Manchester Township discusses fire department, Township Hall repairs and more
by Sybil Kolon, Community Reporter Corps
The June 9 township board meeting was held by telephone conference call. All board members participated, as well as fire chief Bill Scully. Three members of the public were also on the line.
Invoices for $40,712 were approved for the building repair due to the crash last month. Repairs are still under way. Insurance is covering these costs. New windows will be added to the damaged wall and the undamaged bricks can be re-used, eliminating the need to use new bricks that wouldn’t match exactly. A new telephone system is being installed. The old system was damaged and is too old to update.
Fire chief Scully reported 28 calls in May. Burn permits can now be applied for with a form on the township website. There is still a shortage of daytime fire fighters. The $50 gift cards from local restaurants were distributed to each of the 28 members of the fire department, as approved in May, and were appreciated by the fire fighters.
The zoning administrator’s report was discussed. Two permits for solar installations were approved. Trash reported on Sharon Hollow is being cleaned up.
Trustee John Seefeld, the board’s liaison to the planning commission, reported briefly on new language for proposed zoning ordinances regarding agricultural tourism and short-term rentals. Three board members expressed interest in allowing farmers to use barns for events as a conditional use. The planning commission will continue discussion on these items next month.
Supervisor Gene DeRossett reported that Pat Vailliencourt, president of the Village Council, offered the use of the village meeting room while the township hall is being repaired. Office staff have been working remotely or in the conference room while the building is repaired. It will probably be two months before the board can meet at the township hall.
Under new business, Treasurer Carey reported she did research on scanning of old voter records, to save on space. The quote was very high. Additional options are being considered. Assessment files also take up a large amount of space.
Clerk Danell Proctor was appointed to the Western Washtenaw Construction Authority board, to replace Carl Macomber, who is no longer on the board.
Proctor and trustee Lisa Moutinho will attend a webcast on cemetery management, to assist the township in its new role managing the Oak Grove Cemetery.
There was follow-up to last month’s discussion about a possible fire authority. The committee formed last month has met once. Fire chief Scully will attend the SWWCOG meeting on June 17 to provide general information for the discussion about a fire authority. Concern was again expressed about the intentions of SWWCOG. Moutinho indicated there are other options in addition to a fire authority and the township committee will look into all options. DeRossett indicated SWWCOG is just gathering information to assist in their understanding. There is no plan by anyone to make changes to the current status of the Manchester Fire Department.
The board will have a budget workshop on June 22 and a budget hearing on June 29; both meetings start at 7 pm. The location may be the fire department meeting room at the township hall. A new budget must be adopted prior to the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1.
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