August: Creep Out Redux
A report on the August 17, 2023 regular council meeting
It was the first regular council meeting for Kat Ralston, our new Clerk-Treasurer, who officially began her tenure Monday, August 21, but had produced the Payroll report for this meeting. Norma Corwin helped train Ralston right up until the last minute before beginning her new adventure downstate. Thank you, Norma. And welcome aboard, Kat! Please everyone say hi when you get a chance.
00:04:43 Correspondence
Bryan Graham Village Attorney Email Graham clarified the procedure for paying officials who perform employee duties (specifically President Jennifer Wilkins and I). He said duties and invoices need not be preapproved each month at a meeting; officials can fill out a timesheet as other employees do and get paid every two weeks. Anyone who wants to see timesheets can do so at the Village Office.
Terrance Hudson Email Mr. Hudson, of Hudson Elberta Properties, wrote to say he had not received any information about the water project schedule. Wilkins referred to an email she had written July 12 to Beth Roethler, a co-owner of the Cabbage Shed, with as much information about the schedule as was available at that time and letting her know that updates would be available on the Village website and on the Elberta Alert. Wilkins said she had replied to Hudson with the most recent schedule.
Krista O’Grady Email – O’Grady is rightfully concerned about the dangerous parking behavior on Frankfort Avenue; people are parking all the way to the corners of Acre and Pearson and in some cases into the intersection to visit Elberta Mercantile and the Lighthouse Cafe. It’s impossible for cars intending to turn on to Frankfort Avenue from those streets to see oncoming traffic without creeping well into western lane. Thomas Street exiters face a similar hazard because of Cabbage Shed parkers. Wilkins said the curbs will be painted yellow. Brett McGregor advised an overall street plan. The standard regulated distance is 30 feet from a stop sign and 20 feet from an intersection. Ryan Fiebing said the Planning Commission has discussed a “complete streets” guideline.
00:12:30
FY22/23 Village Audit The good news: At the end of last fiscal year our General Fund deficit was $110,500, and this year it’s $53,128. Wilkins said she thinks we can pay it off this year. McGregor asked if we could set an exact payoff date and order Champagne. He recommended revamped policies to address comments we’ve heard before from auditors and haven’t been able to address, usually because of staff shortages. I asked him if he would like to take my place on the Budget, Finance, Grant, and Audit Committee. The audit will be discussed in greater detail at the October meeting, when one of the auditors will be available to answer questions—so mark that third Thursday on your calendar! The auditor’s report is also available in the office.
00:17:44 Approval of Bills
Chris Etc. cleans the Community Building; the names of individuals, such as Cheyenne Humble, are deposit returns for the ELSS; but that $30 to Mark Carlin for three no-parking signs. That’s a bargain, I know, having shopped for Turtle Crossing signs.
00:20:38 Revenue and Expense Report
The “scary” expense line items (ones at or near 100 percent of budget) were handled with budget amendments at this meeting. Other items, such as property taxes line item, are wonky because not all information has been transferred from Fund Balance to the new BS&A system.
00:25:38 Decertification of Two ELHC Properties on Furnace Avenue
Representatives of Elberta Land Holding Company had applied to decertify (meaning decommission) the water and sewer service to two houses it owns on Furnace Avenue: 216 and 234. The two properties have been unoccupied for 25 to 30 years and have been allowed to fall into disrepair; they’ve reached a state where they are a health and safety as well as a blight issue. The initial understanding was that the owner’s intention was to tear the houses down, hence the requirement that Council approve water/sewer decertification first. But in discussions with one of the reps it seemed they might want to simply board up the houses and make them secure from intruders.
Trustee Holmes, who has been on the Village Council off and on, mostly on, for several decades, said ending water and sewer service to the two properties would cost the Village money in lost ready-to-serve fees. “They should have been made to keep those houses up,” he said. “Yeah, why weren’t they made to do that back then?” asked Wilkins, who is in the middle of her second term as President. Holmes said ELHC should be told to repair the properties. Trustee Fiebing (who incidentally lives a couple of doors down from the properties and has been doing a complete [and quite beautiful] renovation on another nearby house) suggested tabling the decertification until we knew what ELHC’s intentions were. I said it hadn’t occurred to me till that moment that ELHC might ask for decertification and then not tear them down. “One of those houses is just 30 years old,” said Holmes. “You’re telling me that house isn’t worth refurbishing?” “It’s a beautiful house,” said Fiebing. “It would be a shame to tear it down.” Wilkins said she had sent the rep our “Dangerous Structures” ordinance, and that ELHC had not made a definitive statement of what they would do.
