1/14/2025 - Leelanau Township Board | Board Approves Bills, ARPA Funds, and Appointments — Leelanau Township

Summary

- overview

Public Comments

- from Dec 10 minutes (EM, John, Hugh Cook, Gina)

Affordable Housing Initiatives

- skip, nothing mentioned

Parks and Recreation Matters

- halfpipe $6,000 request, concrete skate park $275,000 private funding, Julie Preneta and Elizabeth Schwind appointments

Infrastructure Projects

- Woolsey Lake sewer project (Popp Excavating $23,145.93), NLTUA appointments, Cherry Homes subdivision road report ($8,000,000 recommended repair cost), broadband Omena, cell tower discussion (communication tower rental $25,000 budget line? Actually there's a line "COMMUNICATION TOWER RENTAL" in budget report - $25,000). Also mention marina? None mentioned. Include cell tower planning commission topic.

Other Business

- Visitor Center funding $1,200, Stryker contract, cellphone purchase, snow removal contract, Board of Review appointments, ARPA funds, summer tax collection agreements with three school districts, poverty exemption resolution, job descriptions.

Financial Summary

- check register figures, ARPA expenditures, bills approved $161,272.61, financial figures for check runs, budget.

Action Items

- list tasks: clerk/treasurer to spend unobligated ARPA funds, post NLTUA application on website, obtain tower permit application review at planning commission 12/14, etc.

Given the conflict pattern mention - "churches" not present; "public housing" not present. Note pattern of conflict - tower issue seems recurring (cell tower on planning commission agenda multiple times), so flag it.

Now let's write within word count limits, keeping specifics (dollar figures, names, votes) intact.

Let's write concise sections.

I need to decide about Affordable Housing - skip entirely since not discussed.

Let's draft:

Summary: The Leelanau Township Board packet for the January 14, 2025 meeting includes draft minutes from the December 10, 2024 board meeting (to be approved) plus supporting financial and administrative materials. Key December 10 actions: approved November bills of $161,272.61€¦ approved minutes, granted ARPA fund flexibility, made multiple appointments (Board of Review, Parks & Rec, Planning Commission, NLTUA), approved Radio North EMS payment $11,506.96, EMS turnout gear up to $6,000, Northport Visitor Center funding $1,200, snow removal contract with James Calhoun, Stryker monitor contracts totaling $6,000/$3,206 per year x2/$6,068 maintenance, and phone purchase up to $600. Packet also contains a Leelanau County Road Commission report recommending an estimated $8 million in repairs to roads in the Cherry Homes subdivision, and agreements for 2025 summer property tax collection with Leland, Suttons Bay, and Northport school districts.

Now Public Comments section: At the Dec 10 meeting: "EM" welcomed and thanked outgoing board members (initial comment). During second public comment period: John thanked facilities manager Ian Dawkins and noted ARPA funds could be used for recreation funding (a suggestion, not board action). Hugh Cook thanked Jessica Wilson and JoLisa Ugalde for helping at a retirement party. Gina clarified ARPA fund rules, stating the recommendation is that township obligate funds for already-spent expenses and suggested obligating and spending now rather than waiting until 2026.

Parks and Recreation Matters: Jon Thatcher (Parks & Rec) proposed building a half-pipe skate feature, requesting $6,000 from the board, and outlined a longer-term concrete skate park plan estimated at $275,000, to be funded privately, not township funds. Board appointed Julie Preneta (non-board) to Parks & Recreation Committee for a three-year term (moved by Conley, seconded by Gans, unanimous roll call), and appointed board member Elizabeth Schwind to the committee (moved by Conley, seconded by Schwind, unanimous).

Infrastructure Projects:

Sewer: Village of Northport invoice for Popp Excavating - Woolsey Lake sanitary sewer directional drilling project, $23,145.93, paid via December check run.
Broadband: County Commissioner Ty Wessel reported Omena's broadband fully installed; Cabinet 13 area to have exceptions; project nearing completion.
Cell tower: Planning Commission's Steve Patmore reported the tower application will be the main topic at the Dec 14 planning commission meeting; a $25,000 line item for "Communication Tower Rental" appears in the township's 2025 budget (unspent as of report).
NLTUA (utility authority): down two members; board to post application opportunity on township website; Conley appointed herself (Barb Conley) as board's NLTUA representative (unanimous).
Road Commission report: recommends $8,000,000 total construction cost to repair ~3.8 miles of roads in Cherry Homes subdivision citing poor subgrade, inadequate compaction; report also includes township-wide PASER road ratings showing an estimated $6.2 million cost to repair paved local roads across township.

