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Thursday, February 16, 2023

Call to Order:  6 p.m.

Roll Call:  Nancy Strohschein, Chairperson; Linnea Barron, Secretary; Joe Bollech, Trustee; Bob Janda, Township Board Representative; Robert Lindert, Vice Chairman; Jay Loman, absent with notice; Donna Preston, absent with notice.

Pledge of Allegiance:  Recited

Guests:  None.

Approval of Agenda:  Bob made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Robert.  Motion carried.

Approval of minutes of January 24, 2023 meeting:  Robert made a motion to approve the minutes, seconded by Joe.  Motion carried.

Agenda: 

1.  Recreation Plan:  We reviewed the first three sections, Introduction, Community Description, and Administrative Structure, in the proposed plan with the changes that Jason made.  We still feel the map on page 2, Figure 2, could be larger or just different from map, Figure 1. 

The new sections we reviewed were:  Recreation Inventory; Description of the Planning Process; and Description of the Public Input Process.  In the Recreation Inventory, we removed Roland Lake from the inventory as we do not own it and placed this site under possible new category, Other Natural Resources.  Also in this section under the Arvon Township Waterfront Parcels we would list only the 34 acres of undeveloped Lake Superior frontage property, the 38-acre parcel near Vicks Point and the 100-foot strip of property at Witz Marina as properties that we own.  The Witz Marina, trails and rustic camping at Pointe Abbaye and the area managed by the Keweenaw Land Trust at Lightfoot Bay would be listed under Other Natural Resources.  In the Description of the Public Input Process, we changed the order so that the Community Survey would be the first step for us followed by the Early Public Input, next would be the 30-day Review Period and closing with the Public Hearing & Resolution of Adoption.

We also noted some minor typos that need to be corrected.

Other Recreation Resources include:  Roland Lake, Point Abbaye, Witz Marina, Silver River access, Big Erick’s campground, Lightfoot Bay Nature Reserve, Aura Town Hall and Ballfield, Skanee cemetery and Ravine River cemetery, Arvon Township historical museum.  Natural features include:  Waterfalls (Silver River Falls, Quartzite Falls, Letherby Falls), the slate quarry, mouth of the Huron River and Mount Arvon.

The survey, paper and on-line version, was reviewed in detail.  On #4 to save some room on the survey we combined some recreations.  We eliminated question #10 as unnecessary.  We set the date, May 8, 2023, as the person input session.  Tentative date of May 16, 2023 set for work session.  Tentative date for public hearing in June with final board approval at July 10, 2023 township board meeting.  Completed recreation plan set for August.

2.  Zoning Ordinance.

The need for a noise ordinance was brought up with a recent incident that occurred.  This would involve airB&B’s, short-term rentals, etc. 

Adjourn:  Nancy made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Joe.  Motion carried.  Work session ended at 7;50 p.m.

Next meeting:  Thursday, March 2, 2023, tentative.

Submitted by Linnea Barron, Secretary

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Call to Order:  6:00 p.m.

Roll Call:  Nancy Strohschein, Chairperson; Linnea Barron, Secretary; Joe Bollech, Trustee; Bob Janda, Township Board Representative; Robert Lindert, Vice Chairperson; Jay Loman, Board of Appeals Representative.  Absent:  Donna Preston, absent with notice.

Pledge of Allegiance:  Recited

Guests:  None.

Approval of Agenda:  Addition made to the agenda under recreation plan; list of resources.   Joe made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Bob.  Motion carried.

Approval of minutes of January 12, 2023 work session:  Joe made a motion to accept the minutes, seconded by Robert.  Motion carried.

Agenda: 

A.  Recreation Plan:  We reviewed the sections of the recreation plan provided by Jason again.  In answer to Jason’s question of providing examples of community volunteerism in Arvon Township recreation planning:  Ballfield clean-up done by volunteers; Farmer’s Market; the Christmas party for children put on by the fire department auxiliary; Aura Jamboree; community garage sales; pie social/quilt show by historical society; Memorial Day luncheon provided by the historical society; craft show; 4^th of July parade, ice fishing tournament.  Another question from Jason was about the township interacting with the school or other public agencies regarding recreation programs or activities:   Arvon Township school Christmas program at the town hall; Veteran’s Day program at the school.

In preparing our recreation plan survey we utilized the one from Autrain to guide us.  We ended up with twelve questions that will be on-line as well as paper copy, as follows.

