May: Pole Position
A report on the May 16, 2024, council meeting and turtles
Trustee Ryan Fiebing was away on a trip again.
The draft minutes are in Aptos, the new default font in Word. Enjoy that video, because the rest of this report isn’t as funny! As always, official draft and final minutes are posted on the Village website.
The Gift of a Big Picture
00:02:58
First, some good news. Jim and Jan Anderson came to give us a gorgeous framed photo Jim had taken from a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. He grew up in Manistee and Traverse City, where he and Jan and Mary Link, the broker of this deal, were all high school classmates (“He said he wanted to give the photo to a nonprofit and I said I know a good one,” Link said).
“I started out in aviation in a 1940 J3 Cub that my father bought when we moved to Traverse City,” Anderson said. He has flown over and photographed much of Michigan including the whole Lake Michigan shoreline. “It’s an honor and special to me to donate it to you.” Anderson took the photo in 2012. [5/30/24]
“It’s very morale boosting to have this view,” I said.
Brett McGregor, who is also a pilot (Airbus 320) suggested making a motion that Anderson take him for a ride.
Parking on Frankfort Avenue
Cathy Anderson had written in concerning a no-parking sign that DPW installed next to her property on Frankfort Avenue (old M168), which she would like removed.
00:13:33
Anderson deemed placement of the sign "arbitrary and capricious" given the lack of a clear parking ordinance and inconsistent application of parking rules. A FOIA request she made found no written complaints; she said the only people who park there are herself, her family, and contractors doing work on her house. She preferred not to have guests park on the other side of the street for safety reasons. She said any plan to address parking issues throughout the village should be made available for public review. She asked if the Village wanted her “as an ally or an opponent?” DPW and Wilkins said their justification for the sign placement was that the space isn't wide enough, at 6 feet, for many vehicles and creates a traffic hazard; the sign was placed under the street light in the easement for visibility, and the location happens to be adjacent to her property.
“Ultimately it comes down to a public policy question,” she said. “What's the best interest of the village? Is it to upset a resident that you may want help from in the future?”
McGregor and DPW said that our signs ordinance allows for the placement of the signs, though our traffic ordinance does need to be updated. The main concern was safety, which everyone acknowledged is a problem with how parking happens in many places in the Village, particularly by the Post Office, where cars routinely park right up to the corner, severely limiting visibility for cars entering or exiting Pearson. But that wasn’t the area in question.
00:15:58
“The past several years we've had volumes of cars from events at the Cabbage Shed and it's been very difficult to get out on Thomas and Cartwright, and that’s where this is,” said Wilkins. She said the complaints have all been verbal.
Anderson mentioned that parking on Washington behind the Mayfair was also problematic and not being addressed.
There was some discussion of Anderson’s wheel base and whether her car was actually inside the white line when she parked there.
“Is it the policy of the village to arbitrarily put up signs and justify it later or is the village going to actually do something systemic about this? If you're concerned about violating the Michigan law regarding the streets, then let the sheriff's department take care of it.”
I asked if she felt she was being discriminated against, that the action taken was specifically targeted at her.
Anderson said if signs were going to go up they should go up consistently throughout the village on major roads, and she would like to see the plan to that effect. She said street next to the post office should have been made one way a long time ago.
00:20:47
McGregor said, “I think our traffic ordinance needs to be updated at the very least to reference the current UTC. It can probably encompass some designated parking, which I think would satisfy you. My question to you is, what's the stipulation between you being ally and an opponent, which is the way you put it?”
“Don't put signs up in my yard without discussing it with me or making it public or putting it out there for public review.”
McGregor said, “If we update the ordinance and allow public input of course, would that satisfy what you're looking for?”
“As long as I'm allowed the same coverage of parking in front of my house as many other people are allowed on both major and local streets in this village.”
00:22:55
McGregor said, “Putting signs up and taking the signs down is not a legislative action. So I am going to make a motion that we postpone this indefinitely … but we do need to update the legislation to reflect your concerns, they are valid, so I'd ask that you just give us a little time and we can probably do it pretty quickly.”
Holmes said, “When the car ferries were working and the railroads were working, there were a thousand cars a day running up and down there and it didn't seem to have any problem. Now we have a problem with a few cars. Give me a break!”
Financial Reports
00:07:22
I asked if there was a way to find out what we’ve paid Beckett & Raeder’s consultant just for the master plan. Wilkins said it is split out on the invoices because we’re being reimbursed by the State Treasury, so yes (we are also paying them to help us with our zoning ordinance revisions).
