City Council

Watson Township Regular Board Meeting December 7, 2023 1. Called order at 7:00pm 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited 3. Roll Call- present: Kevin Travis, Tera Davis, Michelle Harris. Absent: Kelli Morris, John Caras. A quorum was declared. 4. Agenda Approval- Michelle made a motion to accept the agenda as written. Tera offered a second. All approved. Motion passed. 5. Approval of Minutes- Tera made a motion to approve the minutes for November 2, 2023 as written. Kevin gave support. A motion to approve the minutes for November 16, 2023 special meeting was made by Tera and supported by Michelle. All approved. Both motions passed. 6. Approval of bills- Michelle's motion to approve the bills in the amount of $12,937.08 was seconded by Tera. All approved. It passed. 7. Treasurer's report- given by Tera. 8. Public comment- opened at 7:05pm. There was none so it was closed at 7:05pm. 9. Reports- a. Planning Commission- no meeting in November b. Ordinance Enforcement- Jim reported that the drive all around the whole township has been completed. There were two complaints closed, 10 open cases. Of those opened cases, 2 owners are working towards compliance, 2 have received warnings, 3 cases are pending re-inspections, 1 is waiting court date for formal hearing and 2 have Judgement/Compliance orders issued. c. WAEMS- at the last meeting the board discussed at length the idea that WAEMS should only be paying for two First Responders. Any responders that go to the scene beyond two should be paid by the local municipalities. The goal of WAEMS is 2 responders for a medical call. Watson's average is 2.5. There will be more research done as to which local municipalities are struggling with the stated goal. Kevin Travis also announced that Trevor Bilbey was named EMT of the Year by WAEMS. Congratulations and thank you Trevor and all the First Responders for your dedicated service to our community. d. Sexton- Mark reported that all the flags were removed after Veterans Day. The footings are done and the monument companies have been notified that they can place the headstones. There were 3 burials last month; 1 at Hicks, 2 at Minor. e. Libraries- Tim McKinnon submitted a report for Hopkins Library. See attached. f. County Commissioner- Gale Dungan wasn't able to attend. g. Fire report- Martin informed us that they had 5 calls (1 motor vehicle accident, 4 medical) in our area last month. Their year to date total for Watson is 32. Hopkins/Trevor shared that WAEMS has had 3,739 calls in 10 townships through November. 177 of those were in Watson which is up by 5 from last year. 1  ambulance is out of commission because of a deer accident. The fire department has had 522 calls to date. That's about the same as last couple of years. They were able to conduct a hunter rescue training at the Seven Generations Park off of M-222. They were very grateful to have an area that the fire fighters were fairly unfamiliar with for this training. Hunter rescue skills were needed last year. h. Supervisor- Kevin reported that he attended the Brownfield meeting. Our old dump is on the list of clean ups. The boring is done, test well is in place and surveying is ongoing. There were ideas shared as to what could be done with this property. It could be sold to a utility company as they are usually looking for land for the placement of solar farms. This property isn't conducive for that as there are too many trees. The other idea was to make it into a park because it's close to the drag way. He also reported that the Allegan Road Commission Annual meeting will be held on January 22, 2024 at 7:00pm. He learned they have an upcoming paving project on 124th between Hopkins & Watson. This will cost $34,000 for about two miles of road. He also distributed maps with Pacer ratings. This indicates the conditions of the roads in Watson Township. 