Township Board - Special Meeting

Wait a minute. Get the go ahead. I aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, liberty and justice for all. We just want to make sure you weren't. I didn't pass you. He didn't see. Yes, sir. Long story. I would have given you right approval of the agenda. There's only one thing on the agenda is the property report. So, I don't know if I should leave. I mean, I got public comment. I'll just go ahead. Anybody? Yeah, I have one. I just want to say I'm not opposed to acquiring land for parks, but my opinion uh is I don't think this particular property should be taken off the tax roll. Um it's according to the listing it's 0.77 acres. I believe it's an RR4. So the requirement for a building permit without a variance uh is 1 acre. So the parcel is basically not developable. So in effect it's more or less serving as a part already.

Okay. It's privately owned. Okay. That's fine. Anybody else? Is this on on agenda items only? Yes. Yeah.

Then I'll public comment period. Um I'm Howard Schaefer. I'm from Pureport. I'm a native and I you made my day. I'm delighted that the board is considering this. Thank you so much. Uh it would resolve a long-term uh problem. Um it needs to be resolved. I would be happy to serve, although I will not now serve as a a sort of a historical vernacular resource for what happened when old uncle George Schaeer intended to deed it to the township. Something happened and uh we we won't go there, but I've always looked at that as a wrong that could be writed. Um I uh think it's a fabulous thing for Manaste County and particularly for township. Now, we are not a sleepy little township anymore. It's a hot place. Our guests come here and they go there at the end of the county road. Um, it's on the map saying old faithful, see beautiful pure point and then they get there and there's not really enough room to accommodate the cars and the people. Um, 100 feet or I think it's about 100 feet more, let's just say, is huge on Lake Michigan shoreline. Now, it's a huge deal for public access. Perport to me being a native has always felt sort of like an orphan of the township. We're in the north county, North Township, and to have the board here, uh, the supervisory board attend to this matter is just fantastic. Thank you for that consideration. My last comment is that if it should come to pass or if there's a struggle, I volunteer to do a couple things. I'll help with anything you need from a volunteer and if it comes to pass I will help clean as long as I'm alive the the park because I'm there and I can get other volunteers to also assist in

maintaining the property. Please consider this. Please um it's a it's a it's a it's an idea and a opportunity we must not miss. Thank you. Appreciate it. No good. Okay. So we got we got public comment. Oh, go ahead. Someone online. Hang on. Yeah, somebody's got their hand ra.

All right. Thank you. My name is Chris Knap. Uh, I own a property at 2892 High Street there in Pierport. Uh, and my wife and I recently purchased it with our family and um, uh, saw this property listed for sale and I think the board uh, and the community has a truly a once in a-lifetime opportunity to preserve a piece of property that will be uh, considered for the public good for uh, lifetimes to come. Uh it's uh I think it's also an opportunity to preserve the character of Perport which is um desiraably sleepy if I might if I might say so. It's uh the kind of property where um it's um it will enable the public uh to access one of the hidden gems of Northern Michigan. Uh and I'm hopeful that whatever plan there is kind of recognizes that um uh whatever public space is created there is uh created with the idea of preserving natural habitat uh on the on the land and enhancing it and um not uh with the idea that we're trying to create a you know larger parking lot or um you know uh you know massive new attraction but more that we're preserving the the character that has made that area and that beach so special for so many generations. Thank you.

Thank you. Is there anybody else that would like that's online that would like to make a comment? If so, either unmute yourself or raise your hand and I'll unmute you.

Anyone online like to make a public comment? Jean, go ahead. Jean Kapper, 9126 Northwood Highway in Onakma. Uh, speaking as a parks and rocks employee, I think this would be a fabulous addition to the parks that we already have. Um, one of our most beloved is our beach at Langland and I think having this would be um, an enhancement and I'm in support as a private citizen and also as an employee. Thank you.

Uh, Lisa Tucker. Oh, two 12372 Lake View Road. Um, so also I'll ditto the conversation by the previous gentleman of a great opportunity for the community to purchase this and keep it very natural. So, thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Um, yes, Pam Evans. Um, yes. Hi.

Hi everyone. I um also live in Pureport at 12851 Lake View and echo the support for preserving this property as a just a natural treasure and hope that the board will consider it and thank you for um considering it.

I think we're done. I think that's everything online. Anybody else going? Yeah. Go on online. We have somebody in the audience. Michelle Urban on Bay View. Uh I am speaking as a person who has been on the committee, the parks and recreation committee uh for seven years, which right now is the longest term since I've been around and I noticed in prior minutes um there's always been the desire in surveys consistently for more water access and more beach access. And the problem was we never had a way to create more beach. So this is uh an opportunity that could meet that stated need uh through surveys over the decades.

