Meeting Minutes: Live-Blog of Wednesday's Board of Trustees Meeting

Join us for tonight's Macomb Township Board of Trustees meeting. Macomb Patch will report the trustees decisions as they're made in real time via this live blog.

A copy of the April 27 agenda can be found on the township website.

7 p.m. - Supervisor Mark Grabow calls the meeting to order and all present stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Additional items added to the agenda include: a travel request for the fire chief to view the ladder truck currently on order, discussion of a tax tribunal case with Suburban Ice Macomb, consideration of a firefighter grievance and a proposed settlement on a Michigan Association of Fire Fighters wage issue.

7:03 p.m. - The board unanimously approved the consent agenda.

7:04 p.m. - Genisys Credit Union received the 2011 Michigan Recreation and Parks Association Community Service Award.

7:07 p.m. - The board adopted an ordinance that will impose a moratorium on the issuance of any permits, licenses or approvals for the sale or dispensation of medical marijuana.

7:08 p.m. - The Building Department will have to wait two more weeks to purchase a new pickup truck–the board tabled this item until its next meeting.

7:10 p.m. - The township will purchase nine new copy machines for various departments throughout the township from Ricoh Business Solutions for $51,221.

7:16 p.m. - The Macomb County Road Maintenance will provide two free applications of calcium chloride treatment for township roads and the township will contract out to another company for two additional treatments.

7:20 p.m. - The board approved the increase of Fire Retirement Fund expenditures from $169,000 to $190,125 and the increase of the Building Authority Construction expenditures from $800,400 to $2.5 million. The first increase is due to the payout of contributions to a firefighter that resigned and was not eligible for a retiree pension. The second increase was due to the cost of Macomb Corners Park Phase II.

Board Notes:

• The township is still waiting to hear from Detroit about the water rate increases for the township. The lawn watering restriction will be strongly enforced this year.
• Macomb Township has been invited to participate in the DIA Inside/Out program. The board voted to accept the DIA's proposal and participate in the program.
• The Clinton-Macomb Public Library Main Branch will be hosting an exhibit next week picturing unidentified persons in historical photographs of the area. The library is asking residents to come in and try to identify the individuals pictured, as well as bring in their own historic photos of the area.
• Michigan Municipal League refunded the township $37,043.

Executive Session

• Macomb Township will accept the settlement with GTR Card Road Property as proposed and the board has authorized legal counsel to sign the consent judgment. 
• Macomb Township will accept the settlement with GTR Romeo Plank Road Property as proposed and the board has authorized legal counsel to sign the consent judgment.
• The board has authorized legal counsel to continue defense of the township in litigation with Suburban Ice Macomb.
• The board has authorized the township's Human Resources director to offer a settlement to the firefighter grievance.
• The Michigan Association of Fire Fighters has accepted the township's settlement, which will see raises frozen for the next two years.