OSCEOLA
COUNTY TOWNSHIPS ASSOCIATION
Minutes
February 28, 2011
Evart Township Hall
President
Peggy Hoard called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm with our pledge of
allegiance to the flag and opening prayer.
The
meeting roll call was: Burdell – 0;
Cedar – 0; Evart – 3; Hartwick – 1; Hersey – 0; Highland – 2; LeRoy – 0;
Lincoln – 2; Marion – 0; Middle Branch – 3; Orient – 0; Osceola – 2; Richmond –
1;
Rose Lake – 1; Sherman – 0; Sylvan -0; Darwin L. Booher-State Sentator-35th
District
The
minutes of the Nov. 29, 2010 were read by K. Barnhart. Motion by D. Gingrich to accept the minutes
was supported by A. Sikkema. Motion
passed.
Treasurer’s
report was given by P. Gregory. The
balance is $2,689.10. Bills were
presented by K. Barnhart for postage and envelopes in the amount of
&5.54. Motion by S. Blackledge and
supported by D. Schroeder to pay the bills.
Motion passed.
P. Hoard
introduced our guest speaker, Darwin Booher, 35th District State
Senator. Darwin shared info on his years
of public service and the positions he has held: 25 years as Township Supervisor, 6 years as
State Rep., and 2 months as State Senator.
New business cards with phone # & email address were passed out. There are 11 counties he represents in the 35th
District.
He described
the atmosphere in Lansing as being tense at the current time-mainly due to the
difficult topics being addressed, mainly the budget. The state has a $46 billion budget with
55,000 employees. He talked about how
many new lawmakers are in this year’s state Congress: 46 of 61 reps have less than 2 years and 29
of 38 senators are new. Budget is
$2.2-3.0 billion out of balance. May 27
is the day Governor wants budget complete.
They are also looking at two year budget. Discussion on many areas of the budget: Michigan Business Tax, taxing private and
public pensions, and changes to Revenue Sharing-Statutory and
Constitutional. Tough, hard choices to
be made; no one will hide.
Discussed
the burn ban being proposed by the DNR (rule, not a law, but if no action taken
a rule becomes law) Contact Phil Potvin, District Rep or the DNR to voice
opinion. Redistricting was also
discussed. Five people decide what
boundary lines will change based on latest census numbers. The five are the County Prosecutor, County
Clerk, County Treasurer and the chair persons of both the Republican and
Democratic parties. Other topics were
the new bridge to Canada, the binding arbitration 312 bill, taxes on food &
services, public vs. private services—example was the cost savings experienced
by the Dept. of Corrections when they privatized the food service at
Pugsley. Dept. of Corrections budget was
also discussed.
Motion
to adjourn by D. Schroeder and 2nd by P. Mitchell.
Respectfully
submitted,
Kathy
Barnhart, Secretary (back of page has more
info!)
Our next meeting will be on May 23, 2011 at the Marion
Township Hall.
The address is 102 E. Main St.,
Marion, MI 49665 (Directions are listed below).
The featured speaker will be Susan
Conradson, FEMA-District Flood Plan Engineer
The public is invited.
Announcements were placed in
the Marion Press, the Osceola County- Pioneer, and the Tri-County papers.
Directions to Marion Township Hall:
In an effort to help find the different township
hall’s we are including directions.
While I’m sure there are faster & smarter ways to get there,
here are directions for those of us who don’t know any other way!
A few different ways!
1. US 10 East from Reed City-go 19.6 miles to
M-66 North. Turn left go 14 miles north
to the stop sign/flashing light in downtown Marion. Turn right- East go about 1/4 mile—town hall is on the right. Note: The first “hall” you may see is the
Village of Marion—the Township Hall is further down on the right—just before
the Post Office!
2. Follow 20 Mile through downtown
Tustin, out past the County Road garage to M-115—it’s a ways, but it’s all
paved! When you reach M-115 – STOP-check
traffic-and go 5 miles on 20 Mile Rd. to the stop sign/flashing light in
downtown Marion. Go ¼ mile past the stop
sign— town hall is on the right. Note:
The first “hall” you may see is the Village of Marion—the Township Hall is
further down on the right—just before the Post Office!
2.
US 131 North to the M-115 exit (exit #176). Turn right at end of exit ramp. Follow M-115 for 10miles; at the blinking
yellow light-turn left on to 20 Mile. Go
5 miles on 20 Mile Rd. to the stop sign/flashing light in downtown Marion. Go ¼ mile past the stop sign— town hall is on
the right. Note: The first “hall” you
may see is the Village of Marion—the Township Hall is further down on the
right—just before the Post Office!
Please join us on May 23, 2011
and support YOUR
Osceola County Township Association