• Call to Order
  • Supervisor Jager called the regular Holton Township Board meeting to order at 7:02 PM at the Holton Township Hall, 6511 Holton Whitehall Road, Holton, MI 49425.
• Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag
• Roll Call of Board Members
  • Supervisor Jager, Treasurer Halbower, Trustee Jager, Trustee Thompson all present; Clerk Colburn Absent.
• Set the Agenda
  • Add B under Minutes “Review for Closed Session Meeting Minutes”.
• Review Minutes of Previous Meeting
  • 10121 Regular Meeting September 14, 2021
    • Motion by Trustee Jager to approve the minutes of the 9-14-21 regular board meeting.
    • Second by Trustee Thompson.

CARRIED

• 10221 Closed Meeting Minutes
  • Motion by Trustee Jager to approve the September 2021 closed meeting minutes.
  • Second by Treasurer Halbower

CARRIED

• CARRIED
  • 10321 Payment of Bills
    • Motion by Trustee Jager to approve the payment of the bills as presented.
    • Second by Treasurer Halbower
      • Discussion: Noted that the checks written from the tax fund are refunded tax overpayments.  The Portable restroom in the cemetery will be removed for the season as well.

CARRIED

• Business from the Floor- None
• 10421 Treasurer’s Report
  • Motion by Trustee Jager to accept the Treasurer’s report as presented.
  • Second by Trustee Thompsen

CARRIED

• Department Reports
  • Permits and Zoning
    • $4,403 of permits, mostly mechanical following the installation of a new natural gas line.
  • Ordinance Enforcement
    • A lawyer has been engaged to address some long ongoing complaints. Some tickets have been paid but the continued issues need to be taken care of.  A number of trailers located in town have been grandfathered in but are not allowed to be replaced, the property in question will need to be further researched.
  • Library
    • Tech classes offered every second Tuesday at 6:00. Book mobile is on the move, Madl.org has calendar of stops. Christmas in the park is scheduled for December 8. MADL would like to install some permanent markers for Story Walk in the park. Library remodel is in the works and will hopefully begin soon but date is TBD. Book Club is very popular and meets the 4^th Tuesday of the month.
  • Cemetery
    • Still looking for Mapping support for the cemetery, we need to know how much is in perpetual care for spending or if some of the stimulus money could be used for it?
  • Fire
    • Monthly totals- run totals at 331 for Jan 1 to Sept 30 compared to 271 in 2020, 176 in 2018.  Mutual Aid was used for 22 incidents. 3-month summary of incident types: 63.25% of all incidents are medical and hazardous conditions are second most common. Some calls are for assisting law enforcement with traffic control or accidents. 
    • Apparatus Report: 1920 engine repair is complete; the engine is back and is not leaking anything. The bill has not yet come in though. 1960 is going to IL for look at the frame.  Brush Unit 1983 has been repaired locally and is functioning much better.
• Correspondence
  • Insurance Company sent a letter regarding the exclusion of coverage communicable disease related exposures. 
  • An alternate insurance company has sent a letter of interest to bid.
• Unfinished Business- None
• New Business
  •  Holton Community Days Report
    • The current Board of Directors has stepped down.  They have donated $1500 to the Township to be earmarked for the next group interested in organizing the event.
    • The Board is not sure how to manage the funds or if it is something the Township is able take on. Questions regarding if it would be better to pass the money to the group who will be taking on Holton Days. More research will need to be done. The bylaws of the current Holton Days INC states that if it dissolves the money will be turned over to Holton Township. Julie V will bring copies of the bylaws and incorporation to the board for review.
      • 10521 Motion to Table for 1 month by Trustee Jager. Second by Trustee Thompsen.

CARRIED

• 10621 Approve Bob Grabinski as Interim Fire Chief
  • Motion by Trustee Jager to appoint Bob Grabinski as Interim Fire Chief. Second by Trustee Thompsen.
    • Discussion- Capt. Ted Hawk is the current choice for Chief but is not yet ready to take on that position.  Interim Chiefs Grabinski and McCastle agreed to help out until he is ready.  Dave McCastle will remain as Deputy Chief.  Having Bob step up as Chief will make logistics and management easier. Pay will not be adjusted.  Captain Hawk stated that the entire department was on board with the decision and appreciates the hard work of Bob and Dave in helping the department.

CARRIED

•  10721 Firefighter retirement Brian Norton
  • Motion made by Trustee Jager to accept the resignation of Firefighter Brian Norton. Second by Trustee Thompsen
    • Board would like to thank Firefighter Norton for 10 years of service to Holton Township.

CARRIED

• 10821 Hire returning firefighter, Larry Douglas
  • Motion to hire Larry Douglas to the Holton Fire Department. Second by Trustee Thompsen.
    • Mr. Douglas left HTFD as a Sergeant and has maintained his certification and is a certified EMT. He left due to his career as a Navy Corpsman. He will also need new turnout gear.

CARRIED

• 10921 Purchase Turnout Gear Motion for $3700
  • Motion made by Trustee Jager to purchase1 set of turn out gear for $3700. Second by Treasurer Halbower.

CARRIED

• 101021 Accept the resignation of Gene LaFlame from the Planning Commission
  • Motion by Trustee Jager to accept the resignation of Gene LaFlame from the Planning Commission. Second by Trustee Thompson.

CARRIED

• 101121 Adjust Employment Policy to classify full time hours to a minimum of 32 hours per week instead of 35
  • Motion by Trustee Jager to classify full time hours as a minimum of 32 hour a week. Second by Supervisor Jager.

CARRIED

• 101221 Motion to hire Angela Slowik as Fire Department Secretary to work 8 hours per week.
  • Motion by Trustee Jager to hire Angela Slowik as Fire Department Secretary for 8 hours per week. Second by Trustee Thompsen.
    • Angela will be able to begin the position at the beginning of the next pay period.

CARRIED

• Future Business
  • ATV/Golf Cart Ordinance
    • Ordinance will be addressed again in January and registered letters will be mailed to municipalities throughout the county.  The previous ordinance did not have letters sent out and is nullified.
  • Transfer Station prices
    • Transfer Station has been losing money. It is possible that the prices will need to adjusted for the service to break even.
  • Stimulus Money
    • Stimulus money cannot be used for roads. The Township will receive about $250,000 but it has limitations and will require reporting in April 2022. More research will need to be done to see what options are available. Ideas included fire department equipment, community beautification projects, park improvements.
  • Fence Ordinance
    • A Fence Ordinance needs to be created.  It would limit the height to 6ft and require it to be even with the front or back corner of the house.  Board would like to create a complete ordinance that covers all aspects of fencing instead of building a piecemeal ordinance.
• 101021 Motion to Adjourn
  • Motion to adjourn at 8:25 PM by Supervisor Jager. Second by Trustee Thompson.

ADJOURNED

Respectfully submitted,

Sarah Hippler

Deputy Clerk