Land Preservation report, new firefighter, and allocating ARP money at the Manchester Township Board Meeting

Manchester Township Hall

by Sybil Kolon

All board members were present at the December 10 board meeting except John Seefeld. Michael Walter attended his first board meeting after being elected as Trustee to replace Krista Jarvis. Also present were fire chief Bill Scully and several members of the public.

Fire chief Bill Scully provided the monthly report for November. There were 40 calls for service, including 18 EMS responses, four fires and one HAZMAT incident. Scully is working to resolve an issue with the new fire truck that is still under warranty. The board approved Egan Lounsbery as a new firefighter. He will begin his training soon.

Supervisor Ron Milkey reported that zoning administrator Carl Macomber issued permits for one pole barn/garage and one new residence. Progress is being made on blight issues on Lakeside Drive and Sharon Hollow Road near Wellwood Road.

Milkey reported that the Washtenaw County Road Commission is working to get the contractor that installed the trail along west Austin Road to correct part of the installation along the shoulder that did not meet the engineering specifications.

Trustee Lisa Moutinho reported on the two sub-committees that are reviewing the fire department structure. The need for updated policies and procedures has been noted. There is ongoing discussion of establishing regular hours by fire fighters at the fire hall to perform routine maintenance and other tasks. This could improve response times when fire calls come in.

Sybil Kolon made a brief report on the Land Preservation Report completed by the Land Preservation Committee (LPC). The LPC was created after input from residents indicated strong support for preserving our agricultural and natural resource lands, as well as our rural character. Kolon asked the board to begin to address some of the recommendations in the report at their January meeting. These include sending a letter to larger property owners and other publicity to all residents with information about the effort and scheduling a series of meetings with residents to receive input and provide information.

The board appointed Jason Aldrich and Matt Bednarski to two-year terms on the board of review. An alternate is still needed. The board appointed Mike Walter to be the township board’s representative on the planning commission, replacing Mike Fusilier.

Milkey reported that no response has been received from the City of Manchester in response to the township attorney’s communication to the city attorney a month ago regarding the division of assets that has to be resolved as part of the village becoming a city.

Treasurer Kim Thompson reported on the expenditure of the American Rescue Plan Act funds received by the township from the federal government. $231,000 of $271,000 received has been expended, leaving just under $40,000 remaining that must be appropriated this year. The board voted to allocate the remaining funds toward the trail to Watkins State Park to account for budget overruns.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.