118th street was done recently. With the potential of a gravel pit going in on 117th Ave, that's going to put more stress on that road. Part of the negotiations may be for road improvement. Planning for 2025 projects need to be decided. Kevin will get quotes for 115th (Schnable lake), 13th and 11ih/12th. i. Seven Generations Park news- Kevin announced that Watson was awarded in full, the grant that we applied for in the amount of $150,000! This comes with a $50,000 match. A HUGE acknowledgement of gratitude goes out to Jay Eveland and John Caras for their hard work put into making sure the grant requirements were met and for all the hoops that had to be finessed. Also, thank you to the Planning Commission and the Watson Township board for their work on this too. 10. Old Business- a. lighting replacement- We received a bid from Arndt Electric to replace all the fluorescent lighting in the whole hall including bathrooms, office, and hallways, except the kitchen as this was done recently. A motion was made by Kevin with a seconded by Tera to accept the bid by Arndt Electric in the amount of $2,900 to replace the remaining florescent bulbs with LED bulbs. All approved. The motion passed. b. Curbside recycling- the Allegan County RFP (request for proposal) is due this week. So far only Republic Services has submitted one. There was discussion about having a sign in the current recycling area to indicate the area is not to be used to drop off anything after the bins are removed. c. Plowing- one bid was submitted for plowing services this season. The bid by ATS Enterprises was for $3,900 plus salting if needed at $140/time. This bid includes $1,000 for park, $2,900 for the hall, fire department and recycling area. A certificate of liability insurance was provided too. Michelle made the motion to accept the bid of $3,900 plus salt as needed at $140/application from ATS Enterprises. Support by Tera was given. All approved. The motion passed.  d. Seven Generation Park & Martin Public Schools- Rob Harrison, the Industrial Arts/Wood Shop teacher at Martin schools contacted Kevin about forming a partnership with us to provide benches for the park. This would be a great opportunity for them for service project as well as a resource for us. He submitted 2 different bench projects with complete drawings, plans and materials lists. After looking over the plans and some discussion a motion was made by Kevin that we partner with Martin Public Schools to build benches for the park, preferably the mobile benches to give options for placement of said benches. Michelle gave support. All approved and the motion passed. 11. New Business- a. AT&T Metro Act permit extension- Kevin made the motion to sign and return the extension papers to AT&T. Tera seconded, all approved and the motion passed. b. Planning Commission member vacancy and candidate- Nick Evans tendered his resignation as family obligations need his time. Thank you Nick for your service on this board. Hunter Davis submitted a letter of intent. Kevin read it. He recommended appointing Hunter Davis to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Evans. There were no objections. We welcome Hunter to the Planning Commission. 