Township Board Meeting Minutes — January 14, 2025

The regular meeting of the Lincoln Township Board was called to order at 7:00 pm with Fales, Meredith, Wilson, Wirtz, Oswald, and 9 guests present.

Public comments were heard and correspondence was read. Positive comments were given to the board concerning the Village of Sanford Santa House.

The treasurer’s report was heard. Treasurer reminded attendees that she would be in the hall 2-14 and 2-28 all day during business hours to collect tax payments.

Fales-yes; Wilson-yes; Wirtz-yes; Meredith-yes. Oswald-yes. Motion approved; bills are paid.

The fire department, planning commission, building inspector, code enforcement, water authority, solid waste, and park reports were heard.

281 total calls (various types) for 2024 total is a new high total. Chief handed over 3 new applicants for fully fire qualified recruits; they are transferring from Larkin.

Planning commission: discussed setbacks for garages at the latest meetings.

Ordinance enforcement: Issued 2 permits; two new ordinance violations.

2025 Road Projects were discussed. Projects total a budget of $186,000, leaving a surplus of approximately $11k.

Fales-yes; Wilson-yes; Wirtz-yes; Meredith-yes. Oswald-yes. Motion approved.

Intergovernmental sidewalk maintenance agreement was discussed. This is a shared project between Lincoln Twp and Jerome Twp. This is being done to address the safety hazard of people walking across the bridge. Once finances are approved, MDOT is paying to install this sidewalk, but the two townships are responsible for maintaining the sidewalk long-term.

Karen Marks spoke about the problems with reserving the hall using the form on the website. The people using the form think simply filling out the form means that they have an automatic reservation. This is not the case, and we need to take action to prevent it from happening. Form should be changed to say submittal of form does not guarantee the hall rental date is locked in. Out of township residents will have six-month reservation window. Residents can reserve a year in advance. Right now, approximately 50/50 rentals are township vs. non-residents, despite non-residents paying a higher price. There is an extra $25 cost if kitchen is rented along with hall. Suggestion was made to make the reservation process electronic via website. Further discussion will occur as plans are ongoing for the website renovation.

Zoning Ordinance Update was discussed. Spicer is stepping forward to offer services. This will mean the master plan for the township is updated as well. Supervisor is comfortable with their limits and their estimated costs.

Language will be clarified and expanded in Zoning Ordinances, which is a good thing.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 pm by Supervisor Fales.

Certification

State of Michigan, County of Midland

I, the undersigned, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of the minutes of the regular meeting of the Township Board of Lincoln Township, Midland County, Michigan, held on the 12th of November, 2024.