Minutes: February 9th, 2010

CATAWBA ISLAND TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES
FEBRUARY 9, 2010-----MINUTES

The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Township Board of Trustees was called to order by chairman Gary Mortus at 7:30 p.m. on February 9, 2010 in the conference room.

In attendance: Gary Mortus, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Pat Cerny, Jack DeVore, John Moore, Tom Ervin, Steve Smith, and Dan Barlow. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

Pat Cerny read the minutes of the January 26, 2010 aloud. William Rofkar made a motion to approve the minutes. Matt Montowski presented corrections to the minutes. Matt Montowski stated John Kocher stated there are 130 boats stored in Marine Max, there is 150.
Matt Montowski stated he spoke of a key box when he took over the office of Trustee and he mentioned in the event of an untimely death of a supervisor or community emergency, the Trustees would have access to a key box at all times. As far as updating the handbook, it has not been updated since March of 1999 and he feels it is important to update the book. Any input from Trustees or department supervisors would be welcomed. Township Email: Employees and department heads need to use it and inform people of their new email for township related issues. William Rofkar made a motion to approve the minutes as amended seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye.

Matt Montowski made a motion to approve and pay the bills in the amount of $67,847.66 seconded by William Rofkar. All voted aye.

Correspondence included letter from the Black Swamp Conservancy regarding a project to capture the scenic beauty of our protected properties through photography. David Brunkhorst, County Engineer, stating the office will forego the normal scheduling of road tours, but will be happy to schedule a tour with our Board sometime in March if needed. Kocher & Gillum, Attorneys, extending appreciation of the meeting held February 2, 2010 regarding Marine Max and questioning the zoning certificate request. Transcore; Federal Siren Maintenance renewal.

Steve Smith, in regard to John Kocher’s letter, feels the building up front and in the rear is construction.

Dan Barlow, maintenance, stated the de-icer material is working good on the roads. Good job on the snow removal.
John Moore asked if the walk through has been scheduled as of yet for Marine Max. The township will be notified of the time for the walk through.

William Rofkar made a motion to renew our siren maintenance contract with Transcore not to exceed $1400 for our two tornado sirens seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye.

William Rofkar would like to request a road review with the County Engineer as in past years. The Engineers office will be contacted for a date.

In reviewing the Cemetery rates, and comparing with other cemeteries, William Rofkar agrees that the rates for graves should be increased $100.00 for residents and $100.00 for non-residents. William Rofkar made a motion to increase the price of single grave sites for residents to $325.00 and single grave sites for non-residents to $500.00 seconded by Matt Montowski. William Rofkar, aye; Matt Montowski, aye; Gary Mortus, aye. This will also revisited in June.

Matt Montowski talked about aggregating energy. Gary Mortus turned the meeting over to the vice-chairman Matt Montowski, as this would be a conflict of interest. Matt stated he recently attended a township association meeting and a presentation was given in reference to aggregating energy, specifically electric. Ottawa County can be given the authority to negotiate on behalf of the unincorporated areas of the county which are the townships to procure an electric generation supplier that would provide the greatest savings to the customers upon passage of this ballot in May 2010. The electrical generation supply program that the county has proposed is sponsored by First Energy. The program is called a percent opt pricing. For residents of the county, they would see a 6% reduction on their bill annually. For commercial business, it is a 4% reduction on their bill annually. It is a nine year commitment and you can opt out of it at any time. There is a lot of participation in this program with cities, townships, etc.

If we get this passed on a ballot, there is some grant money, and the township may receive a $66,000.00 grant and there is also residual money that comes to the township annually of about $1700.00 a year.
These monies can be put in the general account and used for different sources. The Commissioners of Ottawa County are encouraging this as it is too good to be true. In order to do this, the township has to pass a resolution to give the county the authority to negotiate on the township’s behalf and allows for this to be put on the ballot. William Rofkar stated he thinks this is a good program and the county commissioners are the ones that have asked us to support it. Dan Barlow asked where the grant money comes from. Matt replied from First Energy and the money is the money they end up paying to have an opt-out program. Matt Montowski stated we have to have 80% participation and the whole township is automatically signed up for it.
If you do not want it, you send in a card. This would grant money for the township and consumers will see a reduction in their bills. Matt Montowski made the motion to pass Resolution No. 4 (see attached),
seconded by William Rofkar. Matt Montowski, aye; William Rofkar, aye. Gary Mortus, no vote as he did not participate in the session of discussion. The meeting was turned back over to Gary Mortus by Matt Montowski.

Zoning Boards: Matt Montowski made a motion to appoint Larry Cline, 2267 N. Wedgewood Circle to the Zoning Commission as an alternate for a period of one year seconded by William Rofkar. All voted aye.
Matt Montowski made a motion to appoint Jack Zeigler, 3079 Hatteras Drive to the Board of Zoning Appeals for a one year term as an alternate seconded by William Rofkar. All voted aye. Gary Mortus made a motion to appoint Keith Fisher as an alternate to the Zoning Commission for a one year term seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye.

The Township has received a letter from the Census Bureau requesting that we approve a boundary validation program, maps included. Gary Mortus suggested taking the maps to Regional Planning for assistance.

The new Administration Building Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Zoning Office is closed on Thursdays. The Zoning office is open until 4:00 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.

Matt Montowski stated the Trustees held the annual appropriations work session on February 2nd at 7:00 p.m. with the township Fiscal Officer, Pat Cerny. Matt Montowski stated the township lives below its means and the books are in order.

William Rofkar made a motion to approve the permanent appropriations for the year 2010 in the amount of $2,853,183.07 seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye.

Pat Cerny stated she spoke with Richard Welch, DeAngelo Brothers Branch Manager and he faxed Pat the price of $2,750.00 for the Bareground and Ditch Spraying on three separate one year quotes. The $2,750.00 will be good for three years. William Rofkar made a motion to approve the contract with the DeAngelo Brothers for three years in the amount of $2750.00 per year starting in 2010 seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye.

William Rofkar made a motion to donate $3000.00 to the Ottawa County Drug Task Force seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye.

William Rofkar made a motion to adjourn seconded by Matt Montowski. All voted aye. 8:40 p.m.



Chairman______________________Fiscal Officer


pc