Okay, I am in support. Thank you, Don. I think that's everybody, right? So obviously the purpose of this was for us to consider putting in an offer. I was informed this morning by the selling agents selling the sellers's agent that they would not accept an offer from the township to if the property was going to be put in public trust. So that would mean if we purchased it, they wouldn't even accept an offer from us. So we my opinion is I would have liked to have written one and probably still could if you'd actually wanted to turn something in but that's what I was informed.

They want to see a house full there. I'm not a I don't even understand what they're saying that they're refusing to sell it to a I'm not even so they can do that. Refuse to sell. It's not discrimination. It's not a protective class discrimination. Yeah. I'm assuming you can do whatever you want to sell your property, too. Well, then I think the township should absolutely refuse zoning on that basis. It's just nuts. Yeah. I mean, Dan I mean technically I I I want it to be preserved. Don't I agree with everybody. I'm just saying I don't even think we need to buy it to preserve it. That's

Yeah. The only thing I wonder about, David, is if we should go through and write purchase agreement to make because right now what you're hearing is what the seller said through a real estate agent, his agent, right? Yeah. Um, so I I mean if if the board wants to proceed with the purchase, then my recommendation would be that we write the offer and so that we have that documented. I think that's a great recommendation.

Was an agency before and I I've never heard of it as a protected class. I I if you unless you're trying to negotiate something off of it, I I was always taught when I went through real estate school, I was always taught that unless it's protected class through Lar can't remember Elliot Larson is Michigan and there's also federal laws. So outside of that, I've never heard if you're writing a full price offer with no contingencies. But there there would be contingencies. That's our issue. That's your issue. Right there.

So I've been a real estate broker for 38 years. Okay, not discrimination issue. The only and any seller can refuse to sell to anybody they want as long as it's not a protective class. The only thing that could come into question is if you wrote a full price offer, does that seller owe the real estate agent a commission? And that's not so what does the board want to do? I mean, that's what I was told. I think if we're going to discuss it, I'd like to go into close session. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. which you need a super majority. So you need four votes.

I'll move we go into close session to discuss the purchase of real property pursuant to the open meetings act section fill in the blank please. Jennifer not from wrote yet. Ed? Yes we will. It's one of the approved ways to do there a second. I'll second it. Okay great sending can you discuss that motion? Oh absolutely. I guess my only question is at this point in time and we've already discussed so much of it is I can't imagine what we have to discuss and we need to go into close session. So I'm going to vote no. Okay. I'm going to vote yes this time. Yes.

And yes. Yes. Okay. So we'll go into close session right. So for people on Zoom, I'm going to mute the uh microphone. When we come back out the meeting already going to be in clean.

All right, we're coming back into open. Yeah, we're waiting for the supervisor, then we're going to come back in the open session. Open.

Yes. Why church is amazing. Safe Harbor.

Safe Harbor. It's back where the nuns used to echo his love. Okay. I'll make a motion we return to open session. Second that. Okay. All in favor say I. I. I. Oppose. That's carried. Okay. Wishes of the board. Okay. I will make a motion. Um I don't have the parcel number. Yes, I do. No, I've got it. I've got it now.

Okay. I would move that we enter into a purchase agreement for property commonly known as 13mi road with a legal description of lot 14 parcel number of 51-11-580-014- z00 in the amount of $500,000 with a $10,000 earnest money deposit payable upon acceptance of the offer with the following contingencies. The offer is subject to obtaining funding in the amount of $450,000 from sources other than Onima Township. It is subject to an appraisal that supports the $500,000 purchase price. It is subject to a phase one environmental site assessment. Sorry.

Um and authorize the supervisor and Cindy to um work with a licensed real estate broker to write the purchase agreement and once completed authorize the supervisor to execute the document. Okay. for a second. Oh, I'll second him for a second. Discussion. Hold on. Um, should we say instead of enter into a purchase agreement, say negot? Make an offer to purchase. Yeah. And then what do we want to put a time frame in there? Was that made closing within so many?

That's the one I I knew there was something I missed. Closing on or before January 30th, 2025. 2026. Is that given enough time to do that? I don't think this I don't think this February 15th. The only reason I say that is I don't know if you get if they do accept I don't know if you get an environmental guy here that fast. Okay, that then let's word it a different way. Um so 45 days. Yeah. Okay. So closing on or before the 15th

within closing with within on or before 45 days after comp acceptance of the offer because if they were to take 30 days to accept it then it could take time.

