Sumpter cable channel expected to be down until after election

Most of the June 26 meeting of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees was taken up with arguments between board members.
It started during the Board Response part of the meeting, where board members can have their say about anything.
Trustee Sheena Barnes asked Supervisor John Morgan when cable channel 12 will be back up and running and showing the township meetings and Supervisor Morgan asked his deputy Karen Armatis to respond.
Armatis said the current equipment was 15 years old and the board voted April 24 to get new equipment. She said it was a mechanical problem and not “an unelected person who doesn’t live in the township” making a decision, referring to Trustee Barnes’ comments about Armatis at the last meeting.
Armatis said 90% of the product will be here the second week of July. The cable has been down since January and Armatis said it could take two to three months for installation.
Trustee Barnes said that would be after the primary election and Armatis nodded.
Treasurer Peggy Morgan said she has been talking with the company involved and if the equipment comes in by the second week of July, the work itself will take two days. Treasurer Morgan said the old system had many complaints, but the last time she saw it, it could still be watched and she was told that Armatis said she shut it down.
Armatis said, “We shut it down because it stopped operating.”
Treasurer Morgan said the first medical marijuana committee meeting was shown and then the next board meeting was shown and then it was gone. She said Armatis didn’t say the machine broke.
Treasurer Morgan said the residents didn’t get to see any of the medical marijuana discussions because the township’s cable was shut down.
“Two days for the work!” she stated.
On another topic, Treasurer Morgan said Trustee Matthew Oddy had asked her several questions at the last meeting and claimed she made a personal attack on him.
Treasurer Morgan said she was unaware that any board members were bidding on the tax reverted property last fall. She said she has every piece of paper given out to the board on the property.
She said Trustee Oddy said he checked with attorney Rob Young and it was legal for him to enter a sealed bid even though he was on the board.
“The only problem I had was … the reason he gave for him wanting to abstain [from the board vote to approve the sales],” Treasurer Morgan said. She said he explained he was abstaining because he took people around to look at the properties.
“I said I had bid on property,” Trustee Oddy replied. “You’re making stuff up…”
“I feel our residents need to know,” Treasurer Morgan said. “The supervisor said I’m a trouble maker. … It came from his mouth.
“Thank you, John Morgan, for putting Sheena Barnes on the board. She tells the truth. … We’re not getting all the information,” Treasurer Morgan said.
Treasurer Morgan said that is not what Trustee Oddy said and he’s not being a good board member.
“I hope some board [in the future] stops this stuff,” she said.
“Ask if she’s done with her lies. …” Trustee Oddy said to Supervisor Morgan.
An irritated Deputy Armatis said, “I think members of the audience should stop talking.” Armatis has been called out repeatedly by members of the audience for talking with others in the back of the room while the meeting was in progress. Now she was targeting audience members for responding to the board members’ arguing.
“That’s why he said, ‘I’m your neighbor’ to Sheena,” Treasurer Morgan continued, describing a night after a township meeting when she and Barnes ran in to Oddy at McShane’s and Oddy bragged about buying the property. She said they didn’t know he was one of the bidders.
“There were no names attached on the information,” Treasurer Morgan said, of the results she got after the bids were opened.
“This has nothing to do with this election,” Treasurer Morgan continued. “I don’t personally know Ken Bednard [who is challenging her for her seat]. Me and Ken only met when he was on the medical marijuana committee.”
She said when the hands were raised at the committee meeting there were 55-60 in the audience in favor of opting into the new marijuana law and 10 against it.
“I don’t have a personal problem with Ken,” Treasurer Morgan said.
“I’m going to say what is truthful and honest,” she concluded.
Trustee Oddy then asked attorney Young to give his views on the situation and Young said there was no conflict of interest.
“You announced you bid on the property and you abstained from the vote,” Young said to Oddy. “Mr. Oddy asked me what the ethics were and I told him township elected officials and everybody gets to bid on the property. They’ve been doing it for the 30 years I’ve been here. The highest bidder gets the property. They’re using sealed bids.
“I advised he abstain on all three votes. That was my recommendation,” Young said, referring to the three properties he bid on under the name First Step.
Trustee Oddy said he noted in the meeting that he bid on the property. He said he and Treasurer Morgan and attorney Rob Young and Deputy Armatis were in the restaurant when they discussed the matter.
Treasurer Morgan said they left, referring to Young and Armatis, who left together.
“Please hold your tongue,” Trustee Oddy said in a loud voice to Treasurer Morgan, with his hand shaking. “I did it properly! Whatever your personal issues are, I hope you get over it.”
Trustee Barnes said Trustee Oddy said he had abstained because he walked people around to the parcels.
“I apologize,” Trustee Barnes said. “Karen Armatis and Rob Young left the building after we came in… They weren’t there when you told us about the property you bought.”
“I paid for wings [for Trustee Barnes] and the pizza you had [referring to Treasurer Morgan],” Trustee Oddy said.
“I didn’t have pizza,” Treasurer Morgan said.
