A proposed contract for Huron Township to provide emergency dispatch services to Sumpter Township is expected to be on Sumpter’s Dec. 13 board meeting agenda for approval.
At Sumpter’s Nov. 22 meeting, township attorney Rob Young said contract discussions have been completed with Huron and the proposed contract will be ready at the next board meeting.
The Huron Township board also will be considering the contract at its Dec. 14 meeting.
In a related issue, Sumpter Fire Chief Les Powell told the board an unforeseen expense has popped up concerning the way Huron, or any other outside agency, would set off the pagers to alert the fire fighters to an emergency.
Chief Powell said a test with the pagers’ performance recently gave false results because the Huron Township repeater station was on.
“Instead of a true test, we had an amplified test,” Powell said, noting tests for the previous two days without amplification shows it doesn’t work and doesn’t cover all of the township.
There was another meeting at noon Nov. 22, he said, and it was decided the best way to solve this problem is to put an amplifier or repeater in Sumpter’s system. It would be in the post office, which is the old township hall. It would receive the pager signal from Huron and send the signal on to the fire fighters.
“Because of the timetable set by you people, this almost needs to be acted on tonight or at the next meeting,” Powell said. He said the original price was $1,700, but it will be $10,000 more now. He said he has made other budget cuts so the price will work out to be almost the same as before the repeater was added.
“This signal has to get here,” Powell said.
When Trustee Alan Bates questioned the process, Powell said the dispatcher in Huron, six miles away, would push the button there to set off Sumpter Fire Department pagers and the signal goes to the Sumpter repeater and automatically goes out to the pagers.
“They cannot call you directly,” Powell said.
He said when Van Buren Township sets off Sumpter’s pagers, at the times when Sumpter has a problem with its system, the fire fighters on the south end can’t get the full signal and don’t know what is going on. He said once those who get the full signal start talking on the radio, those on the south end can figure out what’s happening.
He said this is a backup system, but, “It’s not a good way as a primary way.”
Powell’s proposal for a repeater is expected to be on the Dec. 13 agenda.
In other business at the Nov. 22 meeting, the board:
• Approved an amendment to the Medical Marijuana ordinance that raises the caregiver charges from the previous $500 to $2,000 for an initial application and $1,000 for an annual review. Attorney Young said based on what other communities are doing, this appears to be in line;
• Approved closing the township offices from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, with employees taking vacation or personal days;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointments of Marlett Anderson and Betty Ostrowski to the Board of Canvassers, with terms to expire in 2015;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointment of Sandra Todd to the Zoning Board of Appeals, with a term to expire in 2014;
• Approved the appointments of Jay Bardell and Brian Andrews as alternate members of Parks & Recreation, with terms to expire in October 2014;
• Accepted with regret the resignation of part-time police officer Daniel Roulo;
• Rejected the sealcoating project bid at the community center/police department and will rebid in the spring;
• Approved paying METCO $8,240 for engineering services for the community center sidewalk paving, paid out of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds;
• Approved the recommendation of the hiring committee to hire Steve Michalak as a full-time employee in the Water/ Sewer Department;
• Approved the proposal from Wildlife Services for a $1,300 set-up fee and $150 for each beaver captured;
• Approved using CDBG funds to purchase 100 smoke/carbon monoxide detectors for eligible seniors and low-moderate-income families;
• Approved payment of $4,958.80 for completion of Phase 2 of the community center sidewalk project, paid out of CDBG funds;
• Heard METCO engineering consultant Keith Uutinen report on the Stormwater Inflow Reduction Project that is seeking to find out how much unbilled water and sewage is coming out of three trailer parks with the goal of having the parks better connected to the system. He said the bulk of the study is done and it will be wound up by the end of the year for a final report. He said he has discovered an S-2 grant from the State of Michigan that could pay for 90% of the basic design and engineering work done and the attorney will present the required grant resolution to the board for its consideration at the Dec. 13 meeting;
• Heard Jessie Taylor of 20713 Haggerty ask the board to help him get a water line to his house. He had asked for a spaghetti line in the past and was refused. He put a well in and while it worked for a while, now the current well doesn’t have enough pressure. He gets water hauled in every three weeks for $65 per 1,000 gallons, but his water tank gets black mold in it and he has to heat his garage in the winter so the water doesn’t freeze. He has joint custody of his five-year-old daughter and asked the board for help. His problem will be reviewed;
• Heard Supervisor Johnny Vawters announce that negotiations continue with COAM (Lt. and Sgts.) and POAM (patrol officers) unions and with Local 1888 in the clerk’s office. Also, the board of review is set for 10 a.m. to noon on Dec. 13;
• Heard Deputy Supervisor Craig Moody say the township is grateful to Larry Linzell of LHI Home Improvements for donating downspouts, gutters, and labor for renovations at the community center; and
• Learned the Supervisor’s Office has started its Christmas drive for food, clothes, toys, and cash donations for residents in the township who are in need. Also, the annual Children’s Christmas Party will be held at 6 p.m., Dec. 21, at the community center. Children need to be registered at the Supervisor’s Office so officials know how many to plan for. Donations for the party also are being accepted.
Absent from the Nov. 22 meeting were: Trustee Bill Hamm, who was in a fire department training class; Trustee Peggy Morgan, who has injured her back; and Trustee Linda Kennedy, who has been on an extended medical leave.