December 6, 2005
The regular meeting of the Sylvan Township Board was held December 6, 2005 at 7:00 pm at the Sylvan Township Hall, 18027 Old US 12, Chelsea, MI 48118.
The following board members were present: Supervisor Williams, Clerk Koch, Treasurer Grau, Trustees Merkel and Solo.
Others present: Robert Shepherd, Reuben Lesser, Jim Payeur, Bill Parker, James Bollinger, Corinne Sikorski, Michael Steklac, Ann Feeney, Earl Heller, Bob Lange.
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm and the pledge recited.
Motion by Merkel, seconded by Grau to approve minutes as presented. Carried.
Motion by Solo, seconded by Koch to pay bills as presented: Carried.
Public Participation:
Mike Steklac and Ann Feeney from the City of Chelsea were present to update the Board on the proposed Interconnection Agreement for water. Steklac reported that this interconnection is not needed for Chelsea to serve Heritage Pointe or any other development in the City. Chelsea has sufficient capacity at the Water Treatment Plant to service all currently planned developments in the City including Heritage Pointe phases. The issue is that the City lacks “firm capacity” which means that if the City’s largest well faials and we have a peak demand day of 1.3 MGD, we must be able to meet that peak demand with our other wells. The combination of having a peak demand day and losing our largest well would be an extraordinary and rare circumstance. However, the MDEQ requires that all water systems have the reliability built into them. The City is proceeding to upgrade wells 1 and 3 which will provide the system with 1.6 MGD of firm capacity. This is 300,000 gallons per day higher than what we currently need to meet our peak demand. The upgrades should be completed by the end of this month. Our firm capacity needs will have been met and the MDEQ moratorium on our water system will be removed. Steklac says he is still working on the Interconnection Agreement by defining the term “Emergency” and will submit to the Township for their review. Steklac also reported that they have a Study that shows the ability for the 2 systems to connect and the Board requested a copy for their review.
Motion by Merkel, seconded by Solo to support the concept only of the interconnection of water between municipalities. Carried.
Reports:
Zoning Inspector Lange reported 6 zoning compliance certificates and 2 certificate of occupancy for the month of November.
Reuben Lesser, representative to CAFA, deferred his report to New Business on the agenda.
Jerry Dresselhouse, Chair of the Sewer Authority was present and reported on the soft water status and ask for comments regarding the proposed budget.
Supervisor Williams reported on the recent certification of the remaining 2 reverse osmoses units at the Water Treatment plant. Significant progress on providing soft water has occurred. The sewer project is wrapping up.
Treasurer Grau reported that tax bills have been sent out.
Trustee Merkel reported on the recent Planning Commission meeting of which a text change was recommended for approval and is on the board’s agenda this evening, Chelsea Springs received conditional approval for Phase IA, and the Citizens Advisory Report was voted on and will be sent to the Board for consideration at their January 3, 2006 board meeting. Also the Master Plan will be coming up for review in August of 2006 and working on PC/ZBA training with other municipalities next year.
Trustee Solo reported on the RFP released for Wireless. There is a meeting scheduled for potential bidders on December 7th at11AM.
No Old Business.
New business:
Motion by Koch, seconded by Grau to appoint Colleen Verge to a one-year term for the Chelsea District Library. Carried.
Motion by Williams, seconded by Solo to table the private driveway permit application until further information is obtained. Carried.
CAFA Budget and the RFP for Architectural Services were presented and discussed. The Board has concerns with the RFP and would like to see a study to prove the need for substations and their locations. Ask representative Lesser to keep the board updated on any decisions regarding the RFP.
Motion by Solo, seconded by Grau to approve the Social Security Policy by Resolution. Roll call vote – all ayes – Carried.
Motion by Grau, seconded by Williams to authorize Clerk Koch to sign the Engineering Agreement Amendment for Change Orders for the Lakes Project. Carried.
Motion by Solo, seconded by Merkel to approve the recommendation from Planning Commission for a Text Change to the Wireless Ordinance. Roll call – all ayes – Carried.
Motion by Williams, seconded by Solo to go into close session to discuss, at 8:40 pm, a confidential written legal opinion of the Townships Attorney and to consult with the Townships Attorney regarding trial or settlement strategy in connection with specific pending litigation, Sylvan Crossing v Sylvan Township et al, where an open meeting would cause a detrimental financial effect on the litigation or settlement position of the Township, and because Jerry Dresselhouse is a named defendant in the litigation, to invite Mr. Dresselhouse into closed session, along with the Township’s Attorney. Roll call – all ayes – Carried.
Open session returned at 10:15pm. Motion by Grau, seconded by Solo to make a settlement offer as discussed. Carried.
Motion by Solo, seconded by Merkel to adjourn. Carried.
LuAnn S. Koch
Sylvan Township Clerk
