VILLAGE OF ARMADA
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2008
7:30PM
President Ballard called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. All rose for Pledge of Allegiance. Present at roll call: Ballard, Wolak, Clark, Boelke, Guse, Stork, and Coenen. Also present: Clerk Poulos, Treasurer Adair, Karl Krueger, Michael Stirrett, David Stork, Ed Serwatowski, Sherri Cooper, Brandon Saelens, Tom Arlington (United Water), and Gary Timmer (United Water), Richard Weinand, Al Goetzinger, John Paterek and Matt Fahr..
AGENDA, APPROVAL OF
MOTION by Wolak, seconded by Stork, to approve agenda as amended.
1. Added Clerical Position as Agenda Item #5.
All Ayes CARRIED
CITIZEN COMMENT
Karl Krueger of NEMC channel 6 announced an upcoming debate between the candidates for President of the Village.
GENERAL BUSINESS
MOTION by Stork, seconded by Guse, to approve the consent agenda as presented.
All Ayes CARRIED
Approval of RCM Minutes of 10/13/08 approved as presented.
Correspondence approved for filing:
1. DDA meeting minutes of March 4, May 6, and September 9, 2008
UNITED WATER REPORT
Gary Timmer, area Manager for United Water, gave a brief summation of his monthly operating report for September, 2008 (on file).
MOTION by Coenen, seconded by Stork, to accept the Monthly Operating Report of United Water as presented and place on file.
All Ayes CARRIED
3. ABA REQUEST
The ABA would like to place Christmas trees in the pots located downtown. They are proposing 4’ to 5’ trees with 500 lights a piece. They are asking Council to consider allowing them to run power from the light poles downtown, using power cords they provide. DPW Supervisor Ed Serwatowski has tested the existing Christmas decorations which draw 17 – 18 amps and told Council that the poles are on 20 amp service. His recommendation is there is not enough power from the light poles to support lighting Christmas trees. It was suggested that the ABA could put up Christmas trees without lights or that alternative power sources could be found.
MOTION by Guse, seconded by Clark, that per the DPW Supervisors recommendation, not to put electrical on additional downtown Christmas trees.
All Ayes CARRIED
4. PARK COMMISSIONER REPORT
Park Commissioner Boelke updated Council on several park issues as this could be his last meeting. He reminded Council that there are five months left in the budget year for the new parks Commissioner to complete outstanding issues. He will submit all materials in his charge for the new Parks Commissioner:
Item #1: Drain Damage at Memorial Park: A drain leading from the ice rink at Memorial Park was damaged by the contractor during the construction of the pavilion. He stated that Pres. Ballard had met with the contractor about this issue. They agreed to meet again with DPW Supervisor Ed Serwatowski to discuss responsibility of the $467.00 + cost to fix the damage. Boelke suggests meeting somewhere in the middle and dividing the cost between the Village and the contractor, but will leave this up to the Parks Commission, Ed and the next President.
Item #2: North Perimeter Fence in Memorial Park: Boelke went before the ZBA to discuss an ordinance violation issued from the Building Inspector. Commended the ZBA who determined that the fence needed to be in compliance. Boelke, Mike Stirrett and Steve Clark removed 20’ of fencing to meet the set back requirements. Still outstanding is the issue of the East perimeter fence around the park, which is out of variance. He also stated that October 25 was Make a Difference Day in the park and thanked Mike Stirrett and Steve Clark for their help cleaning the park.
Item #3: Park Budget: Boelke stated at this time, the park budget stands at $2,032.23, which is less the $1,425.00 for the unexpected cost of removing the tree in the park. He explained that this is important since that money was set for the pavilion floor. He would like the money restored before the flooring project begins. He stated that the Village had donated $1,000.00 towards a township grant for playground equipment, but had stipulated that the Village would get the money back if a grant was not received, which it was not. He stated that this money could be received back from the township to go towards that pavilion floor and also asked the Treasurer to investigate how much money was received in donations and the Abitibi paper retriever. He feels all of the outstanding money and the current budgeted money, there should be $4,950.00 to go toward the pavilion floor. Boleke stated that the Parks and Recreation Master Plan remains incomplete and expires this year and in order to receive or apply for grants, the Master Plan needs to be completed and approved. He reminded Council that $700.00 has been spent to Spicer Group to explore the possibility of grand options for the Village Parks, which Boelke feels are available and he expressed the parks benefit in pursing this.
Item #4: Park Pavilion Flooring: Boelke solicited seven bids for wood flooring and Ed Serwatowski solicited three bids for concrete flooring. Ed stated that it was brought to his attention that the dimensions of the floor were incorrect in the bid packages. Due to this, Council decided to send the sealed bids back to the bidders with a brief letter explaining that this project would not be completed this year but would be put to bid in February, 2009.
Item #5: Thank You: Boelke thanked the following for all of their time and dedication to park activities: Sam Boelke, Deb Smith, Matt Fahr, Sally Ganshaw, Mary Frey, Don and Mary Eison, Lee, Judy and Eric Sopha, Al McCleary, Wayne Lobeck, Sherry, Kelsey, Madison and Adam Job, Rocky Harding, Suzy Farrell, John Paterek, Paterek Mold and Engineering for sponsoring the Stumbling Mice, Kozy Korner, Metro Landscaping, Steve Clark, John Martin, Jeff and Laura Korte, Natalie Sacra, Soggy Bottom Boys, 2nd Story, Bill and Nick from Armada Music, Tom Jusko, St. Mary’s Folk Guitar, Al Goetzinger and any other people that he may have missed. President Ballard and members of the board expressed their gratitude for all of the time and dedication from Ross to make the parks and the events brought to it such a success.
5. CLERICAL POSITION
Treasurer Adair notified Council that she had received Mary Nelson’s letter of resignation today and that she will be advertising and interview for two part time positions.
No further business.
Meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Minutes submitted by:
Michelle Poulos, Armada Village Clerk