Sumpter board approves putting up larger warning signs at pond

At the two-hour-and-13-minute meeting of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees on Aug. 22, the board voted unanimously to increase the size of the “Swim at your own risk” signs at Sherwood Pond instead of prohibiting swimming altogether.
The issue had been discussed at a previous meeting and was on the Aug. 22 agenda for a decision on prohibiting swimming because the water is untested and there are no lifeguards.
Some board members had been concerned because there had been drowings at several area swimming sites.
They postponed action from the previous meeting, hoping someone would come to the planning commission meeting to comment on ponds because there was a public hearing on residential ponds. Trustee Matt Oddy reported that no one came to speak on ponds at the public hearing.
Trustee Oddy said it might technically not be a pond, but might be a lake because of its size and depth.
Trustee Peggy Morgan said it’s always been called a pond.
“I don’t see taking swimming away,” said Trustee Morgan. “It seems like we keep taking, taking and the residents get nothing back.”
She said there are ropes in the pond to mark the swimming area, but historically people go beyond the ropes.
Township manager Tony Burdick said part of the issue is the regime for testing. He said every three weeks they could come out for testing, take it back to the lab, and then get back to the township with the results. When the weather is hotter, it would be more often, up to three times a day.
Trustee Don LaPorte said he was for leaving it the way it is and put up larger signs telling them to swim at their own risk. He suggested there should be faster lab tests than what Burdick described.
When it came up for a vote, Oddy made the motion for the larger signs, seconded by Trustee Tim Rush, who was chairing the meeting, and it was passed unanimously. Oddy said the goal was not to prohibit use of the water until a way to test it can be worked out.
He said it is almost the end of the swimming season. At minimum he wanted to have more conspicuous warning signs.
In other business at the Aug. 22 workshop and regular meeting, the board:
• Approved naming Rush to chair the meeting in the absence of Supervisor Tim Bowman;
• Heard a presentation of the financial audit for the fiscal year ending April 1 that produced and unmodified opinion, the best possible;
• Heard Public Safety Director/Police Chief Eric Luke read a proclamation signed by all the board members in memory of former Police Chief James Pierce. Director Luke said he read the proclamation at Pierce’s funeral;
• Accepted the resignation of fire fighter Richard Landskroener, effective July 30, with regrets. Landskroener works for the Belleville Fire Department and said he would help out at Sumpter, but it was taking too much time away from his family;
• Approved having KCI of Grand Rapids as the billing service for all water, sewer and utilities billings, at an approximate quarterly rate of $2,500 which includes the cost of postage, with Trustee Morgan voting no. There are 3,300 water bills per quarter. The data will be compiled by the township and sent to KCI who will print, sort, and mail the bills as of Oct. 1. The bills will be in envelopes instead of on postcards, as in the past;
• Tabled for more information, the draft position descriptions and inventory for township management and employee direction and use, as prepared by Burdick;
• Approved unanimously the revised 2014 township employee policy manual, as presented by Burdick;
• Approved sending Dawn Hadyniak ot attend the MAMC fall conference Nov. 28-30 at a cost not to exceed $1,200;
• Approved the planning commission’s recommendation to amend the Ponds and Farm Ponds ordinance, section 6.39;
• Tabled a proposal for a grinder pump purchase program and the planned in-house pump repair program, for more information;
• Heard John Danci give a Water & Sewer report that more than $154,000 is owed in water bills, but that last year at this date there was more than $335,000 owed. He said any balance owed over $300 gets a shutoff notice;
• Heard Oddy report a public hearing will be held on Nov. 9 by the planning commission to discuss large commercial and small commercial solar farms;
• Heard Burdick announce that plans are being made for a Sept. 13 employee appreciation lunch and a December holiday lunch;
• Heard resident Mary Ban complain about the brush along the roadsides making Sumpter a jungle. She said Wayne County continues to ignore the brush. People who call the numbers to the county get no response, she said; and
• Heard Director Luke report on the success of the Stuff A Truck event where school supplies stuffed a new patrol unit. He said the donations were split up earlier that day and delivered to three elementary schools: Brick, Keystone, and Savage. He read the names of those who participated in the event and said earlier that day he got word tha J&T is donating $2,500 to the department’s community outreach.