By TRACI L. WEISENBACH
For the Advertiser
SEBEWAING — In an effort to cut costs and increase efficiency, this town’s council recently voted to reduce the number of meetings per month from two to one.
Starting in April, the council will meet the third Monday of each month at 7 p.m., instead of the first and third Mondays. This move will save approximately $4,320 per year, although this amount could be reduced if special meetings are called.
Council members have brought up the subject of reducing the number of council meetings at various times throughout the past couple of years. At the Feb. 17 meeting, Vicky Kindler brought up the subject again. One concern about having one meeting a month that some council members have mentioned is the length of the one meeting. When the council had one meeting per month years ago, meetings sometimes lasted two to three hours. With two meetings per month, each meeting typically lasts an hour or less.
However, there are now more council committees, so more decisions are made at the committee level. This reduces the number of decisions that need to be made at the full council level, which can shorten the council meetings themselves.
Before the council took its roll call vote, Village President Sami Khoury said the council could always go back to two meetings per month at a later date, if deemed necessary.
The move to reduce the number of meetings per month was not unanimous — council Vice President Larry Heider voted no.
In other business, council members discussed the police department budget, which the Police Committee had recommended for council approval during its Feb. 10 meeting. According to the meeting minutes, committee members decided to add $30,326 to the 2014-15 budget to fund a new police vehicle that would replace the 2005 Tahoe, which has close to 150,000 miles. The other department vehicle is a 2011 Tahoe, which has close to 60,000 miles.
The budget, as recommended to council, included $305,806 in revenues and $351,366 in expenditures, which would result in $45,559 taken out of fund equity.
The Police Committee also agreed to add enough budget to fund a part-time police officer for eight hours every other week for six months to handle blight issues around town, which have become an ongoing problem. This would cost $1,560, according to the meeting minutes.
At the full council meeting, some council members shared concerns about the police budget because it was not balanced, when other department budgets are balanced. One point of contention was the purchase of the police vehicle. Some council members believed the department could wait at least a year before purchasing the vehicle, while others said waiting would only cost the village more in repairs, gasoline costs, etc.
A motion was made to approve the police department budget as presented by the Police Committee. Alex Khoury and Larry Heider voted yes, while Sami Khoury, Vicky Kindler, Justin Tietz and Jim Gunsell voted no. The budget will be discussed further by the council’s Budget Committee at an upcoming meeting.
Council members also recently discussed a letter from Attorney Gerald Prill, of Ferris, Schwedler & Prill, P.C., concerning the former Lapeer Metal Stamping (LMS) property. In the letter, Prill stated demolition permits have been closed out, so no open permit exists.
“I do not see any cause of action against the holders of these permits as the permits were finalized and closed after inspection (by the county Building and Zoning Office) almost two years ago,” Prill’s letter stated.
Council members have been trying to find a way to get various issues with the property taken care of, such as safety hazards and blight. Council members and village employees have been working with the property’s current owner, Bill DeSmet, on these issues. At a council meeting in December 2013, council members discussed these issues with DeSmet, who also attended the meeting. DeSmet currently has the property for sale. DeSmet had purchased the property from Gentry Demolition, LLC “as is.“ Gentry Demolition and Huntington Machinery tore down a majority of the former metal stamping plant in late 2011. The only part of the plant left standing is the office area, which currently has no utilities.
Prill’s letter also states there are delinquent taxes owed on the property that date back to 2011. Currently, $29,454 in back taxes is due by March 31. Council members said DeSmet has informed them he doesn’t plan to make this payment.
If taxes are not paid by March 31, the property will be turned over to the county and put up for tax sale, Prill’s letter stated. The property will be put up for tax sale in August. At that time, prospective buyers may purchase the property, but must take care of the delinquent taxes. If the property does not sell at the August tax sale, another “sale” will be conducted in October without any regard to paying the delinquent taxes.
“In other words, someone could potentially purchase the property at any price, so long as it is the high bid,” Prill’s letter states.
If the property does not sell in October, it will then transfer to the Village of Sebewaing. If the village is interested in purchasing the property prior to October, it would have to pay the back taxes and the village must purchase the property for a public purpose, such as a park or parking lot. State grants may be available to the village for covering the back taxes.
In other recent discussion/action, council members:
• Voted to rescind a bid from Fidelity Solutions, Inc. for headend equipment for the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) project and accept the latest bid from Air Advantage of $64,940. This will mean a savings of $23,785. This decision was made after the Light and Water Committee rescoped the headend equipment bid due to ongoing evaluation of specific equipment needs.
•Agreed to hire Jason Gunsell as a seasonal Department of Public Works (DPW) employee for the months of May through October. The total cost for this hire will be $9,600, with Sebewaing Township donating $5,000 toward this cost.
• Heard a DPW report about ice removal on the Sebewaing River for flood control. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has financially committed to providing help with ice cutting ($2,500 of the total $3,000 cost) and approved blasting from the Railroad Bridge to the mouth of the river. Ice blasting will take place around Feb. 20 Residents near the ice blasting have been notified. Signs to warn recreational users will be posted. The Army Corps will pay $2,500 toward the cost of the ice blasting.
• Discussed the fact that the wooded area around Bay Shore Camp was donated to the Department of Natural Resources in 1972. It is not open to hunting of any kind and it cannot ever be sold.
• Voted to change the ordinance regarding no parking on curbed village streets. The new ordinance states there is to be no parking from 2 to 6 a.m. (instead of 3 to 6 a.m.), and this is to be year-round. Signs stating this will be posted in the next few weeks.
• Approved a motion to change the Light and Water Committee meetings to 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month, instead of the fourth Monday. This will begin in April.
• Agreed to purchase a Michigan Sugar Festival ad in the Chamber of Commerce’s brochure at a cost of $150 (Heider voted no on this motion) and to purchase an ad for $72.50 in the Unionville-Sebewaing Area (USA) yearbook (Kindler voted no on this motion, noting she wanted to purchase a smaller ad).