A regular meeting of the Roscommon County Board of Road Commissioners was held at 7:00 p.m., November 12, 2009 at the Road Commission office. Present: Chair Kimberly Akin, Vice-Chair R. Bill Ancel, Members Jackie S. Bertsch, George E. Pappas and Clint L. Stauffer, Manager Timothy L. O’Rourke, and Asst. Mgr./CFO Gloria J. Burns. Guests present: Byron & Jean Jacobus, Lyon Twp. Supervisor Fred Koenigbauer, Herb Weatherly, Gerrish Twp. Supervisor Frank Homola and Trustee Mary Link, Jeff Jeske, Dave Kowalski, Earl Deloge, Sam Boodoian, Jr., Marv Bolton, Tom Gromek of the Village of Roscommon, and Pat Springstead of the HLPOA.
1. Motion Stauffer, second Bertsch, that the Agenda be approved as presented. All ayes.
2. Motion Bertsch, second Stauffer, that minutes of the regular meeting held October 22, 2009 be approved as presented. All ayes.
3. Motion Ancel, second Bertsch, that minutes of the special meeting held October 29, 2009 be approved as presented. Ayes: Ancel, Bertsch, Stauffer, Akin. Nays: Pappas. Motion carried.
4. Motion Bertsch, second Stauffer, that bills and payroll due in the amount of $325,043.18, covered by vouchers #8366-8367, be approved as presented. Roll Call Vote: Pappas-Aye. Stauffer-Aye. Ancel-Aye. Bertsch-Aye. Akin-Aye. Motion carried.
5. Public Comments: 1) Frank Homola and Mary Link state that almost a year has passed since the new Gerrish Board took office. They appreciate that they can call Manager O’Rourke at any time and get their questions answered. 2) Sam Boodoian - Thank you for the fine paving job done on W. Higgins Lake Dr.. Appreciates the paved shoulders too.
6. Tom Gromek, Village of Roscommon Manager, presented his request for a reclassification of Division Street. Would like to be eligible for Rural D and STP funds. RCRC needs to support in writing, a change to the .53 existing miles and .21unbuilt miles, plus the bridge footage. Motion Ancel, second Pappas, to approve a letter of support for reclassification of Division Street to a Rural Major Collector and Future Rural Major Collector, as requested. All ayes.
7. Revised Employment Agreement was received. Severance pay language in Section 3(b) is unacceptable to Manager. Would like willful misconduct clause and option for Arbitration to replace “If employee is terminated for intentional violation of any federal, state, or local law or regulation that adversely affects or is directly related to the Road Commission, severance pay shall be reviewed and may be withheld by the Road Commission in the sole discretion of the Board” as proposed by Attorney Kluck. Chair to contact Attorney for further discussion.
8. Motion Pappas, second Stauffer, that Chair Kimberly Akin, Vice-Chair Bill Ancel, and Member Jackie Bertsch, be authorized to sign Traffic Control Orders as follows: #S 72-09-09 for 45 mph speed limit on Lansing Road, from CR 100 to Redwood Road, and #S 72-10-09 for a 45 mph speed limit on Townline Road from Nestel Road North to Hwy. M-55. Both Orders have been approved by the MI State Police. All ayes.
9. In regard to building bond refunding, correspondence was received from Attorney James White and Tom Enright, formerly with Raymond James. Manager asked whether Board would like to continue working with Mr. Enright at his new firm, or remain with Raymond James. Board consensus to remain with Raymond James as the paperwork for refunding has been completed by the RCRC and the County Board. Everything is set to go. Board consensus was also received to retain the $150K savings target.
10. At 7:45 p.m., Commissioner Stauffer left the meeting due to illness.
11. Motion Pappas, second Bertsch, that truck driver David Kowalski be promoted from temporary status to permanent employee status effective 11/25/09. All ayes.
12. Manager recommends that Swanson, Bryant, and Arnold be hired for full-time temporary employment. Belanger, Koscielecki & Jacobs are the current full-time temporary employees. Mr. Burns, RCRC Retiree, offered to be on-call for snow removal operations. RCRC is limited to six temporary employees. Motion Bertsch, second Akin, that Swanson, Bryant, and Arnold be hired for full-time temporary employee status. Ayes: Akin, Bertsch, Ancel. Nays: Pappas.
13. Airport Road West traffic study requested by Richfield Towship. Manager stated we have done speed and traffic counts, need to count driveways, and then send on to MSP with our recommendation. Board has no objection.
14. Letters of interest from companies expressing an interest in becoming the RCRC’s Agent for health insurance were received. Ms. Burns will prepare a written survey for employees and retirees on the current Agent, Roy Farrell of Employee Benefit Services. Board will address the matter again after survey results are received.
15. BCBS Insurance Renewal rates were reviewed, as provided by Employee Benefit Services. Board requests employees be invited to meetings where various health plan alternatives are discussed. Manager will have Employee Benefit Services come in and meet with employees and spouses. A question for the best time of day for the meeting will be included in the survey.
16. Board consensus that Administrative Staff performance evaluations will be done by Manager. Proposed bonus pool will be considered during the next budget review.
17. Motion Pappas, second Ancel, that Rebecca Ragan, County Treasurer, be added to the RCRC Chemical Bank accounts, as requested. Signatures also authorized are: Kimberly Akin, R. Bill Ancel, Jackie S. Bertsch, George E. Pappas, Clinton L. Stauffer, Timothy O’Rourke, Gloria J. Burns, Stefanie Simmons, and Scott Eckstorm. All ayes.
18. Correspondence: 1) St. Vincent DePaul thank you for employee Barry Brown’s advice and assistance. 2) Letter from Virginia Richardson, Cristi Lane, Lake Twp., was received. The matter has been taken care of. 3) APAM Annual Conference notice for Feb. 9-10, 2010.
19. Manager’s Report: 1) Met with MDOT on M-55 West project plans. MDOT will be utilizing a detour; CR 300 from M55 to Old 27 and south back to M55. 2) N. Higgins Lake Rd. snowmobile bridge, Lake Township. DNR to supply timbers for the deck and snowmobile clubs will provide the labor to install them. The RCRC has completed guardrail repairs. 3) Old 76 project plans are being discussed with Rowe Engineering.
20. Commissioner’s Reports: 1) Pappas - Questions pavement striping job in Lake James. Asks that we finish the job and stripe CR 107. 2) Ancel & Pappas reported on the Asset Management class that they attended.
21. Fred Koenigbauer, Lyon Twp. Supervisor, asks about Crack Seal bids and status. Manager restated what has been sent in a letter to townships.
22. Chair called for a 5 min. recess. At 9:00 a motion was made by Bertsch, second Akin, that we enter into Closed Session to discuss pending litigation as follows: 1) Kelsey v RCRC. 2) Lyon Twp. requests we vacate Thorpe & Taylor; undeveloped roads on either side of their fire hall. 3) Huntsman v Gerrish Twp.. 4) HLCA v Grescowle. 5) Rogers v Lyon Twp. requesting vacation of a portion of MI Central Park Blvd..
Board reconvened at 9:20 p.m., at which time Chair Akin declared the meeting adjourned. The next regular meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m., December 10, 2009 at the Road Commission Office.
MINUTES SUBJECT TO BOARD APPROVAL