By David Hutchinson
The Regular Meeting was held in the Surrey Township Hall on September 9 at 6 p.m. All five board members were present—Mike Coon, Mindy Campbell, Glenna Bradbury, Dixie Adams, and Paul Ghinelli. More than 20 people attended.
The board started with approving the agenda, minutes from the August 12 and September 3 meetings, and payment of bills. Board members reviewed the Treasurer’s Report.
For the Fire Department Report, Dave Williams said the first payment was made for “fire recovery.” An “outstanding bill” was settled. 70% of incidents in the township were “Rescue & Emergency Medical Service.”
For the Zoning Report, Tom Grabmeyer said that he issued nine permits and nine “dump cards.” He said the dump card policy was going well, except for a single case. He signed up for a zoning administrator course in early 2026.
For the Planning Report, Dixie Adams had nothing to report. For the County Report, Jacob Gross was absent. For the first Public Comment section, nobody spoke up.
Then the board discussed maintenance of the cemetery, including discing the ground and mowing brush. It was noted that most burials nowadays were for cremated remains as a way to save money. “Full burials” were getting less common.
The cemetery driveway pavement was in need of repair or replacement, but cost was an issue. Board members wanted to “nurse it through” for a few years before replacing it. The board decided to have it “milled” to act as a gravel road.
For the issue of meeting room audio, Trustee Adams outlined a possible setup of multiple microphones and one speaker. The soft speaking of board members was difficult for attendees (and sometimes even board members) to hear at meetings. Supervisor Coon was in favor of purchasing equipment. “People asked us to do something so they can hear us.” The board approved the purchase.
For the township’s lawnmower, the only offer received was $2,000. The board decided to table the matter until next year to get a better price.
Next the board discussed the Master Plan. For the job of updating it, one bid was $28,000, another was $20,000. Zoning Administrator Grabmeyer said the two bids were all he received after contacting nine firms. The cost was discouraging. The board decided to table the matter for next month to wait for more bids.
For the MSHDA grant, Adams said the paperwork was done and about to be submitted. There was no opposition at the hearing. If successful, the money was expected for mid-October. An advisory committee would need to be formed to manage the funds.
As an update on the BS&A issue, Clerk Bradbury said that work was underway checking account numbers, going line by line. One account number stopped working since May. She said customer support required separate phone call appointments for each question or task. Company representatives would not answer additional questions for one call.
The board had two applicants for the Planning Commission position. After some discussion, board members decided to recommend appointing Rod Williams. “He’s got experience.”
For the matter of the ADA grant, Adams outlined a possible expansion of the meeting room by moving interior walls. When used as a polling place, the room was “cramped” and a “complete zoo” during last election. The grant amount was $10,000. She received one bid for the work.
For the Deputy Clerk position, Bradbury said she picked the final candidate who was expected to move to the area later this month.
Going back to cemetery maintenance, the board discussed tree removal service. A few trees were “threatening” a roof. Two bids were received. Coon abstained from voting due to a family relation. The rest of the board members approved the lesser of the two bids.
Next, Coon said he liked to see public commenters named in meeting minutes. Minutes included names previously but had forgone naming in recent months. At a previous meeting, a resident asked for the naming to be reinstated and was told that it was not required. The board approved including commenter names in minutes.
After that, Nate Hulliberger of the Clare County Road Commission updated the board regarding work on Maple Grove Road (between Kapplinger Drive and North Road). He said the “tree budget” was “quite a bit under.” The savings meant work could be done (including “five inches of gravel”) on another stretch of the road (between Old State Avenue and M-115) for no additional cost. The board approved the extra road work.
Next, Robert Fountaine brought a laptop to the podium and addressed the board. He described an issue of speeding on Old State Avenue. He said residents were concerned about it, but the road commission was not. He wanted the speed limit lowered for his neighborhood. He cited Michigan Public Act 33 of 2024 which regulated speed limit changes. Hulliberger said official action was unlikely unless there was a “fatality or multiple crashes.”
Fountaine recalled a recent incident where he walked across the road which looked clear of traffic, at first. “I’m smart enough to look both ways.” As he crossed the center line, a car dashed toward him. The driver honked the horn and swerved over the center line. “These old legs don’t hop, skip, and jump anymore.”
To update on the landfill testing matter, Bradbury said she was told by EGLE that all monitor wells had to be tested, and by a licensed tester. Board members discussed the presence of PFAAs and how difficult and expensive the testing was for those contaminants.
For Public Comment, a resident said “the dump was a nice little place” before GFL started servicing the township. She cited the January 10, 2023 board meeting minutes for statements by Rick Fancon about GFL operations. The minutes state, “Per week 80-100 tons involving 10-12 trucks per a Monday-Friday work week.” She said the Transfer Facility was seeing closer to “10 to 12 trucks per hour” nowadays. She lived in the woods, but, being close to the facility, “we might as well live on I-75.”
Someone else said in a raised voice the problem was that verbal promises from GFL were not put in writing in the contract. “Unfortunately, a lot of people got screwed!”
Another resident had more complaints about GFL. She criticized the lack of transparency in the past and employment of Russ Hamilton at the Transfer Facility. Increasing traffic made the facility a “mega-mess.” She said the township would see trash coming from more and more municipalities around the state, already as far as Midland.
A different resident asked about the situation with BS&A. Board members responded that they were “happy” to get a response, but the trouble was not yet resolved. Bradbury described the difficult transition. “It’s very messy.” Account numbers were “scattered like billiards.”
For Board Comment, Coon said the township was stuck with the GFL contract and its lack of specifics until it expired in 2027. “We’re dealing with what was left to us.”
Regarding BS&A, “we’re not happy.” He gave a specific example where a certificate of deposit was erroneously changed to “cash in the bank” by the accounting system. It was “frustrating” to hear that the county was avoiding the Cloud service after getting Surrey Township to sign up for it.
Bradbury described her experience with the accounting system which “has been a nightmare.” Holding back tears, she recalled how account numbers mysteriously changed, and company representatives had no answers for her. Considering the customer service, the price was “obscene.” Aggressive and deceitful salesmanship did not help matters. The Cloud transition took a job she loved for “17 years” and made it “hell.” “I’m doing the best I can.”
Trustee Ghinelli agreed that the GFL contract was “appalling.” “We’re stuck with it.” He suggested thinking about the next contract now and possibly hiring a negotiator. He said the Transfer Facility was a “valuable piece of property.”
Regarding BS&A, Ghinelli said the situation was “appalling.” “It’s been hell for these girls.”
Ghinelli agreed with lowering speed limits. He said “brush” in some spots limited visibility and made traffic very dangerous. Coon said there had to be so many houses per mile of road to warrant official action.
Regarding the Transfer Facility, Adams said that more residents’ voices needed to be heard, more than those showing up at meetings. A questionnaire would likely need to be mailed to everybody.
Adams said the BS&A system was the “worst” program she had ever seen. Basic tasks like balancing payroll and generating reports were too difficult. “The information is not available.” She suspected there was “leftover” money from budget items that the system was not showing.
Regarding speeding traffic, Adams agreed that Old State Road was dangerous. “The police don’t police much,” “unless you have a broken-down car.” She said weekend travelers were mostly to blame for the danger, even if they were vital to the local economy. They did not “respect” local limits and safety.
The meeting adjourned about 8:35 p.m. The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for October 14 at 6 p.m.