Holmes further stated that if the structures were torn down it would lose us “about $6,000 a year in taxes.” Fiebing said ELHC would probably take the cheaper route of securing the properties and keeping the vermin out rather than demolition, if given the option. Holmes argued that if those houses were torn down that rule should be applied everywhere in the Village, referring to two empty properties on Lincoln he considers a public nuisance and that he’s received complaints about. Wilkins said no one was requiring the ELHC properties to be torn down. With encouragement to clarify from McGregor, Holmes said ELHC should be told to clean up the two properties (which he said were on four lots) and sell them. Fiebing said he was in favor of enforcing the dangerous structures ordinance village wide. I made a motion, and Fiebing seconded it, to ask ELHC for a commitment to either tear them down or leave them standing and secure and improve. McGregor expressed concern about the adequacy of the ordinance as a response or in general. Wilkins reiterated that she had sent the ordinance to the rep already and that the rep’s interpretation seemed to be that they could board up the houses and that would solve the problem. Holmes said, “We can’t afford to lose homes, when all over this country people are looking for places to rent…. Tell them to fix their houses up and see what they say.” “I’m not going to handle this anymore. You can,” Wilkins said. I withdrew my motion and made a motion to table the item and consult with the Village attorney. “Who’s going to handle that? Because I’m done. Not getting yelled at anymore,” said Wilkins.
00:41:50 Budget Amendment – Audit Cost Overrun
Difficulties in reconciling the bank accounts, left over from the previous office staff, before Corwin’s arrival and from Corwin’s few months on the job, since she was still learning how to do it, meant that the auditors had to do bank reconciliations, causing a significant delay and therefore extra costs for the Audit. The budgeted amount for the initial payment was $15,000 and the actual was $17,500; the final amount was $39,000. The unbudgeted expense thus had to be split out among various funds. Wilkins went item by item explaining how much had been taken to pay toward the auditor fee (you can listen to the recording or get the multipage budget amendment from the office if you’re interested). Wilkins said she had taken some money from Municipal Streets (which is no longer in deficit, per the Audit) and put it in Tools and Supplies, because DPW has been bringing the garage, their own equipment, and the well houses up to OSHA standards. “The saving grace [in affording the Audit fee] is we got more in property taxes than originally budgeted,” she said. She was also able to pay $5,000 more toward the deficit because of this.
00:46:02 Kayak Launch
“I would like this in bold words for everybody to hear: I put $10,000 toward Penfold Park for the kayak launch.” The launch manufacturer offered us a 24-foot launch in exchange for the out-of-order 15-foot handicapped-accessible launch; Wilkins doesn’t know if we will owe a balance.
Next year we have two audits; one is for regular operations and one is for the water project, but after that, once we’ve paid off our deficit, we should be able to stop yearly audits and save that money. But: if we can’t get accounting help to deal with our backlog of bank reconciliations, the audit might be delayed again; we’re currently at six months with no bank recs done. “[The audit bill] could be just as big, but knowing that, it can be budgeted,” Wilkins said.
00:49:01 Water Project
Ken Mlcek, project coordinator, said new water mains had been installed on Steele Street, Grant Street, and about half of Lincoln Ave. Connections to the existing water main were to start the following week (August 21), and the week after that water service lines would be installed. Elmer’s submitted a payment request for $158,327, and Fleis & Vandenbrink requested $47,285.05 to be drawn from the USDA funding. The requested draw from the EGLE (DWSRF) fund was $218,723 for Elmer’s and $30,000 for engineering. We then approved a change order to extend the contract time of the DWSRF portion of the project to align the USDA funded parts of the project, as was originally intended.
During public comment, Chief Cederholm asked if a flow test on the hydrants would be done. Mlcek said that would wait till EGLE requires a water reliability study. Hydrants can be color-coded to indicate their flow rate in gallons per minute, which is helpful for the fire department. The flow rating, if high, is also good for insurance rates, because it means a fire can be put out more quickly, so it’s good to have that information. The fire department’s next ISO report is due in four years, Cederholm said.
00:56:49 We Might Need Benzie Road Commission’s Help With Plowing This Winter
We get our salt from the Road Commission every year, but this contract, for 2023–28, is for backup plowing in case our DPW Assistants aren’t fully trained before the snow flies, or in case of illness or equipment failure.