Attorney Young said they went to McShane’s to support a new business that had just opened and didn’t stay very long.
“Someone is trying to disparage me,” Trustee Oddy said. “I just don’t understand what your issue is.”
“I did not know you bid,” Treasurer Morgan said. She said the video of the meeting shows he did not announce he had bid.
“Say it! Bring the video in!” Trustee Oddy said with his hand shaking and his voice loud.
Supervisor Morgan then stopped the confrontation and the meeting continued.
In other business at the June 26 meeting, the board:
• Approved amendments to the June 12 meeting minutes because Trustee Oddy wanted a detailed report added of what he said to defend himself at that meeting. Also, motion #9 was deleted because there was no report to approve;
• Approved allowing the family of the late Craig Moody to plant a tree in his memory at Banotai Park on July 14, with board members chipping in to pay the $50 fee for the rental of pavilion #4 from noon to dusk for the family to use. Moody was former deputy supervisor;
• Approved the resignation of Daniel Montecinos from the fire department, with regrets. His letter of resignation said, “Sorry I can’t stay. There is just too much going on in my life right now and the responsibility of being a fireman is too great…”;
• Heard a presentation, during the work/study session, from the Senior Alliance;
• Heard Finance Director Scott Holtz report that on June 19 the township received its annual actuarial valuation from MERS. As of Dec. 31, Sumpter’s MERS DB Plan is 77% funded. The township has an unfunded pension liability of $2,205,658, which is based on a rate of return of 7.75%. He said, to give them reference, on Dec. 31, 2016, the DB plan was 74% funded and had an unfunded liability of $2,470,064. Holtz said currently the township is paying an additional $24,670 per month towards this liability. He said Public Act 2020 of 2017 gives municipalities guidance on paying down the unfunded pension liability. Per this state mandate, the township cannot pay more than 10% of the governmental fund revenues toward this liability and the pension must be 60% funded. “I am happy to report that we fall well within this range,” he said. He also reported that on June 24, Gov. Snyder signed PA 207 which allocates $6.2 million in revenue sharing for 2018-19, giving Sumpter an extra 3.5%, which amounts to $7,754;
• Learned landfill royalty fund revenues are down 7.8% for the year ended March 31, 2018, compared to the previous fiscal year. Sumpter has had seven down months in the last 13 months. The actual revenue for FY 2018 was $2,759,868.53;
• Heard Trustee Don Swinson report that Family Fun Day will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on July 14 at Graham Park with a water slide. He also reported that the township received another parks grant of $11,000 from the county and this is the second recent grant of $11,000. More work will be done at Graham Park, he said. Resolution #2018-10, which was not on the agenda, was passed to confirm the grant;
• Heard Clerk Esther Hurst announce the Monday, July 9, 4 p.m. deadline for registration for the primary election. She said absentee ballots would be available on June 29;
• Heard Mary Ban say many residents contacted her about the cable two to two and a half years ago. She said people were tired of Comcast. The board finally decided to do something about it and the technology has to be updated. She also read aloud part of an article by Patrick Kennedy from the June 15 Wall Street Journal concerning a bill introduced federally to legalize marijuana and why he is opposed to that. “I would hate to see the drug cartel running Sumpter Township,” Ban said;
• Heard Sharon Pokerwinski complain about how the DPW has ruined the eaves of the Parks & Recreation building at Graham Park by running over the troughs while cutting grass and making gouges in the wood. She said they need to weed whack so the Graham Park pavilion looks decent for Family Fun Day. Pokerwinski also said she contacted the Board of Elections and people running for office can have signs on their cars but they can’t park them in the township parking lot. She pointed out Trustee Oddy is not running for office, but Treasurer Morgan is running for office. She said a man came to the township recently because he was asked to take a trailer off his property, when she counted 13 pieces of other property with junky trailers on them. She said everyone should be treated equally;
• Heard Trustee Barnes interrupt Pokerwinski’s statements, by saying she remembers Pokerwinski said Barnes shouldn’t have voted on the marijuana law question because she was involved with growing marijuana. “I’m a caregiver. … I didn’t ask to be on the committee. Mr. Morgan assigned me to the committee.” She said she called Young to find out if it was proper for her to be on the committee and to be a trustee while being a caregiver and Young said it was OK. She said it was Supervisor Morgan who suggested she become a grower. She said she has a 90-year-old mother who was given medicine and almost died. Now she makes her mother marijuana butter and she gets the best sleep she’s ever had. She said Trustee Oddy was made chairman of the marijuana committee after Supervisor Morgan attended the first meeting and no others. Oddy gave her an assignment and, “I wanted to do a very good, fact-finding job,” she said. “I spent money because people don’t want to give the information for nothing.” She continued, “I apologize, if you thought I should abstain. I did a good job. The police chief said it would cost too much money to opt in and then he got a $12,000 raise and hired two police officers. I’m not trying to be in the industry.”
Pokerwinski said, “To me, this is all political,” and the meetin