Regular Meeting of the Lovells Township Board
March 12, 2024
PRESENT: Cheryl Hopp, Heather Lovell, Ken Ball, Tamara Kengel, Gary Neumann
ABSENT: None
ALSO PRESENT: Dave Soderquist, Jo Johnson, Ann C Duby,
Supervisor Neumann called the Board Meeting to order at 10:02AM followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Reading and approval of the minutes of our Regular Board Meeting February 13, 2024. Neumann moved to accept the minutes from February, Lovell supported. Voice Vote: All Ayes. MOTION CARRIED
PRE-PAID VOUCHERS: Neumann moved, Lovell supported a motion to approve pre-paid vouchers From February 8 2024 through March 5, 2024 as presented: General Fund totaling $11,698.93 Direct Deposit Checks totaling $3190.16; Fire Fund totaling $2,177.83; Landfill Fund totaling $4,433.62; and Liquor Fund totaling $11.72. Exceptional Items noted were Frontier Phone Bill, which were back owed to Nov 15, 2023 due to billing inconsistencies on Frontier’s part. These are now straightened out with Frontier and we are in fact getting preferred rates for three of our lines. Neumann moved and Lovell Supported to accept the Pre-Paids as presented In a roll call vote: All Ayes. MOTION CARRIED.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer’s February Report was Received Neumann moved Lovell supported and, in a voice, vote it was Accepted as Presented.
CORRESPONDENCE: None Noted
DEPARTMENT REPORTS:
Crawford County Planning Commission (CCPC)– No Report
Lovells Township Planning Commission (LTPC) – The Planning Commission will hold a Public Hearing on April 8, 2024 regarding the Lighting Ordinance under development. The hearing will be held at 5 PM at the Township Hall.
Assessing- Covered under Board of Review
Fire/EMS Department – 1 Fire Run and 9 Medical runs in February 2024. Fire was a Snowmobile that was under repair and EMS runs had some repeats to the same case. Fire Dangers are now being reported and the Fire Arrows are being activated
Cemetery Sexton- No Activity
Liquor Inspector- 3 Inspections, no issues noted
Zoning Administrator – No Permits Issued
Zoning Enforcement Officer- Some activity on the east side Welch Trail is under way, without benefit of a permit at this time.
Transfer Stations- The South Station incurred damage from a windblown tree on the adjacent State Property once more. The MDNR has been contacted and has agreed that Lovells can remove the line of offending trees if they wish. We will likely use this opportunity as a training exercise for the Fire Department on Chainsaw Operation and Safety.
COMMISSIONS AND BOARDS:
Parks and Rec- There will be a meeting March 18, 2024. The purpose is to organize upcoming activities around park development and installation of acquired accoutrements. Tammy mentions the difficulty in finding contractors to do some of the “heavy lifting” items that the committee would like to have. It was suggested to try 360 Landscaping, our plowing contractor to gauge interest in providing other services to the Township.
Historical Society – A number of activities are in the planning stages for Spring/Summer.
- A new scholarship program is kicking off that will likely replace the current “Kirtland” scholarship as it is good for any post high-school program. The 1st award ($2,000) will be presented at the Leaky Wader Run.
- Leaky Wader 1K Fun Run- Glenn Eberly is phasing out as chair and Brandy Solak will be taking over as chair. Leaky Wader 1K Fun Run and associated festivities will be held April 27, 2024 beginning at about 9 AM
- A new door is desired for the Kellogg School. Because of the unique nature of the building, the door will need to be custom made. A vendor out of Mio has been identified as a potential supplier.
- Beaver, Beer and Banjos is BACK ! The new ownership of the Lovells Riverside Tavern has agreed to help bring this festival back on July 20, 2024. A bluegrass band has been identified to provide the entertainment. Stand by for more news
Board of Review- Organizational Meeting was held last week and the first Taxpayer Meeting was held on the 11th with one issue presented that was not a rate / valuation question but a Veteran’s Status question. Guidance was given to the taxpayer to apply for the appropriate status. A second Taxpayer Meeting will be held on March 13 from 3PM to 9PM.
