Minutes:


FOREST HOME TOWNSHIP
Regular Meeting
January 7, 2010

Meeting called to order at 7:00 P.M.

Officers Present: T. Smith, S. Mahan, T. Kent, D. Crandall, D. Steiner

Guests: L. Simpkins, L Gallagher, P. Sak

Pledge of Allegiance.

Motion by Crandall to approve the Agenda with the addition of ‘Hall Use’ to follow correspondence. Supported by Steiner and carried.

Paul Sak, President, Friends of Clam Lake presented the Board with a ‘Watercraft Carrying Capacity Study’ that volunteers from the group had put together from data collected on July 26, 2008.

Motion by Kent to approve the 2010 Meeting Calendar. Supported by Mahan and carried.

Motion by Smith to reappoint Ed Watrous, Rich DiGuili, and Eugene Dewey to the Board of Review for 2010. Supported by Mahan and carried.

Motion by Crandall to approve the minutes of the 12/03/09 Meeting. Supported by Steiner and carried.

Motion by Steiner to approve expenditures in the amount of $64,075.28. Supported by Kent and carried.

Treasurer’s Report was given.

Planning Commission Update The Planning Commission continues to work on a Wind Energy Systems Ordinance as well discussing the use of ‘Bubblers’ near public access sites.
The Township received a copy of a letter sent from Heidi Shaffer, Antrim County Soil Erosion Officer to a resident who lives on Clam Lake adjacent to Arrowhead Park. She indicated she had received some calls from area residents expressing their concern about the safety of the ice at Arrowhead because of the use of a ‘Bubbler’ by the adjacent property owner. She concluded her correspondence with the hope that some compromise could be reached regarding the use of the ‘Bubbler’ near his dock.

Parks & Recreation Committee Update: The Committee worked on updating the Parks & Recreation Plan with a targeted completion date of March 1, 2010. They also discussed the resubmission of the Trust Fund Grant Application for purchase of the Miley beach property.

Correspondence:
A letter from Attorney Peter Wendling was received regarding the formation of a special assessment district for the paving of Shore Drive. A copy of the request has been forwarded to the Township Attorney and the Board will reconsider this request once we have received an opinion from him.
A Quote for telephone service was received from Charter Communications. The Board approved further study of switching telephone service from Verizon to Charter based upon the savings that could be realized if such a change was feasible.
Supervisor Smith indicated that the Addition/Renovation project is now complete and that the final cost came in at $4,000 under budget. He will now consult with the township attorney regarding a repayment schedule for the portion of monies for the project that were borrowed. It was decided that a CD in the amount of $102K, which has matured, will be applied against the balance with the remainder to be repaid over the next three or four years, depending on recommendations from the attorney.

Motion by Smith to transfer proceeds from a CD at Citizens Bank, in the amount of $102K, to the General Fund. Supported by Mahan and carried.

Discussion regarding use of the new/renovated building by area groups and organizations was held. It was the consensus of the Board that these requests will be honored; depending on availability and appropriateness of purpose (there are no kitchen facilities at the site).

Meeting adjourned at 8:47 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Suzanne C. Mahan, Clerk