12. Closed session- at 7:50pm there was a roll call vote to go into closed session for the purposes of consulting with our attorney regarding a trial or settlement strategy in connection with specific pending litigation, but only if an open meeting would have a detrimental financial effect on the litigating or settlement position of the public body. This is about Northstar Aggregates and Watson Township. Tera- yes, Kevin- yes, Michelle- yes. 13. Adjourn- motion was to adjourn at 8:35pm made by Michelle with support by Kevin. Motion passed as all were in agreement. Michelle Harris Watson Township Trustee  CHECK REGISTER REPORT check Date Bank check Module vendor vendor Name Amount Bank GEN GENERAL FUND ACCOUNT 12/04/2023 GEN 40035 AP 1387 SPECTRUM PRINTERS, INC. 45.00 12/04/2023 GEN 40036 AP 1353 REPUBLIC SERVICES 5' 391.39 12/04/2023 GEN 40037 AP 1384 SIMPSON & SON'S EXCAVATING 1,000.00 12/04/2023 GEN 40038 AP 1237 LANE SOFT WATER 18.50 12/04/2023 GEN 40039 AP 1096 CONSUMER ENERGY 310.79 12/04/2023 GEN 40040 AP 1168 GRIFFIN PEST SOLUTIONS PAYM 116.00 12/04/2023 GEN 40041 AP 1096 CONSUMER ENERGY 9.78 12/04/2023 GEN 40042 AP 1219 KAECHELLE PUBLICATIONS 80.00 12/04/2023 GEN 40043 AP 1047 APPLIED IMAGING 169.29 12/04/2023 GEN 40044 AP 1165 GREAT LAKES ENERGY 10.08 12/04/2023 GEN 40045 AP 1447 UNITED STATES TREASURY 442.87 12/04/2023 GEN 40046 AP 1524 JIM DAVIS 1,140.02 12/04/2023 GEN 40047 AP 1382 SHARON WATSON 339.90 12/04/2023 GEN 40048 . AP 1200 JACK EVELAND 207.90 12/04/2023 GEN 40049 AP 1365 ROBIN PIERCE 207.90 12/04/2023 GEN 40050 AP 1223 KELLY KIVELL 110.88 12/04/2023 GEN 40051 AP 1383 SHIRLEY ROBERTS 152.46 12/04/2023 GEN 40052 AP 1371 SALLY DAM 97.02 12/04/2023 GEN 40053 AP 1275 MICHELLE HARRIS 320.00 12/04/2023 GEN 40054 AP 1494 MARK SIMPSON 472.00 12/04/2023 GEN 40055 AP 1222 KELLI D MORRIS 36.30 12/04/2023 GEN 40056 AP 1227 KEVIN KUTSCHER 2,259.00 Total of 22 checks: 12,937.08 Less 0 void Checks: 0.00 Total of 22 Disbursements: 12,937.08 12/07/2023 03:53 PM Page: 1/1  Table 1 ARPA. BLDG. DUST FIRE/EMS GEN FUND ROAD TAX. GEN EXP ACCT OPPENHEIMER (1260) (2838) (2811) (5752) (11 02) (5948) (1115) (1128) 63,881.48 $ 15,305.991 $ 190,903.19 $ 197,298.90 $ 236,273.06 $ 25,998.78 $ 53.93 April $ . . .. .J .. .... 63,895.90 $ 236,333.26 $ 26,005.41 $ May$ 13,741.241 $ 53.93 12,096.64., $ 523,536.56 $ 53.93 $ 110,206.45 June$ July$ 10,919.20 $i 176,836.11 $ 487,199.72 $ 211,071.63 $ 198,042.49 $ 824.47 ) I 58,935.30 $ 176,873.61 $ 463,118.15 $ 211,125.41 $ 122,878.32 $ 151.79 August$ 12,338.081 $ 51,995.63 $ 12,340.53! $ 162,354.69 $ 481,251.60 $ 211,177.47 $ 683,069.04 $ 1,463.33 September$ 46,806.48 $ 13,281.381 $ . 162,390.23 $ 144,677.04 $ 465,715.83 $ 211,231.28 $ 1,211.41 October$ 46,816.09 $ 17,213.381 $ 166,090.04 $ 149,896.72 $ 474,592.08 $ 220,922.36 $ 1,448.20 November$ December . I. II I I I I Subject: 12/7/23 Watson Twp Board Meeting Code Enforcement Report Open Cases: 10 Closed Cases as a result of compliance: 2 Property Owners Working Towards 88-2 and 88-3 Compliance Cases: 2 PA102 of 2012 Warning Issuance continue investigation: 2 1st Request Letter 88-2 and 88-3 Cases pending re-inspection: 3 Formal Hearing requested pending Court Date: 1 Judgement/Compliance Orders Issued: 2163 114th: Property owner has re-started clean-up to comply with punch list. Final Inspection is 1/1/24. 1750 112th: Case is on hold pending eviction of squatter on property living in a trailer. Property owner has filed paperwork with 57th District Court. Estimated time frame for eviction 45-60 days. To: Watson Township Board From: Tim McKinnon, Hopkins District Library Board Rep. Date: 5 December 202# Re: Recent meeting updates The Library Board held its regular meeting on November 14th. Minutes from the previous meeting were approved and will be posted to the library's website. The summer reading program was a hit. Participation far exceeded expectations. One of our long-term CDs matured in October and was reinvested into a 1-year CD with a 4.95% interest rate. The library remains in good financial status. A new av setup and computers were purchased with grant funds and are now operation. The roof was damaged in the hailstorm last spring and has been replaced with the majority of cost covered by insurance. Siding has been updated and replaced to compliment the village and township halls. Other projects approved by the board include new carpet, entrance