The UHY accountant had been in the office that week doing some more bank reconciliations. “We're looking a little better in last year's general fund as each bank rec moves along,” Wilkins said. “So that's exciting.”
DPW Report
01:10:16
Banners were to go out the next day. Towle was to have a week of CDL training in June and be completely unavailable for two to three of those days.
Penfold Park Bathrooms Are Now Open
As of Monday 5/20.
01:05:05
Towle and Cervantes had been down to look at the beach project progress a few times. The handicapped parking area is poured and ready and looks really good. Electrical boxes in the Penfold Pavilion have covers now.
Three planters were out and Wilkins was to work on the Secret Garden.
01:06:26
A bolt broke on the mulcher bolt for the pulley on the mower broke during ballfield maintenance, causing the pulley to shoot off and land at home base. [5/30/24] Paint is acquired to mark the 15 foot encroachment area for fire hydrants and handicapped parking for the Mayfair. Kirby poured asphalt on Grand where the valve was replaced, and Justin was to start learning how to use the GIS and begin mapping the sewer connections. Valve turning and hydrant flushing will start in the next couple of weeks before Elmer’s shows up for stage two of the water project.
McGregor said he appreciated the new Team Meeting report and would like to see tasks clearly categorized and tracked as projects or recurrent with the information saved. “When we get ready to sign the next budget and come up to the next annual plan, I'd like to be able to look back at this stuff and go, yeah, these are the projects we did, this is what’s next, and how can we plan appropriately. It’s really hard to think of all this in February.”
Insurance Requirements for Renting Village Facilities
00:24:36
Jammin’ Mondays was having trouble getting the hefty amount of insurance we have been requiring in our rental contracts. The Village insurance agent (Municipal Underwriters of West Michigan) said they could be covered by our Village insurance as long as alcohol was not being served and they signed a statement to that effect and hold the Village harmless for any breaches of the agreement that resulted in issues. The new language is almost verbatim from the example the insurance company sent. It will be incorporated into all the non-ELSS rental contracts.
Utility Billing Policy and Procedure Update
00:28:18
These are the actions to be taken between DPW and office staff to complete a water reading and billing cycle. It doesn't go into great procedural detail on the office end but establishes the intersection of actions between DPW and the office. The update reflects new hardware and software.
New Parks & Recreation Member: Bree McGregor
Bree got us the Consumers Energy tree grant last year and is working on the historic registry for the Life Saving Station. She built Gilmore's website. The addition of Bree brings the commission’s membership up to five, which is complete, though not everyone always shows up. For example there was no meeting this month because there was no quorum. Would you like to join Parks & Rec? Start going to meetings and worm your way in.
Elberta Beach Project: Status and a Change Order
00:31:08
Ken Mlcek said the gravel had been placed, some concrete had been poured (what could be done before the foundation is poured for the pavilion), pavilion building was ordered, the material for the walkway to the pier was ordered. Fencing will go in soon. Pavilion and bathrooms will be the last step. Council approved the draw request from AJ’s Excavating for $251,421.08.
Attempts at “offroading” have already begun down at the beach, so concrete-filled pipe bollards (metal posts) will be placed at the end of the newly graveled beach road along with a gate. “This is to deter people from looking at the new split rail fence and taking a chain saw to it.” “If it’s flammable, it will be burned.”
Moving the bollards cost an additional $1,971.
Bye Street Crush and Shape
00:34:55
The two bids were opened on May 3. The low bid was Elmer’s, at $108,920.00; the other bid was from Molon of Traverse City ($109,345). Both are qualified contractors. Fleis & Vandenbrink recommended Elmer’s; it’s within the budget and will cost us slightly less of our funds, but MDOT won’t let us use the extra money.
Work will be started after Ironman (September 15) and completed before October 31.
Mlcek said Elmer’s would be back just after Memorial Day to resume work on the water project.
Benzie County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan
00:37:18
The county wanted the villages and other entities to approve or adopt its natural hazard mitigation plan. “Tons of hard work was poured into this. Hours, hours, hours, said Wilkins. The 2023 plan is not yet posted on the county website as far as I could tell; the 2015 plan is there.
Should We Move to Move the Flagpole?
00:39:00
“Spring came early this year and things are just like zoom,” Wilkins said. “Everybody wants stuff out.” But the flag that goes on the pole at Penfold Park, by the old Elberta welcome sign, keeps getting wrapped up in the power line.
It surprised some people present to learn that I’m a flag code hawk. I find it very irritating when I see the flag up in the rain, when I see a flag shredded or bunched up, when it’s up after dark without a light on it. So I suggested that yes, we move the flag pole, but also that we not put up a flag, unless it’s also going to be taken down properly.
