Sumpter Township Country Fest has been canceled for 2020.
Township Trustee Donnie Swinson, the liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, announced the decision at the regular meeting of the township board on March 24.
Trustee Swinson said Parks and Rec didn’t want to put anyone at risk and they had canceled both the March and April Parks and Rec meetings and wouldn’t have time to put on the festival with the time left for planning.
Swinson said the township’s annual Easter Egg Hunt also was canceled.
The festival, which was scheduled for the Memorial Day weekend, May 23-25, was going to honor the 180th anniversary of Sumpter becoming a township.
“We’ll celebrate 181 years,” Swinson said of the 2021 festival.
“It’s sad … It’s a shame … but I’d rather be safe than sorry,” Swinson said.
The full township board was present at the meeting with the exception of Treasurer Ken Bednark, who was absent and excused, Treasurer Bednark did not attend the meeting because he said he felt the meeting room was not professionally sanitized from the COVID-19 virus.
Board members were spread out at the board table, with Trustee Tim Rush and township attorney Rob Young tucked back against the wall. Deputy Clerk Anthony Burdick was in the audience with Sharon Pokerwinski, Kim Toms, Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis, and Finance Director Michelle Cole, with Public Safety Director/Police Chief Eric Luke stationed at the back door.
Budget Public Hearing
The meeting began with a public hearing on the 2020-21 financial budget and the amended 2019-20, both of which by law had to be approved by April 1.
Director Cole presented the budget, noting the proposed budget is a planning document and can be changed as needed.
“Just because it’s in the budget doesn’t mean it’s approved,” Cole said, adding due to the national emergency she will get through the budget items quickly, so they can get to important items on the agenda.
She said in the amended budget the revenues are up and the expenditures are up, too. The amended general fund budget revenues for fiscal year 2019-20 are $5,335,644.35 with total expenditures $5,020,953.53. The proposed revenue for 2020-21 is $5,718,350, with expenditures of $5,381,040.
She said the township is doing a good job in handling late water payments and they need to stay on top of collections.
Cole said the township has to do an overall assessment of its computers and where they need to be changed. She said several computers were replaced this year and there still are some that need to be replaced. She said they are budgeting for a new phone system, township-wide email, and other items.
She said the police Interceptor vehicles are higher in cost now at $85,000 each and they are budgeting for them. Public Safety Director Luke spoke about the cost from the back of the room and this was not picked up on the audio/video of the meeting that was put on Youtube.
Cole said by buying the cars the way they are instead of buying 20 at once they save the township money. She said the police building needs repairs of $1,500 and prep radios will cost about $20,000 since they are going from the old style to the new.
She said the clerk’s office needed a filing cabinet for about $12,000 that was budgeted last year but not purchased.
Cole said the big item for purchase this year is a fire truck, estimated to be about $550,000, that will be paid for by the general fund and then paid back by the fire department over seven years, with a $150,000 payment scheduled this year. Cole suggested they go out and get quotes so when they are ready they can bring the purchase before the board.
Cole said the truck being replaced will be 20 years old by the end of this year.
Trustee Don LaPorte, the liaison to the fire department, said the National Fire Protection Association sets the standards and after 20 years a piece of equipment has to come up to current standards and be recertified. He said, for example, it’s $45,000 to $60,000 just for a lights package.
He said the fire department equipment influences the cost of home insurance in an area through the ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating. The better the ISO rating, the lower the insurance cost.
Trustee LaPorte said the fire department won’t scrap the 20-year-old engine, but it can’t come out first, according to the rules. It could come out second, as support to fight structural fires, under the rules of the NFPA, he said.
He said by getting pre-approved, it will be like a young couple buying a home and getting pre-approval. He said the township missed out on the chance to buy a demo that was available last week because it wasn’t ready.
“This will be the biggest expense this year,” Cole said, noting that this process will save the township interest expenses.
She progressed to the Water Department where $35,000 is needed to replace meters, and radio readers are needed. She said a five-year grinder pump replacement plan will be put into effect at a cost of $117,600 this year. She said such a plan was put off for a decade and is needed. Also, $10,000 will be used for partial funds replacements for two entrances.
Cole said the township had a 9% increase of its net position in the water fund, following a 6% fall in 2012-2019 and they have grown another 5%.
Cole said there has been a perception that the landfill royalties have been going down, but actually they have been increasing. She said it is not a steady jump and they were a little down in 2019, but they are going up. The figure in the budget for the expected year-end figure on March 31 was $2,470,000, with a proposed 2020-21 year-end figure of $2,630,000 including interest.
She said only one employee position is open. A second part-time driver is needed.
A work/study session was then held followed by the regular meeting.
Regular Meeting
At the regular meeting, the board:
• Approved the amended 2019-20 budget and the proposed 2020-21 budget as presented;
• Turned down the proposal for professional services to reassess all residential property in the township by WCA Assessing for $114,540 over four years, which was tabled from the Feb. 25 meeting. Clerk Esther Hurst made the motion to approve, which was seconded by Supervisor John Morgan. Supervisor Morgan did not call for the nay votes, but only Hurst and Morgan voted aye, not enough to pass the motion. He said the motion died for “lack of support.” Supervisor Morgan said the last time the residential parcels were reassessed was 30 years ago and many new buildings have been put up since then. Also, houses have burned down and people are still paying taxes on them. He said it was not responsible not to do this. Trustee LaPorte said spending $114,540 of taxpayers’ money to get taxpayers to spend more money on taxes wasn’t right. Since the county gets most of the tax money, the county should be paying the $114,540, LaPorte said. Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis said, “It goes both ways” and some residents will be taxed less due to burned out buildings or those that have been torn down. The ones who have improved their properties will pay more in taxes. “It will bring us up to speed,” Morgan said. “We don’t want to sit here and let this continue.” Trustee Matt Oddy said the building department records will be updated with photos and sketches of houses. “What are we going to do to insure they are maintained going forward?” he asked of the records. Deputy Supervisor Armatis said there is a process in place to keep the records updated. Trustee Rush said because of the coronavirus, WCA may not be able to start for six months and maybe this should be tabled. Clerk Hurst said the township never did this before because of the cost. She said, “We couldn’t do it after we purchased the program. This is necessary to come into the 21st century and update our system”;
• Approved the paying of warrants until May 12 and have the bills reviewed for payment by Financial Director Cole and Supervisor Morgan, as recommended by attorney Rob Young, who is writing a policy to cover that;
• Approved canceling the April 14 and April 28 board meetings. The next board meeting is expected to be May 12;
• Approved canceling all board and commission meetings until May 12. Trustee Oddy pointed out a planning commission meeting had been scheduled for April 9 and now that is canceled;
• Held 30-seconds of silence in memory of Police Detective/Corporal John Ashby, who died Feb. 28, and then heard words praising Det./Cpl. Ashby from attorney Young, Supervisor Morgan, and Public Safety Director Luke;
• Heard Director Luke say police and fire will respond to calls for service in spite of COVID-19. He said there will be minimum person-to-person contact. Luke said to call 911 for emergencies only and for other matters to call dispatch at (734) 461-6898; and
• Heard attorney Young say that the Moose, which is paying off the purchase of the former PNA Hall, has asked to pay interest only for a month or two until it gets back on its feet. He said he will work with Moose manager Robert Coutts and bring the agreement back to the board in the future.
Editor’s Note: This meeting was covered by watching the recording of the meeting on Youtube.