Draft On Thursday, October 11, 2007 at 7:01 pm a regular meeting of Middlebury Township met at the Ovid Municipal Building at 114 East Front St., Ovid, Michigan. The meeting was called to order by Supervisor Anthony Sinicropi with the pledge to the flag. Trustee Charles Simpson then led the meeting in prayer. Board members attending: Supervisor, Anthony Sinicropi; Treasurer, Carolyn Stevens; Clerk, Susan Tomasek-Swan; and Trustees, Charles Simpson and Paul Dutton. There were four guests. Scheduled Comments: Deputy Steve Loomis was not available for comment. Deputy Craig Lawson attended in place for Loomis. Lawson presented August report of incidents that occurred in the Middlebury Township area. There were a total of 72 events that occurred. Public Comment: No public comments General Business: The agenda was motioned for approval by Simpson and seconded by Dutton with the following additions and correction; Under Communication, (b) Writing a congratulatory letter to Matthew Conley. Under New Business, (g) Approval of Equalization as written (h) Maple Grove Cemetery finances Correction of Meeting date for the County MTA: No meeting for Nov. 6 due to annual dinner. All ayes, no nays, the agenda was approved with the above revisions. Sinicropi motioned to approve the minutes for the September meeting as written. Simpson seconded the motion. All ayes and no nays, the minutes were approved. Dutton made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report with Tomasek-Swan seconding the motion. All ayes no nay, the motion was passed. A motion was made by Dutton and seconded by Stevens to pay October’s bills of checks #1981 through 1987 with voids on 1981 and 1987 due to error made on checks for a total amount of $2, 430.59. All ayes and no nays, the motion was approved. Communications: During approval of the Treasurer’s report, Stevens noted the balance on the General Fund account is the lowest balance she has ever known for the township. She expressed concerns on the financial state of our State of Michigan and how our Revenue sharing may decrease. Stevens discussed the desire to budget some money for improvements on our township hall so that it would be more usable than a voting place. The improvement CD’s total amount will be approximately $35,000 and if that was enough to start making some improvements to the building. Sinicropi tabled the discussion until more information was gathered on the costs of improvements. Simpson commented to the board to consider the building’s integrity when making these improvement decisions. Dan Stewart, county commissioner, brought the board up top date to date with the county activities. He reported about the dog licenses will be as sold through the Humane Society. The county has enacted a $25.00 permit fee for cremations. The date for setting the county’s budget will be October 23, 2007. He also discussed about the 911 board; hazardous waste material handling and the Rails to Trails project. Richard Givens reported about the MATS workshop that he attended on October 3-5, 2007. He had meetings about Alternative revenue source, roles and the responsibilities of board members, incorporations and charter townships, and being cooperative with other municipal governments. Sinicropi addressed the board about a letter that we received about Matthew Conley. The letter asked the board to send a letter of congratulation to this young man for achieving the honored rake of Eagle Scout. Simpson made the motion to have the board write a letter to congratulate Matthew Conley on this achievement. Dutton seconded the motion. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. Unfinished Business: Givens reported on the tiling estimate of $6,000 may not be enough due to unknown variables. With the board giving approval of $6,500 at last month’s meeting, the limit should be enough to cover any extra expenses. Givens stated that he stressed to Lonnie the importance of having this project done before spring. The Road commission will try to complete this by fall. Tomasek-Swan reported on the two options for the port-a-potty for the January primary. Bartz gave a quote of $85.00 and Jons-r-us quoted $75.00. Sinicropi made a motion to have Jons-r-us at the $75.00. Dutton seconded it. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. Old Business: Sinicropi made a motion for the approval to attend the annual Shiawassee Chapter of the MTA dinner. Stevens seconded the motion. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. New Business: Stevens brought to the board the Resolution 2007-03 to define meetings. As stated in the resolution, all meetings need prior approval by the board to be paid for attendance. Tomasek-Swan stated about turning vouchers in a timely manner to have payroll done. Any items purchased needs to have an itemized original receipt attached to the vouchers. Payroll was discussed; Givens reported that constitutionally the township should be paying monthly. Sinicropi made a motion to adopt a resolution to have payroll changed from quarterly payment to monthly. Stevens seconded the resolutions. Roll call vote was taken; Sinicropi, aye; Tomasek-Swan, aye; Stevens, aye; Dutton, aye; Simpson, aye. Resolution 2007-10 was adopted at 8:58 pm. Discussion about the annual MTA conference and the cost involved. Stevens expressed her opinion that the money could be better spent on improvements to the hall. Other ideas were expressed of sending other board members. Sinicropi motioned to send Tomasek- Swan to the annual meeting. Stevens seconded the motion. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. Tomasek-Swan updated terms and appointments that were due to expire. Sinicropi made a motion to send Givens and Sinicropi to the December 4th, 2007 MTA meeting on introduction to township laws. Tomasek-Swan seconded the motion. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. The equalization proposal was presented. Sinicropi moved to sign the equalization form as written. Stevens seconded the motion. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. Dutton reported on the Maple Grove Cemetery will be out of money. Stated the cost of fixing mausoleum and taking care of the trees were things that had to done. Land development money, as stated in the bylaws, will be used in land development only. Dutton presented to the board the cost of Maple Grove will cost the township $3,593 for general operations and land development will be $1,505. Dutton motioned to adjourn the meeting. Sinicropi seconded. All ayes and no nays, the motion was carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:00 pm. Submitted by Susan Tomasek-Swan Amendment: By consensus through phone calls, the board approved Shawn Dilts, deputy clerk to attend the MTA annual conference.