Acting Sumpter Supervisor appoints committee to finish MJ ordinance

By Rosemary K. Otzman
Independent Editor
Acting Sumpter Township Supervisor and Treasurer John Morgan officially appointed a committee of planning commission members and advisors to finish the zoning ordinance part of updated medical marijuana rules in the township.
His appointments were confirmed unanimously by the township board at its regular meeting Sept. 23. Absent was Supervisor Johnny Vawters, who has been ailing since last October.
Acting Supervisor Morgan appointed Matthew Oddy, to act as chairman; Jane Stalmack, and Jim Clark; and advisors Laura Kreps, a planning consultant, and Rob Young, attorney.
Morgan said they are charged with getting the marijuana ordinance ready to present to the township board for passage, so the township can get a handle on the marijuana situation in Sumpter.
When Trustee Peggy Morgan asked if they weren’t having a police advisor on the committee, Acting Supervisor Morgan said no.
“We don’t want police on this at all,” Acting Supervisor Morgan said. “We can let them review it when it’s done and if they see anything to fine-tune they can let us know.”
The township board has already held the first reading of a general law ordinance that it plans to pass in concert with the zoning ordinance from the planning commission, when that document is ready.
The planning commission held a public hearing on the zoning ordinance Sept. 11.
In other business at the Sept. 23 meeting, the board:
• Heard Acting Supervisor Morgan say that individual board members are calling vendors and giving jobs out. He said this has to come before the board before engaging people for jobs. He said if any vendor is engaged without board approval that vendor will not get paid. He gave no details on what had brought on this statement;
• Approved Acting Supervisor Morgan’s appointment of Chris Walter-Hamm as a member of the planning commission with a term to expire in 2017. She is the wife of Township Trustee Bill Hamm and replaces member Faye Taylor, whose term had expired;
• Approved cancelling the Nov. 11 meeting since it falls on Veterans’ Day holiday when the township hall is closed;
• Approved purchasing volleyball equipment (net, posts, lines) for the new volleyball court in Banotai Park at a cost of $1,222.10, paid from Wayne County Parks grant fund;
• Approved use of the gym at the community center for a craft show Nov. 7 and 8, with proceeds used to support the Senior Citizens Christmas Party;
• Approved raising election workers pay to comply with the new minimum wage law. The chairman will get $10 an hour; co-chair, $9.50 an hour; and inspectors, $9 an hour;
• Approved paying $1,922 for Supplement #23 for the Code of Ordinances;
• Heard Senior Coordinator Mary Ann Watson report on the Senior Olympics. Sumpter had 30 participants and five won gold medals, 11 silver, and 12 bronze;
• Approved payment of warrants totaling $2,360,686.54. Deputy Treasurer Karen Armatis said most of the payout is school taxes collected by the township and paid out to the schools;
• Heard Mary Ban say she called the phone number supplied by Chris Hamm to get ahold of the county to complain about roads. Ban said she was shifted to the county engineer and then to the planning engineer. She was told the reason Sumpter got some roads paved recently was because they were rural and able to get federal funds. Ban was concerned about the condition of Bemis Road and was told they couldn’t get rural funds for that because it’s on the border of Van Buren Township and VBT doesn’t quality for rural funds because it has too much money. When Ban asked about Sumpter Road, north of Bemis, in VBT that is splitting down the middle and was worse in the winter, she was told the county hasn’t heard from VBT in regards to Sumpter Road. He told her there are 750 miles of county roads that they get complaints on. Nothing is on the books for Bemis for the 2015 construction season;
• Heard Sharon Pokerwinski ask about Trustee Bill Hamm’s wife being in the pits at the Sept. 14 Demolition Derby and since she is not in the fire department she was not covered by the insurance. Hamm said she wasn’t in the pits and Pokerwinski said she was seen there by Sonny Hall of the Demolition Derby and Fire Chief Joe Januszyk. She questioned why Chris Hamm was named to the planning commission when others who had lived in the township longer had applied for appointments. Hamm said they have lived in the township since 2001. Acting Supervisor Morgan said he asked another person first and that person didn’t want to be appointed. Morgan said Chris Hamm attends board meetings on a regular basis and had volunteered at Sherwood Park and at the Fire Department chicken broils;
• Heard Pokerwinski say she believed the dog kennel on Harris Road is on a Residential zoned parcel, which would be illegal. But, she said, she has heard the property owner is in full compliance. “I think that deserves investigation,” Pokerwinski said. She also said she read in the paper that Belleville is raising its water rates because Detroit raised their rates. She asked if Sumpter also will be raising its rates and Deputy Treasurer Armatis reported the auditor said the township should hold its water rates this year. Pokerwinski added that she and her husband are in Sherwood Park every day;
• Heard Todd Stamper say he purchased 85 acres of land in Sumpter in March and recently went out to target shoot for the first time and the police came and told him there could be no target practice in Sumpter because of the noise. “I tried to apologize to my neighbors and they didn’t know what I was talking about,” Stamper said, which meant his neighbors didn’t complaint about him. He said his nearest neighbors are a quarter mile away. Attorney Rob Young said he and Police Captain Eric Luke are looking into making certain modifications to the law to recognize the rights of the Second Amendment and currently enforcement is on hold. “The police told me you can, but we’ll tell you you can’t,” Stamper said. Attorney Young said, “Laws change all the time and sometimes we don’t react until somebody comes forward. Somebody before you raised the question. We’ll change the ordinance as soon as possible”; and
• Heard former Trustee Tim Rush suggest the township look into DNR regulations for hunting. He said he personally owns 32 acres and that’s why he and, obviously, Mr. Stamper moved out into the country. “I’ve target-shooted on my property since I moved in and I hear other gunfire,” he said. “There is zero crime in our area.”