, presented the 2008 Marine Patrol Report and requested support for 2009. Robert Schroeder made a motion to donate $6000.00 to the Sheriff’s Marine Patrol seconded by Gary Mortus. Robert Schroeder, aye; Gary Mortus, aye; William Rofkar, aye. The Trustees thanked him for a job well done.
Meredith Beck stated there are horses in Cedar Preserve again. Ms. Beck also asked if the township has made on decision on allowing horses in the Preserve. William Rofkar stated a decision was not made. William Rofkar stated he does not have a problem with the horses and the people with horses on Catawba pay taxes also, unless there really is a problem. Gary Mortus stated a decision will have to be made in the very near future before a motion is made as safety is a factor that must be looked into.
William Rofkar stated the Maintenance Department has been putting mulch on the trials at the Nature Preserve at the point and fixing up the parking lot.
Tony Corona stated the Fairway Villas will be installing the last of their water mains this week and next week and there may be some dust and noise.
Reggie Langford stated some gypsy moths were found but not enough concentration to warrant the spraying and he will redirect his focus to educating people on protecting their trees and Reggie would help them with the wrapping of trees, etc. William Rofkar stated the township will keep in touch with Stephanie Miller from ODNR as she is very knowledgeable and a good source for information.
Matt Montowski and the Zoning Commission would like to thank William Rofkar for attending the meeting last month. Matt asked the trustees if they have an opinion on wind powered electrical generators. Robert Schroeder stated he would like to see a drop zone. Gary Mortus stated there are no transmission lines on Catawba. He stated there never will be a wind farm on Catawba. There is no grid here, it is just distribution.
William Rofkar stated we need to add a majority vote, rather than a unanimous vote will be required of the township board of trustees to deny or modify township zoning commission recommendations to our zoning resolution. This is included as part of HB 562. Pat Cerny will check if this is a mandatory change.
Tony Corona asked if the township had any feedback on the condition of Sand Road now that spring is here. William Rofkar said he will check on this and he also stated there may be more work being done on Sand Road on a different project and there would be more digging so we may have to wait.
Mulch loading will begin April 18th and April 25th, then begin again on May 9th.
Gary Mortus stated Police Chief Robert Rogers will be on medical leave starting April 1, 2009 for at least six weeks. Gary Mortus made a motion to increase part-time Police Officer Robert Danklefsen’s wage $2.00 per hour, $12.26 to $14.26 as his base rate. William Rofkar stated he would rather see a little less increase. Gary Mortus made a motion to increase Robert Danklefsen’s wage $1.00 per hour. Motion was not carried due to a lack of a second to the motion.
Tim Rink from the Resurrection Church requested an outdoor LED sign for the church. It will be an electronic message center sign but the message will not be moving.. Gary Mortus stated he would be opposed to this type of sign and William Rofkar stated it could move if someone sets the message to move. Pat Cerny stated she told Mr. Rink she would ask the Trustees for their opinion. Pat Cerny also asked the Trustees if they had time to look at the proposed investment policy. Gary Mortus stated they will look at it at the next business meeting. The State Auditor said if we do any investments we need a policy and we can compose the policy ourselves and the investments are at the discretion of the Trustees.
William Rofkar stated the leaf vac truck quit running because the transmission
quit running. The truck was taken to Transmission Unlimited and it was quoted at $6300.00 for repair or replacement. They also recommended that the transmission be serviced annually. They will replace the filters and fluid because the unit moves back and forth and this puts a lot on the transmission. William Rofkar would like to buy two tennis nets for Heigel Park for a cost of $350.00 plus shipping from David Williams & Associates. William Rofkar also asked David Williams & Associates about wood fiber mulch in bulk which is strictly for playgrounds and to give the township an estimate on the amount needed. William Rofkar made a motion to spend up to $2000.00 for new nets and mulch from David Williams & Associates delivered, and our maintenance men will install the nets and apply the mulch. Gary Mortus seconded the motion. Gary Mortus, aye; William Rofkar, aye; Robert Schroeder, nay.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve a 2% raise for Robert Danklefsen relative to the other employee raises. There was no second to the motion. Motion fails.
Gary Mortus made a motion to adjourn seconded by Robert Schroeder. All voted aye. 8:40 p.m.