MINUTES for REGULAR BOARD MEETING

Held on October 8, 2024

The meeting was called to order by Township Clerk, Kimberly Anderson and then Anderson appointed Scott McAlindon to run the meeting at 7pm.

Present: Anderson, Gehris, McAlindon, Zimmermann
Absent: Becker

New Water Billing Program Demonstration –
Kyle Heiner from iWorQ zoomed in for a presentation of the new water billing software the Township is considering.
Kyle showed the Board Members and guests some of the functions that the program has and reviewed the Agreement the Township would sign if we decided to use their program.
The program can be customized to work best for what the Township uses and there are templates for letters, work orders, inventory, and many other features that could be utilized if the Township went with the program.
The residents would be able to pay their water bills online through the program, instead of using what we use now.

Minutes:
September 10, 2024 and September 16, 2024
Moved by Zimmermann, Seconded by McAlindon, CARRIED to approve the minutes from
September 10, 2024 regular meeting and the September 16, 2024 special meeting, as printed.

Treasurer’s Report:
Gehris went over the fund sheets for the General Fund and Water Department.
September 2024
General Fund
Income $7089.66 Disbursements $50475.60
Balance on Hand -$6186.46
There was a mistake made with a deposit, so the account is not actually negative, but the new deposit will show up on next month’s sheets.
Water Department
Income $26289.59 Disbursements $34577.06
Balance on Hand $65539.74
Moved by Anderson, Seconded by Zimmermann, CARRIED to receive the Treasurer’s Report, subject to audit.

Zoning Report:
All the residents that received certified letters from the Zoning Administrator were given an extension to December 1, 2024, but on December 1, 2024 anyone not cleaned up will automatically get a citation.

Assessor’s Report:
J. Landry has been working on several land divisions and combinations.
      A resident is dividing their 20-acre parcel into 2- 10-acre parcels.
      A resident is dividing their property into one 2-acre parcel and the remaining 117.39-acres will be sold as a separate parcel.
      A resident divided their parcel into 3 parcels, one of which will be combined with an Adjacent parcel
      A resident combined 2 parcels together to make one larger parcel.
Field audits are being conducted in the Hammel Beach Subdivision area weather permitting. All the audits are going very well.
Landry and Gehris are working on the garbage assessments that will be going on the winter tax bills.

Fire Authority Report:
No news, Anderson was unable to attend the last meeting.

Sims-Whitney Utilities Authority Report:
Nothing new

Sims Whitney Cemetery/Transfer Station Report:
Had to make an extra contribution to the Transfer Station to cover expenses.
The cemetery beach driveway was worked on.

Public Comment:
APM Mosquito was here with an end of season update for Mosquito Control Program. We ended up being over budget this year by $2154.25.
A new contract was sent to the Township to review and approve, the costs will be going up for the next contract period.

Old Business:
Cement Replacement- The cement work is done, and the project cost more than originally quoted due to an unforeseen issue.

New Website- there were 2 bids received for the new website Beyond Etcetera and STG.
Moved by McAlindon, Seconded by Zimmermann, CARRIED to approve the STG bid pending the 2%
grant funding decision, but if we don’t receive grant money, we will still proceed with the new
website anyway.

Water Billing Program– iWorQ program is $5500.00/year with no implementation fee.
The other programs that Gehris has looked at are almost double that price.
McAlindon found a program for $2500.00/year, but there is no price listed for tech support for the program. Anderson and Gehris will play with this program and see if it will work well for the Township or not.
We are going to have a special meeting on October 24, 2024 to make a decision on the new water billing program.

New Business:
Remodeling Projects on Hall- Inside and Out- There are a couple projects that have been discussed at various times with the other Board Members and Anderson has contacted builders to get bids for these projects.
* Project One is replacing all the wood and siding on the outside of the building. The siding will be bid for both vinyl and metal siding, so there is more than one option.
*Project Two is expanding the Supervisor/Clerk/Zoning Administrator oGice by 8 feet, which will make more room in the oGice. By enlarging the oGice, we would be able to free up the Assessors’ oGice for storage space again for the chairs and tables. It would also allow for an Election closet next to the oGice expansion in the Board Room, so all the election equipment can be consolidated into one location. The closet in the existing oGice would be updated, also.
This was discussed so that the Board Members can think about the idea and will not be surprised by the bids that will hopefully be available for next month’s meeting.

Outside Lighting Project- There were 2 bids received for the outdoor lighting project. Bid one was for $53000.00+ from Parker Electric and the second bid was for $3013.02 from St. James Electric.
Currently the south side of the building has no lights other than a few can lights under the entryway, which do not light up the sidewalk that people use to get into the building.
Moved by Zimmermann, Seconded by Gehris, CARRIED to approve the St. James Electric bid for $3013.02.

Delinquent Water Bill Resolution- There are 4 delinquent accounts that the Township should put on the tax bills, which total $3602.26. A resolution will be needed to allow the delinquent water to be put on the tax bills.
Moved by Gehris, Seconded by Zimmermann with a roll call vote to approve putting the delinquent water bills on the winter tax bills. Roll Call Vote Results:
Yeahs- Zimmermann, Gehris, McAlindon, Anderson
Neahs- None
Resolution # 2024-10-8

Large Leak at 1056 N Huron- the resident has asked the Board to consider lowering her bill, due to the large amount that is owed, but the Board cannot lower the water bill. The resident asked that if the bill couldn’t be lowered would the Township consider taking the money in installments and not adding penalties to the bill.
Moved by Gehris, Seconded by Zimmermann, CARRIED with one no vote to allow the resident to make payments on their bill without penalties being added.
MTA Dinner Meeting- The dinner meeting is October 17, 2024 in Deep River Township. Anderson needs to know who is going so she can RSVP.
McAlindon- 1 Zimmermann- 2 Gehris- 2 Anderson- 1
Becker- Anderson will contact to see if he is going to attend.

Pay the Bills:
Moved by Gehris, Seconded by Zimmermann, CARRIED to pay the bills and any that come in later.

Adjournment:
Moved by Anderson, Seconded by Zimmermann, CARRIED to adjourn at 8:50pm.

Kimberly Anderson
Whitney Township Clerk