Township Board Minutes

MINUTES OF CASCADE CHARTER TOWNSHIP
REGULAR BOARD MEETING
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
7:00 P.M.
Cascade Branch of the Kent District Library, Wisner Center
2870 Jacksmith, S.E.

Article 1. Supervisor Julien called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Present: Supervisor Julien, Treasurer Carpenter, Clerk Goodyke, Trustees Fox, Koessel and Beahan.
Absent: Trustee Goldberg
Also Present: Planning Director Petersen, Fire Chief Sigg and Township Engineer Vilmont and those listed on Supplement #1.

Article 2. Supervisor Julien led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Article 3. The Agenda was revised to include the following:
· Article 9. 033-2007 - Add the appointment of a new Planning Commissioner.
· Article 10. - Closed Session - To discuss legal opinions covered by Attorney/Client Privilege under Section 8(h) of MCL 15.268.
Motion to approve the revised agenda was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Treasurer Carpenter. Motion carried.

Article 4. Approval of Consent Agenda
a. Receive and File Various Reports
1. Fire Department Month End Report for March 2007.
2. Building Department Month End Reports for March and April 2007.
3. Treasurers Department Bank Balances March 2007.
4. Treasurers Department Analysis of Invested Funds as of March 31, 2007.
b. Receive and File Communications
1. Notice from the Kent County Road Commission - re: Proposed
Local Road Surface Treatments.
2. Letters from Melissa Erickson (April 28th and May 2nd) - re:
Zoning Regulations regarding hazardous trees.
3. Letter from The Rapid - re: Operating Summary Report and
Financial Summary Report.
c. Approval of Township Board Minutes
1. Regular Board Meeting Minutes of April 11, 2007.
d. Receive and File Various Meeting Minutes
1. Regular Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes of March 13,
2007.
2. Regular Planning Commission Meeting Minutes of April 2,
2007.
3. Board of County Road Commission Meeting Minutes of
March 27, 2007.
Motion to approve the Consent Agenda was made by Trustee Koessel and
supported by Treasurer Carpenter.
Melissa Erickson was present to address the Townships Zoning
Regulations regarding hazardous trees. Discussion followed. Supervisor Julien referred the issue to Trustee Beahan to contact the owners of the willow tree. Motion carried.

Article 5. Financial Actions
a. Consider Approval of Bills, Transfers and Payroll for April, 2007.
Motion to approve the Bills, Transfers and Payroll for April, 2007 was
made by Clerk Goodyke and supported by Trustee Fox. Motion
carried.
b. Consider Approval of General/Special Funds for March, 2007.
Motion to approve the General/Special Funds for March, 2007 was
made by Treasurer Carpenter and supported by Trustee Koessel.
Motion carried.
c. Consider Approval of Public Utilities Funds for March, 2007.
Motion to approve the Public Utilities Funds for March, 2007 was
made by Clerk Goodyke and supported by Trustee Koessel. Motion
carried.

Article 6. Public Actions
a. Public Hearing - Rezone Property on the South side of 28th St. Between Lucerne and Charlevoix Dr. (6010 28th St.) to Planned Unit Development for retail and restaurant.
Motion to open public hearing was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Beahan. Motion carried.
Director Petersen reviewed the re-zoning request with the Board. The site is the former Rapid Packaging site on 28th St. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning.
No public present for comments. Motion to reconvene into regular session was made by Trustee Beahan and supported by Trustee Koessel. Motion carried.

Article 7. Public Comments

Article 8. Unfinished Business

029-2006 Consider Approval of Cascade Township Emergency Operations Support Plan.
Chief Sigg was present to review the Plan. Motion was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Beahan to approve the Cascade Township Emergency Operations Support Plan. Motion carried.

Article 9. New Business

027-2007 Consider Ordinance to Rezone Property on the South side of 28th St. Between Lucerne and Charlevoix Dr. (6010 28th St.) to Planned Unit Development for retail and restaurant.
Motion was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Beahan to adopt the Ordinance to Rezone Property on the South side of 28th St. Between Lucerne and Charlevoix Dr. (6010 28th St.) to Planned Unit Development for retail and restaurant. Motion carried by roll call vote.