1.  Do you or your family use recreational facilities offered in Arvon Township?  Yes or No

2.  Does Arvon Township have enough recreational facilities to accommodate our residents and visitors?   Yes or No and written comment section.

3.  Are Arvon Township’s recreational facilities that you have used adequately maintained?  Yes or No.

4.  What activities do you and your family members participate in Arvon Township for recreation?  (Please include all seasons.)  Written comments.

5.  Are there additional recreational opportunities you would like to see developed in Arvon Township?  Please be creative.

6.  How many hours per week do you spend in recreation?

7.  What time of year do you or your family recreate in Arvon Township?  Year-round, spring, summer, fall, winter.

8.  What is your age?  18 & under, 19-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50+

9.  What is your gender:  Male, female.

10.  Which one of these Arvon Township recreation areas do you believe need additional improvements:  Need to supply list of our resources.

11.  Are you interested in joining a recreation committee for Arvon Township?

12.  Do you live in Arvon Township?  (on-line only)

For the return of paper copies of the survey a drop box will be provided at the post office, town hall (fire hall), Huron Bay Trading Post and the Finns.  A deadline date will be set for dropping off the surveys and the on-line survey.

Linnea will compile a list of Arvon Township’s resources for recreation purposes.

B.  Zoning Ordinance.

Nancy reported that all of Ken’s files are now with Lisa Marinich, Township Clerk.  They include all current and old files.  Ken indicated he would like to continue with land division.  Ken also suggested to Jay Fish, Township Supervisor, that the township needs to have a person in the office at least a couple hours a day or week.  Nancy will continue to be in contact with Ken via email regarding the ordinance and the fee schedule.

The following definitions were discussed for inclusion in our ordinance:  concrete dome structures, geodesic domes, yurts, root cellars, greenhouses, barndominiums.  Also multiple cabins on 5-acre parcel for rent and vaulted privy instead of mound septic system needs to be addressed.  The vaulted privy would be a health department issue. 

Adjourn:  Robert made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Bob.  Motion carried.  Adjournment was at 8 p.m.

Next meeting date for work session:  Thursday, February 16, 2023, at 6 p.m. at the fire hall.

Submitted by Linnea Barron, Secretary

January 11, 2023

Call to order:  6 p.m.

Roll Call:  Nancy Strohschein, Chair; Linnea Barron, Secretary; Joe Bollech, Trustee; Bob Janda, Township Board Representative; Robert Lindert, Trustee; Jay Loman, Board of Appeals Representative.  Absent:  Donna Preston, absent with notice; Ken Andersen.

Recognition of visitors:  None.

Pledge of Allegiance:  Recited

Comments on agenda:  Nancy walked us through what was on the agenda and if we  had anything to add.

Approval of agenda:  Robert made a motion to accept the agenda, seconded by Bob.  Motion carried.

Approval of minutes from October 19, 2022 quarterly meeting:  In the minutes the names of Jay Fish and Linda Keohane needed to be added as receiving letters from FEMA or DEQ.  Joe made a motion to accept the minutes with the addition of the names, seconded by Jay.  Motion carried.

Public comments:  None.

Chairman Comments:  Location and Format of Planning Commission Documents.

Nancy explained her concern of where Planning Commission documents are stored, i.e., paper, electronic, etc.  She researched MTA for some answers and was able to get on the community forum site where she asked this question and received various replies with the same concerns.  Consequently, she will be meeting via Zoom with some of these people to address this issue.

Old Business:

1.  Planning commission comments/concerns:  Joe had a concern with the recent house fire in the community regarding the cleanup of the debris left over from the fire.  There are a couple cases in this community where the cleanup of fire debris took a couple of years to get cleaned up.  Insurance sometimes dictates the cleanup.  The question was if there should be something in our zoning ordinance on this.

2.  Bob Janda:  Report form Township Board Rep:  Bob thanked this board for their work.

3.  Jay Loman:  Report from Zoning Board of Appeals Rep:  None.

4.  Ken Andersen:  No report.

5.  Flood Insurance:  We have all reviewed the information provided from FEMA and the DEQ concerning the areas designated as a floodplain.  Nancy brought up a map for us to look at showing the area off of Collins Road.  We have a copy of Eagle Harbor Township and how they address this in their ordinance.  We made a decision to put this on hold until we can review this further.