Other Business:

Approved Nov. minutes and November bills.
ARPA funds: Wilson requested confirmation of obligation status; ~$90,000-$100,000 remains, Gans suggested spending on computer security; board authorized clerk/treasurer to spend unobligated ARPA funds on qualifying prior security-related expenditures (unanimous).
Board of Review: reappointed Paul Rebori and Mary Tonneberger, appointed Bob Carroll for two-year term beginning Jan 1 2025 (unanimous).
Stryker contracts, EMS turnout gear, Visitor Center funding, snow removal, cellphone purchase (all listed with figures).
Packet also includes draft job descriptions for Assessor and Facilities Manager, a poverty exemption (hardship) resolution for 2025 following state guidelines, township hall hours and 2025 holiday schedule, and 2025 summer tax collection agreements with three area school districts (fee $2.50 per parcel).

Financial Summary:

November bills approved: $161,272.61 (roll call unanimous).
Dec. 2024 check register total disbursements: $950,724.83 (76 general checks totaling $234,093.89 + 18 tax checks totaling $716,630.94).
January 15, 2025 unpaid check run: $64,278.86, includes Radio North $11,516.96, Calhoun Excavating $1,050, Netlink Business Solutions ARPA-funded $18,606.50, Village of Northport (Popp Excavating sewer) $23,145.93, Stryker Sales invoice for monitor $715.
ARPA expenditure report: total spent $158,103.54 (ARPA funds $158,053.42, township funded $50.22) covering Kubota purchase $68,995, Netlink security $37,213, BS&A software $22,835, BS&A training $4,000, household utility project $18,000, etc.
Cherry Homes road repair estimate: $8,000,000 recommended (of $2.5-8.7M range depending on fix type).
2025 school tax collection fee: $2.50 per taxable parcel, adjusted for postage increases.

Note: Kubota purchase (equipment) - guidance says don't include equipment purchases like trucks/tractors in infrastructure section; but can include in financial summary as line item (ARPA expenditure). Kubota is tractor - exclude from infrastructure section, keep only in financial summary as expenditure. Good, I already did that.

Action Items:

Clerk and Treasurer authorized to spend unobligated ARPA funds (up to $90,000-$100,000) on prior qualifying security expenditures - immediate.
NLTUA membership application to be posted on township website; two appointments needed (only Conley appointed as board rep so far).
Planning Commission to address cell tower permit application at Dec 14 meeting - recurring agenda item flagged as topic of continued attention (pattern: appeared in three consecutive meetings per Ty Wessel's report).
Facilities manager Ian Dawkins to continue winter closures at Christmas Cove (removing bins, closing gates).
Board of Review members (Rebori, Tonneberger, Carroll) begin two-year term Jan 1, 2025.
School districts (Leland, Suttons Bay, Northport) to sign summer tax collection agreements before June 2025 certification deadline.

I should mention "pattern of conflict" - the tower topic reappearing across multiple meetings might be it. I'll note it as recurring/watch item.

Now let's finalize word count <450 prose words (not counting HTML tags). Let's write final answer concisely.

Summary

This packet for the Leelanau Township Board's January 14, 2025 meeting contains the draft minutes of the December 10, 2024 meeting (pending approval) along with supporting financial reports, contracts, and policy documents. At the December 10 meeting, chaired by Barb Conley with all members (Ugalde, Wilson, Schwind, Conley, Gans) present, the board approved November bills of $161,272.61, made several appointments (Board of Review, Parks and Recreation, Planning Commission, NLTUA), authorized ARPA fund flexibility, and approved EMS, visitor center, snow removal, and equipment expenditures. The packet also includes a Road Commission report recommending roughly $8,000,000 in repairs for the Cherry Homes subdivision roads and 2025 summer tax-collection agreements with three school districts.

Public Comments

During the initial comment period, "EM" welcomed and thanked outgoing board members. In the closing comment period: John thanked Facilities Manager Ian Dawkins and noted that ARPA funds could be used for recreation purposes (a suggestion, not board action). Hugh Cook thanked Jessica Wilson and JoLisa Ugalde for their help at a retirement party. Gina clarified ARPA rules, stating townships can obligate funds for expenses already incurred, and suggested the board obligate and spend remaining funds now rather than waiting until 2026.