Republic Township Planning Commission Meeting
June 16, 2008
Call to order at 7:06 by Chair Leslie Hurst
Attendance: Glenn, Marcy, Marie, Tom, Jim, Leslie, Diane, Paul Polanski, Bill Payne (Zoning Administrator).
Approval of May 19, 2008 minutes: Move: Marcy; 2nd: Tom. All in favor
Approval of Agenda: Move: Jim; 2nd: Diane. All in favor
(Public Comment: Add to Agenda:
Land Divisions for Glenn Adams, Mark Erickson)
Amend Agenda: Move: Marie; 2nd: Tom. All in favor
Public Comment: Minutes of May 19, 2008 meeting referring to Spear Conditional Use Permit should have included chickens and (6) sheep, as well as draft horses.
Permit Reviews:
Spear: Bill Payne pointed out that when a Conditional Use is permitted, it remains in effect even if property changes hands. Motion to grant permit: Move: Tom; 2nd: Marcy. All in favor.
Adams: (See enclosed documents). Brief explanation of request given by Steve Heikkinen from ECI. After short discussion, motion to grant permit: Move: Jim; 2nd: Tom; 6 in favor, 1 opposed. Motion approved.
Erickson: (See enclosed application). Examined application for Land Division; it appears to be in order, so he can continue with the process of obtaining other necessary documents and attachments.
Reports:
Zoning Administrator: (See written report)
3 Applications, all approved
1 Land Division
1 Conditional Use Permit
Colissimo Boathouse was examined and deemed to be in compliance.
Parks & Recreation:
Township Building near cemetery was vandalized and equipment “borrowed”, since recovered.
Cemetery gate was damaged due to accident.
Work on water at South Republic ball field continues; in the meantime, Township is furnishing portable toilets.
Baseball team is mowing ball field.
Events:
Volunteer Recognition, June 22nd at 2:00pm, Fire Hall
CCI Day (Employees’ Reunion) July 6th
Annual Fishing Derby July 19th & 20th
Two summer workers are helping out at cemetery.
Volunteers are planting flowers throughout village.
Planning Commission would like to thank Jeff Huls for the fine work he has done, cleaning up the roadways in the village.
Report by Marie about River Cleanup held June 7th. 4 volunteers picked up about 300 lbs of trash along Michigamme River’s edge.
Heritage Trail:
Representatives will be presenting our grant proposal to DEQ at meeting in Mackinaw City concerning acquisition of Old Bank Building, at their invitation.
Marie informed Commission of plans for upcoming Open House to present proposed Republic Wetlands Preserve and Heritage Trail to the public on July 5th. Tentative plans include guided tours of South Loop Trail and presentation of background information and trail maps at Township Hall. Trail Committee is looking for volunteers who can tell people about the history of the mine and its reclamation. It was suggested we contact Jim Fegan. Next meeting of Trail Committee is June 19, 2008.
Campground Committee:
Temporary guidelines will be posted next week. The Township Office hours have been added so people can make donations for camping. Maki’s Store has agreed to take donations after hours. It is stressed that these are donations, and not a fee charged for camping.
Report from Tom & Jim on Planning class they attended given by the MSU Extension Service. The new Planning Enabling Act was discusses. (Information can be found at PZCenter.MSU.edu). Deadline of September 1, 2008 to reorganize Planning Commission under an ordinance. Zoning Board of Appeals will be combined with Planning Commission. In general, procedures will be stricter. May require expert advice when developing application forms and such.
Marcy asked about new high-speed cable internet service at Township office: Is anyone using it and is it working well? Diane assured her that some folks are using it, as it is hooked up to a computer set aside for public use.
Website Report:
May, 2008 was busiest month yet, but June is on track to surpass those numbers.
Old Business:
Status of proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment concerning building permits (requiring detailed floor plans) was discussed. Some confusion as to when or if Township Board has received/acted on this amendment. We will probably have to send a motion to the Board with exact wording. Bill P. will work on this and report back.
New Business:
Leslie has updated the contact list for Planning Commission members. Everyone needs to check and see if information is correct.
Motion to adjourn at 9:22pm: Move: Diane; 2nd: Marie All in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Marie Serafin, Secretary
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