Ken Holmes made a motion to move the pole to Veterans Park, and I seconded it.
“I would say don't put the flag up though. Just the pole,” I said.
“You don't count,” said Holmes. (You heard it here, folks, perhaps not for the first time!)
“This isn't legislative,” said McGregor. “I'm not going to vote on this. We just denied Cathy because I said it's not legislative, it's executive. So someone make an executive decision on where to put the — flag. This is a legislative body, let’s legislate some stuff.”
“OK, that makes sense,” I said. “But serious question: Would it be legislative to talk about whether or not we follow the flag code as a village?”
McGregor said he would think about it.
Strategy Session
00:43:30
We’re trying to take a longer view of projects and recurrent tasks so there are no surprises.
With the help of Jessica Carpenter, a traffic safety coordinator for MDOT I spoke with last year and again this year, we are getting official Turtle Crossing signs for the bridge on M22. They will be seasonal and I’ll be putting them up and taking them down each year (the poles will stay there). I made the case to Carpenter that drivers tend to speed around the corner by Willoughby’s (some of them visibly texting as they do), and both turtles and the people who may try to help them are endangered. It won’t hurt that one sign will be located near the crosswalk used by Betsie Valley Trailgoers. The signs will arrive a little late for our local turtles this year, but next year I will put them up from May to July.
Here are some other things that are in the hopper:
We made a plan to have an updated traffic/parking ordinance to look at in June.
Parks & Recreation 5-Year Plan Is Due in September
00:46:13
The recreation plan will have a 30 day review period and then a public hearing before it’s adopted. Wilkins said it will be a fairly standard update reflecting what the commission is doing now along with the recent master plan.
County Commissioner’s Report: Gary Sauer
00:48:20
Sauer had distributed a flyer showing how the county had finally spent all the ARPA money:
How Benzie County Spent Its ARPA Money
TB Testing in Dairy Cattle
One deer with tuberculosis was found found in Joyfield Township, so all cattle have to be tested by the end of the year. The cost of the testing is covered by the state. “If something comes up positive, they have a tendency not to pay market value if they require it to be eliminated.… They even contacted folks who had 4H kids with cattle from years before.”
00:49:51
New construction continues to increase in the county, with 81 permits so far this year, higher than last year. The commission adopted ballot language for the general operating millage for the Headlee Reset; they want to remove the word “indefinitely” and revisit the idea of an increase in two years. Also on the August election ballot is an increase for Benzie Senior Resources from 0.8 to 1 mill. “Benzie Bus is also on there.”
Memorial Day Service, 1 p.m., Veterans Memorial Park
Behind Watson’s.
24-Hour Road Patrol
… is in effect as of Monday May 13. At least two officers are on duty.
Point Betsie Repairs Conflict with EGLE
“A plan had been in the works to try to fix the apron that's crumbling and maintain the building from falling into Lake Michigan and all of a sudden we ran into a snag with EGLE, which puts in jeopardy a $5 million grant. So instead of fighting with them and get the no completely, they're going to pull the permits and resubmit to a different authority.… We don't own any of the property, the Coast Guard owns the property. As far as I know, the light still is active. Basically we have to call Stabenow and Peters’s offices and see if there's anything at the federal level. EGLE is kind of an independent group and I think the power just went to their head.
00:54:04
“They're complaining that the slope going out is going too far. They only want 15 feet and all the engineers say that's not going to solve the problem because right now it's washing and undercutting what was there before. So I'm sure it'll eventually get straightened out.”
Weldon Township’s supervisor passed away and a former clerk will fill in until the election.
A piece of property Crystal Mountain owns may be developed into worker housing by Homestretch if the PUD is approved.
Elberta Life Saving Station
Wilkins had finished painting the LSS doors on a cold day, to spruce them up as much as possible before a scheduled wedding. The next wedding isn't until June 21st. She is waiting to hear back from SHPO about the bids for door replacement that we received. “There was actually water coming in through the windows and into the building. So we need to get those doors done and approved.”
Betsie Valley Trail
Planning and Zoning
Wilkins said the Planning Commission did awesome at the public hearing on the draft master plan, “which was somewhat contentious because of some misunderstood topics, but they cleared everything up." Wilkins and I submitted our edits on the plan and the PC has a few of their own.
Thank You to the High School Volunteers
Who helped out on May 7 spreading the remaining mulch under the playscape at the Waterfront Park!
