At Tuesday’s regular meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees, the board approved Supervisor Paul White’s appointments to a brand-new committee.
The Van Buren Charter Township Cultural Advisory Committee was shepherded through the township red tape by Trustee Denise Partridge.
The board approved the committee on May 17 and applications were received from interested residents.
The appointees, all with terms to expire Oct. 1, 2012, are: Harold Gant, Carol Dolph, Ed Seyfried, Helen Wylie, Marion Caldwell, and Jane Kovach.
Trustee Partridge was appointed board representative with a term to expire Nov. 20, 2012.
According to Partridge, the objective of this committee is to “enhance and promote cultural activities in Van Buren Township which would serve the tri-community area in areas of humanities, history, and arts.”
Partridge said her inspirations for this committee were former Canton Supervisor Tom Yack, who spoke to a local group on the importance of cultural activities to a community; the late Chesley Odom, a professional designer with offices in Belleville; and Barbara Rogalle Miller, one of the founders, with Odom, of the Belleville Area Council for the Arts and a constant innovator and supporter of cultural endeavors.
Partridge said she expects the first meeting of the group would be in September. Since the committee is under the Recreation Committee, she said she has asked Director Jennifer Wright to find a recording secretary for the group from her Recreation Department.
Partridge said she would like to have the Cultural Advisory Committee meetings recorded and shown on cable because she thinks it will be of interest to the community. That will depend on the policy on which the township board is working and what the Recreation Committee thinks about recordings.