Zoning Board of Appeals – Public Hearing on Miller Case was held 3/2/2024 at 11AM at the Township Hall. Testimony from the County Soil and Erosion expert led to the conclusion that the setback from the bluff edge (25ft) must be adhered to, but the requested setback from Big Creek would be allowed.
Lovells Media and Reading Center – New donations to the library of a number of DVDs was noted and books in the Book Boxes have now reached a point where there is clearly cycling happening.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
- Reminder- Special Board Meeting on 3/28/2024, topics to include:
- Proposal for Township Insurance from Paul Olson for FY’24-’25 and decision.
- Close out funds for FY’23-’24 and amend as required
- Review and approve FY’24 -‘25 meeting schedule
- Set township fee schedule for FY24 -‘25
- Adopt payroll schedule based on 3.2% COLA for all salaries, wage and per-diem payments, beginning with the April payroll cycle, payable in May.
- The tabled discussion/vote from February 13, 2024 regarding replacement chairs was re-attended. The research that was requested was completed and the quote for the Waste Can, Township Hall Folding Chairs and Jumbo “office” folding chairs from U-Line was deemed to be the best value. Neumann moved, Lovell Supported to approve the purchase of the package from U-Line:
- 92 Metal Folding Chairs- $2,484.00 + $301.88 shipping
- 4 Big and Tall Folding Chairs $180 + Shipping
- Durable Trash Can 32 gal – $1,075 + Shipping
- Final shipping determined when the package is ordered.
Roll Call Vote, All Ayes, Motion is passed.
NEW BUSINESS:
- New Business:
- Appointment of Jeanette Martin as substitute Transfer Station Attendant. Jeanette will be able to sub-in on short notice when Ron is called for Fire/EMS duties. Neumann moved Lovell supported to approve the appointment. In a voice vote, all Ayes. Martin is hereby appointed as a Substitute Transfer Station Attendant
- Discuss and adopt Salary Resolution for the Lovells Township Clerk, based on Prop 2 changes to “Statutory Duties”. The Prop 2 changes to the Clerk statutory duties require additional hours to perform those duties when applied to our FY 24-35 rates amount to $1,264.84 (88 hours) during the next year. This nets a salary for 24-25 of $20,923.84. Neumann moved; Lovell supported to approve the adjustment. Roll Call vote, all Ayes. Motion passed.
- Neumann recommended reporting the obligation of our 100% of Lovells ARPA (Covid Bucks) to have occurred in 2023 towards Fire/EMS Radios, with expenditures occurring in 2024 once that package is invoiced. This is an allocation exercise and no funds are being withdrawn from any project to cover this and we have documentation that the existing radios are obsolete and must be replaced. Clerk Ball recommended a parallel activity to formally restore the Crossroads Park funding that was previously allocated using APRA funds. Neumann Moved, Lovell Supported to re-allocated the balance of the restricted ARPA Funds toward the purchase of the Fire/EMS radio package. In a roll call vote- All Ayes, Motion Passed. Further, Neumann moved, Lovell supported to allocate up to $50,000 of unrestricted funds to the Crossroads Park development project. In a roll call vote- All Ayes, Motion Passed
- Informational Items
- Lovells Election Results- Presidential Primary. Lovells once again led Crawford County with 36% Voter Participation. We had 222 ballots cast. Countywide In-person early voting amounted to 2% of the votes cast. It is unknown how many Lovells voters participated in this option.
- Petitions for Township Offices for the August Primary are due to the Clerk by end of March. Petitions and Affidavits of Identity are available at the Clerk’s office during regular business hours. Note all Elected Offices are up in 2024 and there are several “open” positions on the board.
Regular Business closed at 11:03
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Dave Soderquist inquired as to Fire salaries missing from the Pre-paid voucher Report. This is an artefact of the timing since February Payroll was completed before the report and March Payroll after for that group.
End of Public Comment @ 11:07
- Motion to Adjourn by Neumann, Support by Lovell, Motion Carried by Voice Vote
Meeting Adjourned at 11:08
Next Regular Meeting of Lovells Township Board will be held Tuesday, April 9, 2024 at 10:00 AM at this location.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kenneth F. Ball
Lovells Township Clerk