The Vergennes Township Board had its regular meeting on Monday, October 21st. The members of the board met to discuss a site plan update for the Murray Lake Marina, a bid for snow removal, and a zoning ordinance update among other items. All board members were present.
Murray Lake Marina
The first new item of discussion was a site plan recommendation from the Planning Commission for Murray Lake Marina. The business wants to construct a storage building at its property, and this would be a second building on the property at 3398 Alden Nash Ave. NE. In addition, the plan would include updating the driveway. It would mostly be used by customers hauling boats.
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended at its October meeting that the Township Board approve the site plan, and their recommendation was approved unanimously by the board.
Snow Removal Bid Acceptance
There was only one bid for snow removal received and that came from ProSeal Asphalt Maintenance. Their price for the 2024-25 winter season was $2,950 plus $120 per salt application.
It was noted that the company was “very responsive” in the past. The board unanimously approved the snow removal bid.
Zoning Ordinance Update
There had been a request to add trolleys to the zoning ordinance. Currently, the ordinance only stipulates that stairs can be used on steep embankments, but apparently, there is an interest in using trolleys as well. By consensus, the board agreed to have the Planning Commission look into the matter.
Internet Options
With the current IT company, there has been one outage since the August election. The IT company has been encouraging the board to use Starlink as a backup internet provider. But there were concerns by the board about the money invested into a “backup” option for internet.
“I can’t see using two [internet options]” stated Clerk Shantell Ford, every day of the year.
Through research, the board has gotten positive reviews of Starlink. There was concern about how early the alternate option of Starlink could be installed. The hope was by early voting (which would be Saturday, Oct. 26th). There was a motion to go with Starlink. The motion was accepted unanimously.
Township Recreation Plan
The recreation plan is outdated. There was discussion about updating the plan. Fourteen thousand dollars was priced for creating and updating the recreation plan. There was discussion about sending it to the Planning Commission for suggestions. The discussion also went into updating the “Master Plan.” As such, they decided to “run it by the Planning Commission.”
Board Updates
The board wanted to let it be known that the cemetery crew did a great job mowing the lawn and keeping up with the grounds.
Also, in regards to the elections, current stats for the the general election are 1,203 ballots have been issued, and they have a 47% return rate. Four years ago there was an 87% return rate. Early voting starts on Saturday, Oct. 26th. The township has a lot of volunteers for voting help.
Meanwhile, the fire authority is still working on a presentation to the municipality.
The meeting adjourned at 7:46pm. The next regular meeting of the Vergennes Township Board is Monday, November 18, at 7pm in the township hall.
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