March 9, 2009 Council Minutes
VILLAGE OF MATTAWAN
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REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 9, 2009
MINUTES
1. CALL TO ORDER AT 7:05 P.M.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. ATTENDANCE
Present: Kucinich, Kirklin, McLean, Markle, Spulick, Ashbaugh
Absent: Bemer
Others present: Superintendent Anthony, R. Goheen.
Motion by Markle, support by Spulick to excuse member Bemer. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
4. WELCOME TO THE PUBLIC
5. ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETING BEING RECORDED
6. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
President McLean added items D. easement, and E. traffic study to new business.
7. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Motion by Kirklin, support by Ashbaugh, to approve the agenda with the additions. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
8. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 23, 2009
There were several corrections to the minutes that had been taken care of by Spulick earlier in the day.
Motion by Kucinich, support by Spulick , to approve the minutes as corrected. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
9. BILLS TO BE APPROVED IN THE AMOUNT OF $ 27, 122.55
Member Spulick asked why we were paying for a parking violation ticket for Superintendent Anthony. Anthony stated he was at a conference in Lansing and he and numerous others parked in an empty farmer’s market lot and did not see the 1 hour parking sign. All were ticketed. Anthony called the conference and the City of Lansing to try and get this taken care of. Neither the conference or the City would pay for or void the ticket.
Attorney Graham stated even though this is an unfortunate situation, use of village money to pay for a parking violation is not something the village should pay for.
Motion by Spulick, support by Kirklin, to pay the bills minus the $30 parking violation, in the amount of $27,092.55. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
10. LIMITED PUBLIC COMMENT ON ANY AGENDA ITEM
There was no public comment.
11. BOARD AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. DPW COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 2, 2009 – CHAIR KUCINICH
Chair Kucinich stated the Committee discussed the Concord Avenue sewer situation, and granted water relief for water that did not go down the sewer to a West Point resident in the amount of $58.88.
B. POLICY & PERSONAL COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 4, 2009 – CHAIR SPULICK
Chair Spulick stated the Committee reviewed the policy and personal manual and he thanked the department heads for their input. There will be one or two more meetings and they will send the recommendations for changes to the Council.
12. STAFF REPORTS
A. DPW REPORT – SUPERINTENDENT ANTHONY
Superintendent Anthony reported the department is finishing up the treatment plants and installing the cabinets at the Main Street plant. They have been patching pot holes, working on the budget, and have set April 13-16th for spring leaf pick-up. They will flush hydrants April 20-24th. Anthony stated he attended as asset management-reporting seminar on the village road system.
13. OLD BUSINESS
A. WATER RELIEF REQUEST FROM RESIDENT OF WEST POINT HILLS
DPW Committee recommends 3-0 to grant West Point resident a sewer credit of $58.88.
Motion by Markle, support by Kirklin, to grant the West Point resident sewer credit in the amount of $58.88. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
14. NEW BUSINESS
A. TIRE BILL FROM RESIDENT FOR DAMAGE DURING CONSTRUCTION
Michelle Keyes stated she ruined a tire on the construction site on Front Avenue when the water/sewer was going in for Glidden. She wants to be reimbursed for this tire. The contractor is Lounsbury and they don’t want to pay for the tire. Attorney Graham will advise.
Ms. Keyes did not show up at the meeting, nor did she submit the letter of statement that was requested.
Motion by Kucinich, support by Markle, to deny this request until proper documentation was provided. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
B. REQUEST FOR USE OF PARK AND GAZEBO FOR WEDDING CEREMONY
Lori Goodwin has requested the use of the park and gazebo for a wedding ceremony on Saturday July 18, 2009, between the hours of 1:30 P to 4:00 P.
Motion by Kirklin, support by Kucinich, to grant the request from Ms. Goodwin for use of the park and gazebo for a wedding ceremony on July 18, 2009, with the knowledge the park is still open to the public. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
C. FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAPS
At this time the Village does not participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. This means residents of the Village can not purchase federally subsidized flood insurance, which can cause residents not to be able to obtain a loan or re-finance if they are in the flood plain. Mr. Sarkipato would like to come and talk to the Village regarding this issue. Please see enclosed letter.
Superintendent Anthony stated the village should consider this, so village residents that are in the flood zones could take advantage of the federally subsidized flood insurance.
Motion by Kucinich, support by Kirklin, to have Mr. Sarkipato come to the village and speak on the National Flood Insurance program for federally subsidized flood insurance. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
D. EASEMENT FOR POWELL CUSTOM HOMES
Joe Alexander of Powell stated he would like to see a new easement drawn up as he felt this one had expired. Powell has no problem with the village and doing a new easement, they would just like to make it current. This easement was for erosion control.
Attorney Graham stated he would like to know if there has been any improvement or changes as stated in the current easement. Graham stated he would like have the village proceed and try to determine if there were any improvements. In the mean time the village could release this easement and draft a new one for the same purpose.
Motion by Markle, support by Kirklin, to release the current easement liber 974 page 387. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
Motion by Kirklin, support by Spulick, to have the DEQ give an opinion on whether the Village needs to seek another easement for erosion control. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
E. TRAFFIC STUDY
Superintendent Anthony stated MDOT would like the Village to go through items 2-10 and prioritize the projects and add or remove accordingly. McLean stated the LDFA should be part of the process and would set up a meeting.
15. COMMUNICATIONS
a. Notice of Impending Investigation for Su Casa Liquor License Transfer
b. Attorney Graham’s letter in response to DeBoer letter regarding ordinances
c. Letter from Tom Deboer in response to Attorney Graham letter
d. MML Legislative Link for February 24, & March 3, 2009
Attorney Graham stated it appears Su Casa is asking for a transfer of the liquor license held in the Village, be transferred to South Haven. Graham stated we need to investigate this as the last time they tried to transfer the village denied and he thought there were some restrictions. If there were restrictions then we need to let the liquor control commission know of the restrictions.
Motion by Spulick, support by Kirklin, to authorize Attorney Graham work with Goheen to investigate this issue. Roll call vote. All members voted in favor. Motion carried.
16. COMMENTS FROM VISITORS
There were no comments from visitors.
17. COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL
There were no comments from Council.
18. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:51 PM