028-2007 Discussion regarding New Accounting Software.
Treasurer Carpenter reviewed the BS&A Software quote with the Board. The total cost of purchasing the software is $33, 480.00 with annual support costs of $3,700 per year beginning in year two. Conversion is recommended to be at the end of June. Trustee Koessel inquired about the upgrading of equipment. Supervisor Julien asked Trustee Beahan to look into the upgrading of equipment and the timing of start up and give the Board a report at a later date. Motion was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Fox to table the item until the next scheduled meeting. Motion approved.

029-2007 Consider Resolution Approving a Request for a Charitable Gaming License from Grand Rapids Amateur Hockey Association (GRAHA).
Motion by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Beahan to approve the Resolution requesting for a Charitable Gaming License from Grand Rapids Amateur Hockey Association (GRAHA). Motion carried by roll call vote.

030-2007 Consider Resolution Designating the Week of May 20-26 as Emergency Medical Services.
Motion by Trustee Beahan and supported by Clerk Goodyke to approve the Resolution designating the Week of May 20-26 as Emergency Medical Services. Motion carried.

031-2007 Consider Funding a Small Portion of Pathway Between MVP and Turnburry.
Planning Director Peterson reviewed the request. Planning Director Peterson explained when the MVP site was going through the approval process the pedestrian connection was flipped to the east side of the site. Although it appears that the east side connection is a better design it created a gap in our pedestrian connection between Burton St. and MVP since the Turnburry project had already been approved. Discussion followed.
Supervisor Julien recommended that Turnburry and Meijer be asked to follow MVP's example and finish the pathway. Planning Director Peterson was asked to come back to the Board at a future meeting with the responses.

032-2007 Discussion and Consideration of First Reading of Proposed Open Burning Ordinance Amendment.
Trustee Beahan reviewed the changes within the Open Burning Ordinance i.e., recreational burning and regular burning in the restricted area. Discussion followed. Motion to approve the First Reading of the proposed Open Burning Ordinance Amendment with the changes discussed (treated materials) was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Fox. Motion carried.

033-2007 Consider Supervisor Appointment to the Library Advisory Board (LAB) and the Planning Commission.
Motion to approve the supervisor appointments to the following:
· Library Board - Cathy Winick
· Planning Commission - Steve Waalkes
was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Clerk Goodyke. Motion carried.

034-2007 Consider Resolution for the Installation of a Streetlight at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church.
Motion was made by Trustee Beahan and supported by Treasurer
Carpenter to approve the Resolution for the Installation of a
Streetlight at Forest Hills Presbyterian Church. Motion carried.

Article 10. Closed Session - To discuss legal opinions covered by Attorney/Client Privilege under Section 8(h) of MCL 15.268.
Motion was made by Trustee Beahan and supported by Trustee Koessel to
Recess the regular meeting and move into Closed Session. Motion carried unanimously by roll call vote.

Motion was made by Trustee Koessel and supported by Trustee Fox to
reconvene into regular session. Motion carried.

Article 11. Manager's Comments
Trustee Beahan (interim) offered the following:
· Sirens are installed
· Cascade Road (36th St. to Whitneyville) is under repair for approx. a 2-3 week period

Article 12. Board Member Comments
Trustee Fox offered the following:
· Looking to install a mutt mitt station near Briarcliff and Lions Park.
Clerk Goodyke offered the following:
· Reported on the turn-out of the May 8th School Election.
Trustee Koessel offered the following:
· Questioned on whether we were doing the Concert Series in the Park this year…
· Made some comments on Turnburry.
Supervisor Julien offered the following:
· Informed the Board that Ada, Grand Rapids Township and Cascade have begun the idea of consolidated for efficiency purposes the Fire Dept. A study is just beginning.
Article 13. Adjournment
Motion was made by Trustee Beahan and supported by Trustee Fox to
Adjourn. Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Goodyke
Township Clerk

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