Watertown Charter Township

Watertown Charter Township

Minutes of Board of Trustees Regular Meeting

October 15, 2007

7:00 P.M.

Call to order: The meeting was called to order at 7:02 P.M. with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Board Members Present: Clerk Husby and Trustees Maahs, Weitzel, and Zay. Absent with notice: Supervisor Adams, Treasurer Thelen, and Trustee Mitchell. Staff present: Tubbs, Polverento

Public Comment:

· Dale Westrick, 9041 W Herbison Road, discussed the house on Watertown Parkway. He suggested that the township sell the house to be moved. He asked about bow hunting the property. He feels that the Parks & Recreation Committee needs to meet more often and have an agenda.

· Jack Enderle, County Commissioner, reported on the county budget hearing for 2008. The building committee has pretty much wrapped up. Rails to Trails - the State now owns the rail right of way from Ionia to Corunna. Recognition for Fred Meijer was overlooked in the newspaper article. Mr. Meijer has pledged $1.3 million for the project. Green Space Committee is studying non-motorized transportation. One percent of the State budget is designated for non-motorized transportation.

· Andrea Polverento, planning director, reported on the plans for a crosswalk across Wacousta Road.

7:20 P.M. Public Hearing opened

PUBLIC HEARING: IFT-Demmer Corporation. Tubbs summarized the project. It is for personal property to be installed in the ASC building on Felton Road. They have received a contract to produce military vehicles. Heather Shawa, Demmer Corporation, presented information concerning the project. In the last fourteen months, they have doubled in size with the number of employees up from 300 to 1000. The total program will provide six hundred new jobs. The initial investment is $3.5 million for machinery and equipment to be in place by December 31^st. The prime contractor is General Dynamics. Their customer is the United States army. The contract is for the M-WRAP Program. They are to deliver their first vehicle in the middle of November. They expect it to be part of their business for many years. ASC, former occupant of the building, is in bankruptcy. Once that process is complete, the tax abatement on the building can be transferred to Demmer. The request is for six years on $3.5 million for equipment. Tubbs explained that the rush on this item is caused by an October 31, 2007 application deadline to the State. Tubbs explained that the format for the agreement had been approved by the township attorney.

7:40 P.M. Public Hearing closed

Consent Agenda: Motion by Husby and seconded by Zay to approve consent agendas items as presented. Motion carried

Agenda Approval: Weitzel requested to add correspondence and report review as item #7. Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Zay to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried

Approval of Minutes: Regular meeting, September 17, 2007- Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Zay that the minutes of the regular meeting on September 17, 2007 be approved as presented. Motion carried

Special meeting, October 2, 2007-Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Zay that the minutes of October 2, 2007 be approved as presented. Motion carried

The approval of the Closed Session minutes of September 17^th were postponed.

Approval of bills: Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Zay to approve the bill list and the adjusted bill list as presented for October 15, 2007. Motion carried

NEW BUSINESS:

1. Resolution no. 1015-2007-1-IFT-Demmer Corporation. Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Husby to waive the reading of the resolution. Motion carried

Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Husby to adopt the resolution granting an industrial facilities exemption certificate for Demmer Corporation as amended. Husby explained that Watertown Charter Township has taxable value of approximately $16 million in IFTE’s. After the resolution is adopted, a copy of the resolution along with a document waiving the proper notification will go back to each of the taxing authorities for a signature, stating that they were notified by certified mail, and they have no objection to the tax abatement. These waivers will be included with the application to the State Notices of the public hearing were sent by certified mail on the 10th with most of the receipts returned by the 12^th. .

Yes: Zay, Maahs, Husby, Weitzel. No: none

Absent: Adams, Thelen, Mitchell

Motion carried and resolution adopted

Tubbs explained the agreement concerns personal property rather than real property. Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Husby to waive the reading of the development agreement between Watertown Charter Township and Demmer Corporation. Motion carried

Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Zay to approve the development agreement between Watertown Charter Township, a Michigan municipal corporation with offices at 12803 Wacousta Road, Grand Ledge , Michigan 48837 (“Township”) and Demmer Corporation, a Michigan corporation with offices at 1600 N. Larch, Lansing, Michigan 48906 (“Developer”), pending approval of the Township manager. Motion carried

Pending Business:

1. Case #06-10 TXT, Zoning amendments. Polverento presented all of the zoning amendments that have been sent to the Board since February. Husby suggested that it wasn’t necessary to re-approve the amendments that have been passed and published. Tubbs stated that the Township attorney says that a roll call vote is needed on all of the amendments that have been done since February 2007.

1.) Section 28-559. Accessory buildings, Structures, and Uses. Motion by Weitzel and seconded by Zay that the Watertown Charter Township Board of Trustees concurs with the Planning Commission to approve the zoning amendments to Section 28-559 as amended and described in Case #06-10 TXT for the following reasons and findings of fact:

(a.) The zoning amendments are necessary to provide clarification and improvement to the existing Watertown Charter Township Zoning Ordinance.