doors to include a handicap accessible door, and interior walls. The interior work is tentatively scheduled for late January and the library will be closed during that construction period. The board is working on next year's budget which should be completed at our next meeting. Computers are available for use and the library is a subscriber to Ancestry.com. Next meeting is 12 December at 7 pm. Respectfully submitted, Tim McKinnon  Overview of calls for MFD Portion of Watson Township Coverage Month of November 2023 Wire Down/Service Calls 0 No Data this month Grass/Field Fires 0 No Data this month Fire/ CO Alarms 0 No Data this month Structure Fire Assist 0 No Data this month Motor Vehicle Accidents 1 112th and 14th On line of Martin's/Hopkin's/Otsego's Bottom line all kids were ok!!! Structure Fire 0 No Data this month Rescue 0 No Data this month Medical 4 1200 blk of 117th/12&116th/1200 blk of 116th/ 1200 blk 12th Total Calls 5 MFD's Coverage Area of Watson Township Total Calls for MFD's Coverage of Watson Township for the year of 2023 32 Total Calls for MFD's ENTIRE Coverage Area For the Month of November 2023 27 Total Calls for MFD's ENTIRE Coverage Area For Year to Date im 2023 354 MFD's Total Calls for the entire previous.year of 2022 282  AllEGAN COUNTY ROAD COMM~SS~ON November 8, 2023 RE: LATEST LOCAL ROAD PASER RATINGS AND PROJECT PLANNING The Allegan County Road Commission rated all local paved roads in Allegan County in 2023. Included is a map showing the latest ratings for your township using the PASER System. The attached sheet explains the rating system and general ideas for treatments. Roads rated a 7 are good candidates for a crack seal to extend the life of the pavement. Roads rated 5 or 6 are candidates for chip seals to extend the life of the pavement. Roads rated 4 or below are candidates for resurfacing because they show signs of structural failure. Please let me know if you would like a specific road evaluated, treatment recommendation, or treatment history. Please let me know following your December township meeting what you plan to pave/resurface in 2024. If you have already submitted work orders for 2024 paving, please let me know if you anticipate any changes. Also consider what projects you would like to resurface in 2025. This gives us time to inspect cross culverts, obtain necessary permits, and replace them ahead of paving. Townships are responsible for the cost to replace culverts that are 36" diameter or greater so anticipate additional costs for culverts. It is always our goal to bid out most of the paving work in March to get on the paver's schedules earlier in the year and to secure better pricing. We would also like to know the roads you plan to chip seal and/or crack seal in 2024 following your December meeting. A reminder that the Allegan County Road Commission will be matching $50,000 per township for the 2024 calendar year for preventative maintenance and capital improvement projects. Crack seal, chip seal, HMA surfacing, and culvert replacements are all eligible activities. Below are estimated prices based on current bid prices to assist you with planning: Activity Estimated Cost (includes 10% CE & Overhead) Crack Seal $8,000 /mi Chip Seal (22' wide) $25,000 /mi Chip Seal w/ Fog Coat (22' wide) $27,500 /mi HMA Overlay (2" HMA w/ gravel shoulders) $165,000 /mi HMA Overlay (2" HMA w/ paved shoulders) $185,000 /mi HMA Overlay Subdivisions (1 %"-2" HMA) $190,000 /mi HMA after Reconstruct (3" HMA w/ gravel shoulders) $220,000 /mi - HMA after Reconstruct (3" HMA w/ paved shoulders) $260,000 /mi Culvert Replacement *Varies *ACRC will provide estimate per location Please let me know if you have any questions. Sine~, ~L Hyan Kemppainen, P.E. County Highway Engineer Encl. 1308 LINCOLN ROAD • ALLEGAN, Ml49010 • 269-673-2184 www.alleganroads.org