Okay. Oh, any other discussion? That was the thing that I was forgetting. I was trying. Yeah. No, the time frame while that was in Okay. Does this have to be roll call vote? You think? Sure. It does. Cindy, yes. Matt, yes. Yes. Jennifer, no. David, yes.

Okay. Public now. David. um uh as uh serving on several boards here for the township and with the interests of um the other members that I have on these boards. Uh I would like to know what the status is of uh township email addresses to protect their private information. Uh we need to sort that still. So So that's on me. I mean, it's been two years now, Ed, right?

I don't think we have consensus on whether or not the chairs of each of these committees want to funnel all the emails through them to save the township a whole bunch of money. That never got decided. If we want to have an email address for every board and commission member, we can do that. It's going to cost us quite a bit of money. If we want to have the emails funnel through the supervisor or through the chair of each of them, and those get archived, it saves money. So, that decision was never made. Well, the my point is is that if if uh um if a if I get an email address and then I have correspond with Vetta Hunt on the on the planning commission and I correspond with Jean Kapper on the plan well not let's not use Jean um Chris forth on the planning commission and and we get into a a contentious issue and there's a foyer request for for all all documentation from any member of the planning commission. Now you're you're basically uh asking Via and Chris to turn over their entire email accounts.

No, you're not. No, you're not. If it's a FOYA, all you have to give them are the records. If it's a subpoena, that's different. But my point is, I'm happy to get a proposal. I think the best practice is to have every board and commission member have an email and when they leave then you reassign that to somebody else and then we have to pay for the archiving uh so that the clerk can do the searches for the foya and there's a cost to that and I'm happy to get that proposal but we hadn't decided whether or not we wanted to do it that way or we wanted the emails to go through the chairs and if you know if the board if there's a consensus to say yeah we'll do it that way as a best practice I can get those numbers probably for the next meeting it's pretty pretty quick process I don't know what the consensus of the board.

I guess we should at least look at it that way. Well, how would it work the other way if it went all through the chair? Well, we that you would you would you would not have to have those email addresses, the township email addresses for the board and commission members because any correspondence regarding that committee would have to copy the chair and that email gets archived. So, it's just a way to save money, but that's a policy thing and people might forget to do that. So, there's the risk there. Yeah. And my my recollection may be different. I know you've been working with that, but I thought we had already talked about that. But um regardless, I would support having all committee members and chairs having an email address and at least looking at the numbers.

Y okay. It's not that expensive. I It's not inexpensive, but it's probably a best practice. So, all right. And and just one other thing for uh new committee members who come along um uh that we u subscribe somehow to this VC3 uh with these training courses that have to be completed

and they're all about cyber security and fishing scams and and that and lo and behold I get this email from VC3 and I have no idea who they are and but I'm supposed to click here. It would have been nice if if I could have been told, oh, by the way, uh you will be getting training information to complete now that you're on such and such a board or Well, okay, sure. We can we can do a better job. BC3 contracts that stuff out and you'll get you'll get, you know, they they they send spoof emails to try to see if you're listening and doing the training. That's how the program works.

But how do I know the one from BC3 isn't spoof? Well, if you've gone through the training, you would know. You can look at the address on I don't even know who BC3 is. Okay. Until Okay. We've talked about it a lot. Maybe you haven't been in the meeting. VC3 is is the township's IT provider. Yeah. and they used no before is the is the service they used to do for that sort of thing. So now you know

permanent purchase I just want to emphasize that lot is not buildable. I think $500,000 is far in excess of its new market value. So I hope that the appraiser would be at least apprised of that consideration. How is that lot any different than the hunt property? The Coke property. It's not

the legal non-conforming lot of record truck. It is not. I'll make the point. I'm not going to argue according to Michigan court Supreme Court precedence and I actually brought copies of them. If the ZBA decided to deny a building permit for that lot, it would not be a takings under the fifth amendment. May I please just ask for clarification about the wording of the uh motion? It said would seek the money for the purchase from non township sources or what? What's that? We're not going to use our cash for

any any further comment that you could share with us about where that would come from. There's a multiple funding sources that we could apply for actually. There we go. including public. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. I just wondered. Yeah. In fact, Dan, I think was gonna put some money up the other night. No, didn't change your mind. I'll see what they have for me waiting the window. Oh, okay. Anyways, we would probably actually ask for donations, but I'm saying there'll be some passion out there. Oh, yeah. I don't know how that equates to dollars, but there's passion there. Yes. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, everybody else, we're done, I think. Right. Did you have somebody you want to say? No. Okay. She's just astounded. I It's my new friend. You journey. Yeah, we are journeying. Labors.