Clerk-Treasurer’s Report
01:11:23
It's the DPW team’s first spring, and it’s Kat’s first spring too, bringing some increased traffic to the office because of spring cleanup and STR applications. We’re currently at 14 approved STRs with about 4 in process. She had completed her five days of Treasurer’s training in Mount Pleasant with the Michigan Municipal Treasures Association. “I've been introduced to the listserv of the treasurers, where you can put questions to about 600 local treasurers around the state and get some answers.” Point&Pay software and hardware (a scanner) is onboard, and there will be a mailer with information on how to pay bills and fees online or with a credit card at the office. Some fiddling required with how to bill for irrigation meters on BS&A (irrigation meters are cheaper because you don’t get charged for sewer).
Wilkins had finally received a proposal from a potential auditor, and put in a request to Treasury for an extra $25,000 for UHY to complete the bank recs.
Personnel and Policy Committee
01:20:53
A complaint policy is in the works.
Water and Sewer
Wilkins said the meter replacement list was being whittled down. A few pit meters remain and more meters have been ordered. “And I have a wonderful colorful spreadsheet for who gets new meters, who needs to be troubleshooted, troubleshot.”
BLUA
01:22:06
Holmes said the sewage treatment plant is “having a problem with copper and mercury. They’re trying to pinpoint the exact location where it's coming from. It’s probably just something new that one of the plants in Frankfort is shelling out that we don’t know about. But they’ll find it.” Sewage tests are done every week and sent to EGLE.
“EGLE approved all the plans for the new headworks, which will take two or three, four years, whatever.”
Public Comment from President Wilkins
“I just want to say thank you to every single one of you, including planning commission. Everybody's just been working together to advance the village on a daily basis. It is not going to be overnight, but we're doing it, as Brett says, while the plane's flying, we're building it, because that's how we have to do it.”
Office Closed May 28
… so that Craig from UHY can work on our backlog of bank reconciliations without distraction or interruption. He’s going to be in for several days, including the 30th, which is also an open-office day, but Wilkins said that’s when people like to come in to pay their water bills, so Craig will be housed in a Faraday cage that day.
Spring Cleanup, Brush Pile, Swapoween
01:26:25
Wilkins and Cervantes went around the Village picking up stuff for people without trucks, and Towle crushed things and dumped them in the two dumpsters, setting aside metal for a couple of people who paid to come and get it. For those who did drive over to the Community Building lot, the traffic flow worked pretty well. The fees were added to people’s water bills, where possible. Those without an individual water bill paid cash or check. If you missed the Swapoween, don’t worry. It will happen again next year, and you don’t even have to swap. Most people just wanted to give stuff away. I ended up taking a full truck bed load of stuff to Goodwill afterward.
The brush pile is an ongoing problem. More on that in a future report.
Fire & Safety
00:56:21
No fire runs in Elberta in April. Average response time for EMS calls was five minutes. All the trucks have been repaired to the tune of about $9,000, with another bill coming in. “Since everything has planned obsolescence, the springs have been popping one at a time on the garage doors.” At the May 21 City Council meeting a few employees were to be recognized for their lifesaving CPR.
Cederholm read a statement he had included in the EMS report for EMS Week: “We can sum it up with one word: Compassion. We help people up and on their feet with a helping hand and hopefully touched the heart that was hurting. We encouraged some when we could and comforted others during their loss. Most of all we shared an embrace with each other when the situation we encountered was heart wrenching and words were hard to come by, but together we knew, because we had been there before, to celebrate the wins and mourn the losses and then move on. That's what we do. So as part of national EMS week, let’s not forget those who help others.”
April 2024 EMS Runs, April 2024 Fire Runs, April 2024 Fire Runs, April 2024 EMS Runs, DryerSafetyTips, Electrical_Safety_Tips, ElectricBikeSafetyTips, May 21, 2024, Training Objectives
Elberta Farmer’s Market Opens May 23 (World Turtle Day!)
Watch-for-Turtles Sign Painting Party: Sunday June 2
01:28:26
Then there's a turtle sign painting the party for Elberta kids (big and little) June 2nd, from 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the old Elberta Beach Market Building at 654 Frankfort Avenue, which Will Church is generously letting us use. I am hoping to make it an annual event on or around World Turtle Day (May 23). We will have plenty of paint in great colors, brushes, and lawn signs prepared, so all painters have to bring is their imagination and clothes that can get painty! Kids can take their sign home or put it up by Penfold Park and other spots with permission. I’ll talk a bit about the turtle life cycle, the importance of not touching snapping turtles, and avoiding getting hit by a car yourself.
❤️the video
So good! Thank you for dedicating time to this, Emily!