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ONTONAGON VILLAGE COUNCIL MEETING        

HELD AT 6:00 PM ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2012

AT 315 QUARTZ STREET, ONTONAGON                                                   

PRESENT: President Johnson; Trustees:  Kattelus, Hamm, Marks, Smydra, T. Banse , and Manager Erickso 

ABSENT: J. Cane

CALL TO ORDER:

AT 6:00 pm the meeting was called to order and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by President Johnson.

AGENDA:

A motion was made by Marks, second by Hamm, (CARRIED) to approve the agenda.  

ITEMS FROM THE FLOOR:  None

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

A motion was made by Marks, second by Kattelus, (CARRIED) to approve the Village Council Minutes of Nov. 26, 2012.

A motion was made by Smydra, second by Hamm, (CARRIED) to approve the Recreation Committee Minutes of Dec. 4, 2012.

APPROVE THE CURRENT BILLS:

A motion was made by Kattelus, second by Marks, (CARRIED) to approve payment of the Current Bills for Dec. in the amount of $ 397,420.52.                     

ROLL CALL:

AYES: President Johnson, Trustees:  Kattelus, Marks, Hamm, Smydra, Banse

Nays: None                     

ABSENT: J. Cane

CD Renewal:  The finance committee reviewed 2 CD’s that are up for renewal.  They have authorized the clerk to cash the CD from the Citizens Bank of Flint and purchase 2 CD’s at The Miners State Bank.  The other CD at The Miners State Bank will rollover.  

Managers’ Report:

  1. Lansing – The legislature is working      on repeal of the personal property tax.       The league is lobbying hard for full replacement.  The State Senate has passed a new      emergency manager bill, to replace the law repealed by referendum at the      last election.  The Senate also      passed revisions to the MISS Dig law that increase fines for      municipalities for not complying and limits liability for damages to      underground facilities that are mismarked or unmarked.  The MML opposes the changes.  The Senate also passed changes to the      Village Election Law, change all council elections to November.  This change won’t affect us.
  2. DNR Grant – I talked to the      appraiser this morning.  We will      have the appraisal this week (Wednesday).       I want to get it the MDNR by Friday, the latest.
  3. SpecBuilding – Triple B Underground      contacted me about space in the spec building to park their drill truck      because the water lines were freezing up.       With concurrence from Bill, I rented them the space in front of the      old fire trucks for $50 per week.  They      need the space for 4 -6 weeks while installing the fiber for the Merit      Network.
  4. MERS – Talked to Tony, our MERS      rep. and we should have a report from them by the 20th.  We are officially the second      municipality to ask for assistance in bonding for pension liability, SaginawCounty is the first.  I will get copies of the report to John      C. and Tony S. a.s.a.p.
  5. Fire Department – Worked with      the Fire Chief to revise the Fire Fighter application and create a job      description that concurs with the By-laws and State requirements for Fire      Fighter I certification.
  6. FY13-14 Budget – I’ve started      working on next year’s budget.  You      can expect to see some changes in the format of the General Fund.  Two reasons for this, 1) to comply with      the Uniform Chart of Accounts and 2) to provide better details      (transparency).  The Building &      Grounds, Parks & Rec and Community Planning accounts are a catch all      for many activities and facilities that it’s difficult to track what      things really cost.  A RecBuilding account is one example      that will make tracking costs easier.       The new budget will be more detailed and a better tool for managing      the budget.
  7. Other Updates – The crew      repaired a couple water curb stops, sewer connections and put up the      Christmas decorations.  The Blight      Grant was sent.  I will have an RFP      for audit services ready in January.       Attached is a list of Village Accomplishments for 2012.
  8. Meetings Attended –  12/4 Rec. Commission and 12/5 Ont. Co.      Partnership

A motion was made by Marks, second by Hamm, (CARRIED) to accept and place on file the Manager’s Report.

NEW BUSINESS:

EMPLOYEE CONTRACT

Councilman T. Banse discussed the Managers Contract

A motion was made by Marks, second by Smydra, (CARRIED) to accept the Manager’s employee contract.

ROLL CALL:

AYES: President Johnson, Trustees:  Marks, Smydra, Kattelus, Hamm, Banse

Nays: None    

ABSENT: J. Cane

BS& A SOFTWARE UPDATES

The Village BS&A software is becoming obsolete and the Manager went over the cost of an upgrade and where the funds will be distributed.

A motion was made by Marks, second by Kattelus, (CARRIED) to purchase the upgrades of the BS& software for $13,064.00.

ROLL CALL:

AYES: President Johnson, Trustees:  Marks, Kattelus, Hamm, Smydra, Banse

Nays: None                     

ABSENT: J. Cane

OTHER BUSINESS:

No more Village Council Meetings this month due to the Christmas Holiday.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years

ADJOURN:

At 6:27 pm a motion was made by Marks, second by Hamm, (CARRIED) to adjourn the meeting. 

_______________________________                      __________________________

Marcia Aho-Black – Village Clerk                                        Date approved