6.  Recreation Plan:  We have a meeting tomorrow night with Jason McCarthy who is assisting us with our plan.  We have been approved by the board to have a mailing of a survey to all residents of Arvon Township.  We feel this is the best way to reach everyone.  This will be discussed further tomorrow night.

7.  Zoning Ordinance update:  We all have an electronic copy of Arvon Township’s ordinance.  We have discussed adding definitions to our ordinance.  Nancy will put the completed ordinance on the website.

8.  Fee Schedule update:  We reviewed the present fee schedule concerning building permits, that has not changed since 2015.  We felt this should be addressed by the building inspector as it was quite confusing.  Jay mentioned that he would investigate other townships on how they handle fee schedules. 

New Business:

1.  Review of By-Laws and select officers:  Nancy brought up a few issues with our by-laws that we are not doing.  We reviewed that appointed positions are done yearly.  We also need a vice chairperson.  Robert made a motion for Nancy to be chairperson, Linnea as secretary, seconded by Bob.  Nancy made a motion to have Robert be our vice chairperson, seconded by Linnea.  All approved.  Nancy gave us all an assignment to read the by-laws before the next quarterly meeting in April for any changes we may want to consider.

2.  Quarterly meetings:  We set up the following planning commission meeting schedule:

January 11, 2023, April 12, 2023, July 12, 2023, and October 11, 2023.

3.  Training for members:  Nancy mentioned that she and Robert received training when they joined the planning commission.  She wondered if there was any other training available for us.  This will be followed up with a possible check with MTA, and sometimes our township board receives this information.

4.  Budget for 2023:  The Township Board sets our budget from the information we give them.  Training costs, ordinance publication, master plan hard copies, recreation plan hard copies, and grant monies.

Next Quarterly Meeting:  April 12, 2023, 6 p.m. at the firehall.

Adjourn:  Bob made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Robert.  All approved.  Adjourned at 7:10 p.m.

December 8, 2022

Call to Order:  6:00 PM

Roll Call:  Nancy Strohschein, Chair; Linnea Barron, Secretary; Joe Bollech, Trustee, Bob Janda, Township Board Representative; Jay Loman, Trustee; Robert Lindert, Trustee.  Absent:  Donna Preston, Trustee, absent with notice.

Pledge of Allegiance recited.

Guests:  Jay Fish

Approval of Agenda:  Bob made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Robert, all approved.

Approval of minutes from November 9, 2022 work session:  A mistake was noticed by Jay that his name was listed as Joe, so that correction was made.  Nancy made a motion, seconded by Bob to accept the minutes with the correction of Jay’s name.  All approved.

Agenda: 

1.  Recreation Plan:  Jason informed us that the deadline to apply for grants is February 1^st.  We will not be able to complete our recreation plan before that date.  Even without grants, there were many ideas we could do without grant monies:  Replace fence at the ballfield, improve dugouts, and a hiking trail at the ballpark were suggested.  Jay felt that help from other players could accomplish this.  Also the Covid money could be used to fund these projects.

We discussed possibly having a recreation committee, separate from the planning commission, to keep up with the needs of the community.  This committee would be completely voluntary and work with the planning commission.

As work on the recreation plan progresses, ways to get input from the community include a survey (paper and on-line); newspaper article; posters at the school, post office, Trading Post, and the Finns; Facebook, Arvon township website were mentioned.

2.  Review of rec plans from other townships.  Our assignment for this meeting was to go on-line and look at other townships’ recreation plans.  Nancy prepared a chart for us to use with suggested townships with categories including:  length; recreation committee; DNR grants; other grants, past project updates, public input, comments.  We had info from Mueller, Eagle Harbor, Chassell, Baraga, Bergland.  We listed what we liked about each including priorities, assets (park/public spaces), survey (paper and electronic).  We felt this was helpful.

3.  Zoning Ordinance:  Word document from Jason sent out to all members.  Definitions from Jason that came from Autrain were sent to Kenny to review.  Our ordinance is always changing as new issues to deal with are presented.  With that in mind, it was suggested that we have a yearly public hearing to present these changes for inclusion in our ordinance.  The first part of June was suggested for this hearing.  This will be discussed further.

4.  Robert talked about the Dark Skies status and regulating the lighting used by businesses, discourage use of LED signs for example.

Adjourn:  Bob made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Jay.  All approved.  Meeting adjourned at 7:10 PM.

Next Meeting:  January 12, 2023, 6 PM at the firehall.

Submitted by Linnea Barron, Secretary