County  of  Antrim

PLANNING  COMMISSION

 

Jill Barnard

Jim Pascoe, Chairman

Al Luurtsema

Joe Allen

Tom Maleck, Vice-Chair

Laura Stanek

Barbara Bradford

Alan Martel, Secretary

Marshall  Wright

 

Terry Morris

 

Minutes

October 4, 2005

7:00 p.m.

Antrim County Building - Board of Commissioners Room

 

Members present:

 

Alan Martel, Barb Bradford, Jim Pascoe, Jill Barnard, Terry Morris, Al Luurtsema, Tom Maleck, Marshall Wright and Laura Stanek

Members absent:

 

Joe Allen

Advisory present:

 

Stan Moore

Staff and others

 

Peter Garwood and Joe Meyers

 

 

 

1.       Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Jim Pascoe, Planning Commission Chair.

2.       Public Comment

 

None.

3.       Approval of Minutes

 

Motion by Al Luurtsema, supported by Barb Bradford, to approve the minutes of the September 6, 2005 meeting.  Motion carried – unanimous.

4.       Conflict of Interest Disclosure

 

Mr. Pascoe informed the Commission that because they do not make any direct decisions and that it is an advisory board, we are not required to have this part of our meetings. There can be no conflict of interest if we are not making any decisions.  Mr. Pascoe noted that he felt that it was important to keep this at the beginning of the meeting to make sure no one has any personal conflict of interest.   

5.       Interim Rules of Procedure Update

 

Pete Garwood informed the Commission that he has spoken with Charlie Koop, Legal Counsel, and informed him that he could proceed with the final drafts of the Rules for the Transaction of Business and the Planning Commission Ordinance.  Mr. Garwood asked the committee if they had any questions or concerns on either of these documents.  Alan Martel asked if he could see the original document that he wrote.  He had concerns about the default meeting in case of a cancellation as well as any other changes made to the document.  Mr. Garwood informed the Commission that copies of the original document will be available for the next meeting.

6.       Sub Committee Reports

 

Joe Meyers explained that the report that was handed out at the beginning of the meeting was the Natural Resources and Environmental section of the Master Plan.  Mr. Meyers explained that he would like to have comments and questions on, or before October 24, 2005, to get a list ready for questions to be asked at the next meeting.  Mr. Pascoe informed Mr. Meyers that due to the sensitivity of the issue that he would like to only allot 45 minutes to that item and if there was more discussion then we could continue it over to the December meeting.  Tom Maleck informed the Committee that he has been progressing on the transportation section.   

 

Mr. Maleck also informed the Commission that there was a bill passed in August allotting three billion dollars a year to transportation in Michigan.  This money can go for things like children crossing the street to go to schools, among other things.  This gives the transportation section a lot more area to cover. 

 

Mr. Pascoe indicated that he and Jill Barnard have been working on the health and human services section but they are having difficulty coordinating a time to meet.  Mr. Pascoe is hoping to have the section done by the December meeting.

7.       Completion of the Master Plan

 

Mr. Meyers informed the Commission about a motion made by the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board urging them to hire a consultant to complete the Master Plan because they cannot apply for funds until we have an updated Master Plan.  Mr. Meyers informed the Commission that a consultant would not waste all of the hard work that the Commission has put in to this project. 

 

Discussion ensued with the entire board on what a consultant would do and how we should go about this.  There was also discussion of whether to hire a technical writer to come in to compile what the Commissioners have done or hiring a consultant in phases.   

 

Motion made by Tom Maleck, seconded by Barb Bradford, to have the professional staff write a proposal to submit to the Finance Committee on how we are going to spend the money for the master plan.  Motion carried – unanimous

8.      Communications

 

Mr. Meyers informed the Commission that the Kearney Township Recreation Plan was to be reviewed for the next meeting.

9.       Public/Member Comment

 

Jim Pascoe informed the Commission that he was moving out of the County and that November 1, 2005 would be the last meeting. He noted that his last day as Chairman would be on November 30, 2005.  The Commissioners thanked Mr. Pascoe for his time served and stated that he will be missed. 

 

Marshall Wright asked if we could consolidate the future land use maps from all of the Townships and Villages with Master Plans. 

 

Jim Gurr spoke against the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board and how the Planning Commission did not review the ordinance creating them nor did the Farmland and Open Space Preservation Board show up to the Commission meeting.  Mr. Gurr noted that he would continue to speak out against farmland preservation.

Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

Submitted and Approved

 

 

Alan Martel, Secretary       Date:

Antrim County Planning Commission