By David Hutchinson
The Regular Meeting was held in the Surrey Township Hall on May 12 at 6 p.m. All five board members were present—Dixie Adams, Mindy Campbell, Mike Coon, Glenna Bradbury, and Paul Ghinelli. Around 20 people attended.
The board started by amending and approving the agenda. Supervisor Coon noted that he voted “opposed.”
The board approved minutes from the April 14 Regular Meeting, April 27 Special Meeting, and May 7 Special Meeting.
The board reviewed and approved payment of bills. For the Treasurer’s Report, the board requested Stacy Delong to “long form it.” The transfer from BS&A to Cogitate was still in progress. Delong explained that “outstanding checks” were included in the report.
For the Fire Report, Dave Williams said he would attend an “Isabella County fire chiefs meeting.” Gilmore Township’s increased service coverage was “all taken care of.”
For the Zoning Report, Tom Grabmeyer said he had approved six permits. There were 16 blight cases, and one case was brought into compliance at the “very last second.” A public hearing for the cell tower was scheduled for June 3 at 6 p.m.
For Other, Kate Schefsky talked about a Heartland Material Management survey for recycling service. The organization was a “new go-to” for waste management discussion. The online survey (surveymonkey.com/r/2LW7FXZ) had a deadline of May 30. The purpose was to help planning for achieving a goal to increase recycling in mid-Michigan counties.
Schefsky said that county commissioners had a “letter of support” for GFL’s proposed recycling facility in Hayes Township. The project was estimated to take from one to one and a half years.
Schefsky went on to say that Surrey Township’s GFL contract would end in “eleven months.” The township had “put up with 32 months” of GFL “taking advantage.” She warned GFL giving “unsolicited favors” as the contract’s expiration or renewal approached. Board members should have “no side deals.” She added that an additional facility in the county might “alleviate” traffic at Surrey Township’s Transfer Facility.
For Public Comment, Connie Fletcher asked how long Clerk Bradbury had been the township’s clerk. She talked about Trustee Ghinelli getting incorrect “paperwork” to register as a candidate for this year’s election. She said Bradbury had not erred with other candidates and had “recruited” Trustee Adams to run in the election. “What do you have against Paul?”
Fletcher went on to say that Ghinelli tried to save taxpayer money, but Bradbury and Adams were “rude to him.” Coon and Ghinelli had done a “great job” as board members.
Caroline Sysak talked about Lake Thirteen which had “absolutely no dredging” lately. The project was not “on schedule,” and a refund ought to be issued. She asked about the township’s forensic audit and wanted to know about any fines the township had paid in the last 20 years. She also wanted the date that BS&A service was dropped and what happened to “COVID money.” She suggested “part-time” work “like Grant Township.”
Janet Knoph talked about GFL’s proposed facility in Hayes Township. “It’s been on the news.” She held up a copy of Surrey Township’s contract and said it would expire before the proposed facility would be finished. She asked what GFL would do in the meantime.
Coon read aloud an email from a resident. The message read that township board meetings primarily focused on the Transfer Station and “Glenna’s mistakes.” Discussion was “beating a dead horse.” The solutions for removing the clerk were recall or resignation, but attendees had at times been “cruel and vicious” with complaints. “Put up or shut up.”
One attendee said complaining about Bradbury was “pettiness” and “distracts from the real work.” Being the clerk was a “thankless job.” She urged people to be supportive of public officials for better performance, rather than using a “tone” of endless criticism.
Another attendee said GFL was trying to “clean things up” before the contract expired. She reported another unlabeled truck at the Transfer Facility. She questioned Bradbury’s intentions and ability to perform clerk duties.
Someone else said she could not make “that many mistakes” and keep a job.
Another attendee said people complaining about Bradbury should “recall.” “This is ridiculous!” People just wanted to “beat up Glenna.”
Regarding the testing of landfill monitor wells by Fleis & Vandenbrink, Bradbury said she was waiting for a response from the company.
Regarding the Bloom opinion on moving well testing funds, Bloom had recently contacted Coon. Clarification was needed for well locations. Coon expected an “answer very shortly,” and the legal distinction was a “very thin line.”
Regarding the forensic audit, Bradbury said work was “pretty well wrapped up.” She received an “interim invoice” totaling over $21,000 for March and April. So far the auditor had found nothing “major.”
For New Business, the board discussed a contract for GIS equalization department services. Treasurer Campbell said it concerned “taxes.” Ghinelli said there were three options: “free,” “$500,” and “$4,500.” He wanted to know what extra work would result from choosing the free option. There was discussion of folding papers and other tasks. Coon rapped the gavel to end discussion. The board approved “option three.” Adams added that the free option could work for townships with smaller populations.
