Minutes
Village of Michiana
Zoning Board of Appeals
Meeting & Public Hearing
May 12, 2008
The meeting and public hearing of the Village of Michiana Zoning Board of Appeals was called to order at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) by Chairperson John Luce.
Present were John Llewellyn, John Luce, Sheila Stein and Patricia Carpenter. Hillary Herbst was absent.
Mike Botelho explained to the council that he was requesting the variance to decrease the side setback from 20 feet to 17 feet for the purposes of enlarging the pool area and installing a retractable cover.
A letter submitted by Mr. Stankus in which he stated he had no opposition to the requested variance was entered into the record. No other comments were submitted.
Motion by P. Carpenter and seconded by J. Llewellyn to recommend to Village Council the approval of the variance request for 3850 Lake Shore Drive as submitted by Mike and Renee Botelho. Motion carried, 3-0, with S. Stein abstaining.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned by Chairperson Luce at 6:52 p.m. (EDT).
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Jo Nallenweg
Village Clerk
Minutes
Village of Michiana
Regular Council Meeting
May 12th, 2008
The regular meeting of the Council of the Village of Michiana was called to order at 6:57 p.m. (EDT) by President John Luce.
Present were John Llewellyn, John Luce, Sheila Stein, and Patricia Carpenter. H. Herbst was absent.
Motion by S. Stein and seconded by J. Llewellyn to accept the minutes of the April 14th, 2008 regular meeting as printed to be filed. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to accept the minutes of the April 21st, 2008 special meeting as printed to be filed. Motion carried, 4-0.
Personnel and Commissioner’s Reports:
Treasurer’s Report: The audited financial statements as submitted by Rehman Robson were provided to council; the auditors were unable to attend the May meeting, but would like to do a presentation at another meeting.
Police Chief Report: Nothing additional to report.
Building Inspector’s Report: Nothing additional to report.
Tree/Fence Inspector Report: Not in attendance due to class; Nallenweg reported that one tree permit had been issued.
Superintendent Report: Nothing additional to report.
MSVFD Report: Chief Imes verbally gave his report.
Water Authority Report: The Lake Shore Drive project is back on track. The possibility of installing all new radio read meters is still being reviewed; the clerk and the superintendent estimate that the cost of the meters would be recovered in three to five years. It has been suggested by the most recent water study that there is a loss of revenue due to the age and instability of the current water meters.
Clerk’s Report: J. Luce read a letter submitted by Nallenweg which defined the clerk’s hours as being 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday EST, and the clerk is not to be contacted after hours by any Village residents. If it is an emergency, the police department has the ability to contact the clerk after hours and on weekends. Any other business will be addressed only during normal business hours.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to accept the Personnel and Commissioner’s Reports. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to affirm the letter regarding working hours as stated by the clerk. Motion carried, 4-0. The letter was signed by the President and the council.
Motion by S. Stein and seconded by P. Carpenter to accept the financial statements and bills to be paid. Motion carried, 4-0.
President Luce re-addressed the clerk’s report, specifically item #8 dealing with numerous FOIA requests submitted by a single individual. One FOIA request was required quite a bit of documentation, and legal counsel is being sought for any relief options available due to the office staff being one person.
Committee Reports:
Finance/Insurance: The proposed budget is completed.
Human Resources: K. Roberts is still working on a new police policy.
Communications: Nothing additional to report.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to accept the committee reports. Motion carried, 4-0.
Village resident Michael Wolf complained that the council was in violation of the Open Meetings Act for not having a council packet for Mr. Wolf. President Luce provided his council packet to Mr. Wolf.
Old Business:
Mike Overley of MERS was in attendance and gave a presentation to the council along with an underwritten quote for employee health insurance coverage. The Village’s coverage is currently restricted to medical and prescription coverage; the MERS plan also included vision and dental coverage. The cost difference would be approximately $124.83 per month less to participate in the MERS plan. Overley also informed the council that participation in another MERS benefit plan was required, and cited the examples of life insurance and disability coverage.
The refuse removal bids were revisited by the council. Able Disposal’s bid was for $3,341 per month including the environmental fee, and the bid from Lakeshore Recycling was for $3,303.
Motion by S. Stein and seconded by J. Llewellyn to accept the bid and continue service with Able Disposal. Motion carried, 3-0 with Carpenter abstaining.
Heidi Jaffee was in attendance to discuss the Women’s Club contract. Jaffee informed the council that the contract had not been signed due to two statements included in the contract pertaining to the provision of financial statements. Jaffee cited lack of volunteers within the Women’s Club organization as prohibiting the Women’s Club from complying with that contractual requirement.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by P. Carpenter to strike both the last sentence in paragraph three of the contract and section 15(b) which pertained to the provision of financial statements. Motion carried, 4-0.
President Luce informed the council that Village resident Michael Wolf had requested three items be added to the agenda: installation of underground utilities throughout the Village; annexation of the Michigan Shores subdivision into the Village of Michiana; and merging the Michiana and Grand Beach police departments.
President Luce stated that the council had pursued the installation of underground utilities three years ago, and it was cost prohibitive at that time, citing a cost estimate of $7,000 to $8,000 per pole, with a total estimated cost to the Village of $3.5 million.
Luce also stated that the annexation of the Michigan Shores subdivision had been pursued three years ago, and residents in the subdivision had been polled. The majority of the residents stated they were against annexing into the Village of Michiana, and did not want another tax bill.
Luce also stated the issue of merging the Grand Beach and Michiana police departments had been reviewed several years ago, and residents of both communities were against the idea; the residents wanted their own respective police departments and did not mind the additional costs involved.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to reject all three requests as submitted by Michael Wolf. Motion carried, 4-0.
New Business:
After much discussion, President Luce informed Roy Quiriconi that the Village would need approval from the Board of Health for the Day of the Arts committee to sell hot dogs and soda as a fundraiser at the Village Hall this summer. Chief Papke will contact the Liquor Control Commission regarding the committee’s request to have a cocktail party at the hall. Nallenweg informed the council that the Village’s liability carrier recommended against taking out a rider for coverage for alcohol on the premises. The sale of t-shirts was accepted by the council.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to approve the request submitted by the Day of the Arts Committee to use the hall on July 26th, 2008. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S. Stein to approve the variance as requested by the Botelho’s. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by S.Stein to table the Dante lot split request pending clarification. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by P. Carpenter to approve the resolution establishing the current council trustees as signatories on the Major Street Fund’s Certificate of Deposit at Chemical Bank. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by P. Carpenter to roll over the Major Street Fund’s Certificate of Deposit at Chemical Bank for another six months. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by P. Carpenter to inquire and gather information upon the recommendations made by Rehman Robson, said recommendations to be acted upon later. Motion carried, 4-0.
Motion by S. Stein and seconded by J. Llewellyn to table the audited financial statements until the June council meeting. Motion carried, 4-0.
Richard Shepherd of the Finance Committee gave an overview of the 2008-2009 fiscal year budget as compiled by the Finance Committee. The budget will be available for public review and comment for the next 30 days.
Motion by J. Llewellyn and seconded by P. Carpenter to table the Harassment Policy until the June council meeting. Motion carried, 4-0.
J. Llewellyn reiterated the clerk’s letter regarding office hours and residents not contacting the clerk after hours or on weekends.
Public Comment:
Bruce Hipshier addressed the council regarding his campaign; Hipshier is running for State Representative.
There were no comments from the audience.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:32 p.m. EDT by President Luce.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Jo Nallenweg
Village Clerk
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