00:58:18 Rental Contracts for Facilities: More Expensive, to Cover Our Potential and Actual Costs
We updated, and in some cases created new, contracts for renting the Community Building, Penfold Park Pavilion, the Waterfront Park Pavilion, the Amphitheater, and something new called Festival Fields. We raised the rental fees in some cases and the damage deposits in all cases, to deter renters from leaving a mess and to offset the predictable cost of broken sprinkler heads (which run about $50 each). Each contract now has an aerial image of the territory. Each contract also now addresses parking. Fiebing suggested requiring a site plan, including parking plan and emergency services route, for those who rent Festival Fields for big events. Cederholm said he was provided with a site map by Grow Benzie ahead of the Bayou festival.
01:08:25 We Might Get a State-Funded Accounting Intern for the Office
Ralston said she was curious to see what the person’s expertise and expectations might be. Wilkins was to have a call with Treasury soon to discuss it. I said I hoped it wouldn’t be a case of helping the intern rather than the intern helping us. “[Treasury] has been my government therapist over the past five years. They know if they did that to me it would send me over the edge,” Wilkins said.
01:11:09 County Commissioner’s Report
Beulah is seeking funding to deal with stormwater issues downtown and on Benzie Street, possibly with rain gardens. Storm drains get plugged and the runoff flows straight into Crystal Lake. As with the Elberta Beach Project,
grant monies were undermined by inflation. Benzonia still has properties not up to state septic code. Some professional athletes will participate in the Ironman this year before the amateurs do; some of them can cycle at 27 mph; 1,625 people total have signed up for the September 17 event. Road Commission Manager Matthew Skeels retired; it’s a hard position to fill and his duties will be divided among the remaining staff for now. A portion of Henry Rd. that accesses the new elementary school will be paved and renamed Husky Trail. The County is ordering three new diesel trucks this year and three next year to avoid the new emissions rules that take effect in 2025; prices have gone up by about 25%. Gilmore Twp passed an Article 9 zoning ordinance on August 8 that will go into effect in 30 days. The County draft budget is posted.
01:17:15 Fire & Safety
The full July/August report and the 2021–23 Summary Report are posted. Runs are up from last year. Elberta has had 24 EMS runs and 5 fire runs in 2023 so far. The department has 25 members. Cederholm is surveying of local governments for feedback on the department’s work for visioning purposes. Three youths are interested in the new cadet program, which is awaiting approval by Frankfort City Council. An open house will be held September 23. On the November ballot, Fire&Safety is seeking 2.5 mils (current 1.5 mils for City of Frankfort) to cover inflation and develop a capital improvement fund; last year the furnace and AC died, vaporizing about $15,500. An education day is in the works for elementary school kids, complete with “smoke room.” Drone training is underway.
01:24:20 Zoning Administrator’s Report
An issue on Valley Street has been “taken care of,” Wilkins said. The legality of the STR in the former Conundrum property, which is in our commercial district is still TBD.
01:26:16 Planning and Zoning
A full draft master plan is hoped for in September, Fiebing said, after which is the 60-day public review period. January is thus the soonest public hearing and approval, and then the Commission will move on to the zoning ordinance. Parts of the zoning ordinance can be prioritized and finalized piecemeal ahead of time, so the Commission is seeking input on what to do first, for example food truck rules.
01:29:39 Parks & Rec
A weather cam for the viewing platform at EDNA is being discussed. Bree McGregor produced a grant proposal for Life Saving Station funding from the Consumers Energy Foundation. Holmes mentioned the dying pine trees in the EDNA field. McGregor offered to call the Conservation District. I suggested we do some sort of awareness campaign about the Elberta Beach Project.
01:33:53 DPW
During this meeting, Towle was monitoring the water tower because the SCADA system was on the fritz. A well was running to keep the water tower/tank full because Top Line wasn’t available till morning. Playground fall zones are complete. Smitty’s has been hired to clear trees on Robarge ahead of the street extension. Other tasks include: keeping up with MISDIG and resident notification for the water project, keeping the end of First Street brush pile from spilling over, and on the previous Saturday he and Wilkins had helped with the Holtrey project. Poison ivy will be remediated, probably with torches, at the beach. Christopher Cervantes is doing great and is a real pleasure to work with, Wilkins said.
01:38:42 BLUA
Holmes said, “The new people we hired got real cozy with the DNR and the EGLE and now they’re being pestered quite a lot. I told them that would happen.”
Tree Planting Workbee Planned for September 17 (same day as Ironman) at 10 a.m.