Regarding “BS&A assessing,” Campbell said converting from “.NET” to “Cloud” would cost $2,500. Assessor Frank Gentz did not want the Cloud service because there was “no going back” option for correcting errors. Unfortunately, the .NET service would be discontinued so there was little choice in the matter.
Campbell said Gentz would save $1,000 because of partnering with another township for training. The county had decided to go with Cloud service in December. The county’s servers were “expiring.”
Campbell said the conversion of BS&A data was expected to take “72 hours” and occur in July at the earliest. “Everybody’s trying to convert now.” Gentz was getting Starlink satellite internet service so he could do work from home. The expense of converting from .NET to Cloud was unwelcome. With no alternatives to choose, Ghinelli felt like being “held hostage.” The board approved the contract for service conversion.
Regarding the “server backup battery,” Bradbury said she had heard a “beeping noise” in the township hall. It turned out the server’s battery system needed replacement. Victoria Williams said there were two price quotes: a nearly-$1,000 option and a “half price” option for $475. She was waiting for a “quarterly visit” from Black Rock. The current battery was estimated at four or five years old and probably a “sealed lead” type. The board approved the $475 option.
Regarding computer access, Adams said the issue was in trying to view Cogitate data on Coon’s personal computer. She had asked Black Rock for “read-only” access. Black Rock responded that users should “avoid” accessing data on “personal devices” because of security concerns.
Coon said he was “Chief Financial Officer” and so needed to be able to view the Cogitate data. The data was stored locally on the township’s server so it was not accessed the same as BS&A’s Cloud data. Adams noted that BS&A’s Cloud service caused “more grief.” The board decided to get price quotes for a work laptop for Coon and tabled the matter.
For Public Comment, an attendee asked about the server battery system. The response was that it was “always running.”
Another attendee asked about deputy supervisor pay. Ghinelli was currently Deputy Supervisor, but he did not get paid for that position. Bradbury said he could get compensation if he logged hours of work.
Someone else asked if Ghinelli knew about getting paid for deputy supervisor work. Ghinelli did not know. Bradbury said she assumed Rod Williams had informed him. Coon said Williams educated him and Ghinelli on “what he did” but not about getting paid. Bradbury said the rate was over $12 an hour.
Another attendee said the “rental ordinance” was “so so old” and needed updating. Issues included Airbnb and “shipping containers.” The township’s Master Plan update was in progress.
For Board Comment, Bradbury said complaints about her work “feels personal.” She said the errors she made were not intentional; she had no desire to commit “fraud.” “I do like Paul.” “I do make mistakes.” “I was upset!” The difference between the forms for Ghinelli’s candidacy was a single question. She had apologized to him and worked on correcting the situation. “I’m sorry to all of you.”
Coon said lake dredging was up to the lake improvement board, not the township board. He expected that dredging could not start until after July 2 because of fish spawning.
Coon said the township should have more meetings regarding the GFL contract. One and a half years to finish the facility in Hayes Township was “optimistical thinking”—getting permits approved was a lengthy process. The state was “moving so drastically” to increase recycling services.
Adams objected to people “accusing” Bradbury of “recruiting” candidates for elections. She chose for herself to run for the township board. “I didn’t like what I was hearing.” She took “offense” at the notion that Ghinelli and Coon were the only board members trying to make improvements. She worked on “policies and procedures” and “instigated the grant.” Regarding the MSHDA grant, “the ball is rolling.”
Ghinelli recommended attending Heartland Materials Management meetings. “The more eyes the better.” “We can’t see it all.”
Regarding the election paperwork, Ghinelli said he was not knowledgeable, and there were “errors made.” Government work was “brutal,” and politics was a “cruel world.” He forgave Bradbury and “hadn’t lost any sleep.” He was expected to appear on the November ballot.
Ghinelli said the lake dredging might start after July 4. There had been “engine problems” and disappearance of a “pipe.” He expected the company to finish the work, if only to get the remaining $250,000. It was “easy money.”
Ghinelli said that rental ordinances were “very common,” partly because of Airbnb. Coon added that townships were not encouraged to adopt such ordinances because the state was working on relevant legislation.
Board members discussed the ongoing transfer from BS&A to Cogitate. Seven months of data had been input so far, and six months remained for “payables.” Bradbury said the seven months took “about three days” of work. Payroll data was expected to be “pretty easy.” BS&A had provided incomplete reports so data had to be entered manually. It was hoped that the work would be done by early June.
The meeting adjourned around 7:45 p.m. The next regular meeting is scheduled for June 9 at 6 p.m.
