Perspective by Jim Nelson
Wayne Dockett again spilled some beans during the Board discussion of a 6:00 PM special meeting motion. That spillage is highlighted in our LiveAgenda. What it means and why he wanted to talk about it, who knows...
Much less puzzling were the complaints of Northfield Church and Nollar Road residents about literally collapsing Township infrastructure. The closed session had run long. As usually happens, residents seize the first available call to the public to voice their ire. The special meeting's second call was the first available. Watch with the 6PM LiveAgenda.
A culvert has collapsed and the Washtenaw County Road Commission will not have it repaired and the road reopened until June. Permit issues, claimed WCRC's Jim Harmon. Supervisor Chockley mentioned the early May public meeting with the WCRC, in which the township will again beg off on anything but cursory contributions to the County to defray the County's cost of the roadwork necessary to maintain our decaying roads.
I suppose there's a lesson or a message in there somewhere about the need to reserve tax dollars for maintaining the Township infrastructure. Lip service is all that idea gets, usually in the form of a single line in the middle of a wish list of more glittery, sugary immediate gratification.
While this transpired, in the very center of Fink's $60,000 Boardroom, water dripped from a water damaged drywall ceiling into a brilliant orange five gallon bucket. The Township Hall's 15 year old roof leaks.
At the regular 7:00 pm Board meeting which followed, Township Manager Aynes presented the Board with a Christmas list of goodies, ways to splurge and swim like Scrooge McDuck in the whopping $26,000 per year in income resulting from Lawnet's lease of most of the 2nd floor of our 8 million dollar Township Hall. A hella return on investment, in modern vernacular.
Nowhere on Ayne's list was setting aside money toward the eventual replacement of the Township Hall's 15 year old roof. Nowhere on that list was the cost of upgrading the 2nd floor's Heating and Cooling system.
During his campaign to build the previous board of Trustees a "Professional" setting for their unprofessionalism, former Township Manager Fink had received bids in the range of $60,000 to $80,000 for completing the HVAC component of the never completed 2nd floor construction. At present the 2nd floor is basically one gigantic heating and cooling zone. The Lawnet leasees may be expecting better from their new landlord.
At this meeting were also presented budget amendments. It turns out that our new Township manager comes with a $21,000 annual cost of health insurance. That's almost the entire year of 2nd floor rents. It is also two thirds of the annual wages paid to one of the Township's, in my opinion, underpaid employees. The Jackie Otto management genius legacy keeps on giving.
More chickens came home to roost at this meetup. The Township Charter Cable broadcast went off the air because the fiber optic uplink was destroyed during the clearing of the Township Hall's second floor. The 17 year old fiberoptic splice was sundered literally inches from a fiberoptic connector which could have been unplugged.
3-13-2018 Northfield Township Board of Trustees 6:00pm special meeting LiveAgenda - HD and Close Captioned
3-13-2018 Northfield Township Board of Trustees 7:00pm regular meeting LiveAgenda - HD and Close Captioned
