By Bill Petzold
Editor
CARO — The lights were out in downtown, but the Caro city council went ahead with its regular meeting Monday evening, a natural gas generator providing electricity to the Caro Municipal Building.
Council passed a resolution opposing the annexation of Indianfields Township Cemetery requested by Indianfields Township. The township filed an annexation petition with the Michigan State Boundary Commission requesting the annexation of the cemetery, 350 Ellington Street, which consists of 35.94 acres, into the city of Caro.
The purpose of the city council’s resolution is to state its position on the proposed annexation as requested by the State Boundary Commission. A boundary commission hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. December 4 at the Tuscola Tech Center on Cleaver Road in Caro.
Caro mayor Richard Pouliot explained that the resolution is the next step in an ongoing legal process that began with Caro’s petition to become a city. Once that was approved and Caro attained cityhood, Pouliot explained that Caro redefined its boundaries, which extended to the center line of Ellington Street.
“The goal was never to ‘land grab,’ the goal was to keep the boundries as square as possible,” Pouliot said. “We never grabbed for additional land. Well, flash forward to May of this year. The township filed a petition with the boundary commission to annex in their cemetery into the city of Caro. Our attorney that represented us during the division of assets, Andy Mulder, we, as a governing body, approved retaining him to defend us and represent us in the petiion process, because once an entity files a petition with the boundary commission, it has to track through that process. This is the process that we’re involved in right now, and it won’t end … until it goes through the judication hearing which is after the public hearing which is December 4. So we’re in that process that the township started by filing a petition to annex in the cemetery into the city of Caro.”
The resolution states that in the fall of 2009, Caro and the township began discussing the division of assets and liabilities as a result of Caro becoming incorporated as a city, which included discussion of the annexation of the cemetery. On June 25, 2012, a consent judgement was entered stating, in part, that “such claims as could have been raised, pursuant to MCL 117.14 are dismissed with prejudice and without costs.”
The resolution continues that “It is Caro’s position that the issues relating to the cemetery which is subject to the annexation petition were resolved in the above-captioned proceeding, and have been dismissed with prejudice. Caro maintains that this annexation proceeding is barred by the consent judgement.”
Council’s resolution states several reasons that the city opposes the township’s annexation petition, including that “there is no governmental purpose which will be advanced by this cemetery transferring from the Township to Caro,” that “Caro has no existing zoning for cemeteries and currently has an existing agreement for cemetery services with Almer Township” and that “the Township Petition would deter growth and development.”
The resolution concludes with the statement that “Caro has been advised by its legal counsel that the Petition for Annexation is legally flawed,” citing the reasons that the law in question, MCL 117.14, does not apply to the township’s petition because “there is no outstanding bond and indebtedness of the township or village relating to the property proposed to be annexed” and because MCL 117.14, relating to cemeteries, “only applies ‘whenever a new city shall be incorporated,’ and not in an annexation proceeding.” Caro also argues that the township’s petition is flawed because “The Petition for Annexation lacks the requisite statement of required purpose, necessity, and urgency and none exists with the Township operation of the cemetery,” and, if approved, the township’s petition would “result in a cemetery owned by the Township located in Caro, which would be inconsistent with the intent and purposes of the Act.”
The council passed the resolution 6-0, with council member Charlotte Kish abstaining from the vote.
In other business:
• The meeting was the first since the November 5 election, and councilman Rick Lipan was sworn in prior to the beginning of the meeting. Councilman Mike Henry was reappointed Mayor Pro-Tem, and council approved its Council Committees and council liaison positions.
• Council awarded an as-need snow removal contract to Henry Jaster Construction, which was the less expensive of two bids.
• Council will not apply for a SAW grant at the recommendation of the finance committee until the results of this year’s SAW grants may be reviewed in a year’s time.
Bill Petzold is the editor of the Tuscola County Advertiser. He can be reached at petzold@tcadvertiser.com.