Summary
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners Executive Committee, chaired by Carolyn Rentenbach, took action on the long-disputed Leland Courthouse property sale, approved a Traverse Narcotics Team (TNT) grant subcontract, accepted several donations, and debated expanding the Road Commission and videotaping meetings. Commissioners Patricia Soutas-Little and Ty Wessell were welcomed as new members.
Public Comments
Steve Mikowski (Lake Leelanau) criticized grant dependency, questioned County authority over private property, and suggested a five-member Road Commission after reviewing years of Road Commission and Solid Waste Council minutes; no board action followed. John Popa (Bingham Township), speaking for himself and fellow Road Commissioner James Calhoun, urged the Board to reuse last year's selection process for a Road Commission vacancy and opposed expanding to five members, citing added cost ($6,000–$8,000 per commissioner); he distributed a handout on file with the Clerk. Gwenne Allgaier (Cleveland Township) supported videotaping meetings for accessibility to seniors and homebound residents, and reported her new (Human Services) board had met and had no missed payments. Popa also invited Commissioners on ride-alongs and reported the Road Commission was not short-staffed.
Infrastructure Projects
Discussion of the Leland Courthouse property included water-system constraints: Planning Director Trudy Galla noted two wells currently serve the site, and any density above 15 units requires a shared system rather than individual wells, complicating proposals to subdivide the property for river-lot sales.
Other Business
The Board approved a $775,000 sale (120-day due diligence) of former Courthouse property in Leland to J. Peterson Investor Group 1 (Ayes 4–3); an amendment raising the price to $850,000 failed 2–5. The TNT Byrne Grant subcontract with Missaukee County ($8,000, Oct. 2014–Sept. 2015) was approved 7–0. A $1,000 Suttons Bay Art Committee donation for the inmate art program and an MMRMA RAP grant application for staff training were both approved 7–0. Senior Services' contract with Thunderbird Café and a $4,000 BASA donation were approved 7–0. The Solid Waste Council's hazardous-waste contract with ERG Environmental Services (3 years) passed 7–0; a three-year electronics-collection contract with Valley City Electronics passed 6–1 (Bunek opposed). Six Register of Deeds Peer Review Group appointments were approved 7–0. A motion to appoint Robert Joyce to the Road Commission failed 3–4; the Board will re-advertise the vacancy. Videotaping meetings and a "Declaration of Commitment" document were discussed but not decided. A resolution honoring the late George Bennett was requested.
Financial Summary
Key figures: $8,000 TNT grant; $1,000 art-program donation; $4,000 BASA donation; $133,764 MMRMA reimbursement toward MERS; $55,000 and $5,000 Conservation District work orders (approved 6–1, Rushton opposed); Claims and Accounts of $156,575.51 and Post Audit of $1,481,707.04 approved 7–0; Leland property sale at $775,000 with a 6% ($46,500) realtor fee.
Action Items
Administrator Janik to confirm whether Conservation District funding is mandated; readvertise the Road Commission vacancy (deadline Feb. 5) for discussion Feb. 10 and interviews before Feb. 17; gather videotaping cost/contract details for next month; draft a resolution honoring George Bennett before the next Regular Session; and follow up with the Solid Waste Council on the three-year electronics contract before next week's session.