By Don Rush

The Oxford Township Board of Trustees met at the township hall on Dunlap Rd., on Jan. 8. Here’s a recap of actions. All trustees Catherine Colvin, Rod Charles, Margaret Payne, Jon Nold, Supervisor Jack Curtis, Treasurer Joe Ferrari and Clerk Curtis Wright were in attendance.

During public comments Township Communications and Grant Coordinator CJ Carnacchio reported the township had received a $20,506 grant to be used for a pocket park on the township grounds. The grant was from the Four County Community Foundation. The park will be named after the late Helen Smith. Carnacchio said this was the fourth grant the township has received from 4 Corners since 2020.

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The board unanimously approved the second reading of Water Ordinance 105B,010, in regards to connecting to the community water system.

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The board unanimously approved the second reading of Mobile Food Establishment Ordinance 135.001. Clerk Wright explained this amendment to simplify the established mobile food ordinance “It was very difficult for the applicant and the township and the fire department to coordinate. Applicants will now go directly to the fire department for the committee and approval process. It will streamline the process for everybody,” he said.

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Fire Chief Matt Majestic approached the board with a suggestion to use some of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to purchase EMS Ventilators for the department. “This is just submitted for your consideration. I am asking if we have the funds left over available, this would be a good resource for us. The ventilators we currently use are driven completely by oxygen. If we run out of oxygen, the ventilator no longer works. The new ventilators they have now are battery-driven and supplemented with oxygen . . . We use them for CPRs, that may only be a handful per month. We use them more often for is CPAC for people who are in respiratory distress, and that is used multiple times a week. The stuff we have now is over 15 years old,” he said. The cost would be $42,723.60.

Treasurer Ferrari moved, and Trustee Charles seconded a motion to purchase the ventilators. Trustee Nold suggested the board move to send the request to the ARPA committee for consideration. The board voted down Ferrari’s motion, 6-1 with Ferrari voting the motion. The request will now go before the ARPA committee.

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Clerk Wright updated the board on the township’s ARPA funds. He presented a breakdown of what the township had received ($2,031,364.94) and what the township has yet to allocate ($923,364.94). He told the board at the committee’s last meeting they had about 20 suggestions of projects that could be funded with ARPA monies. Some of the top items the committee recommended where to spend funds on capital improvements for the township hall property, cemetery maintenance, fire hydrant painting, water treatment plant and welcome to Oxford signs. The next meeting of the committee is on Feb. 22.

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Trustee Nold updated the board on the township’s movement towards having a single waste hauler. He told the board there will be a March 7 public hearing about the single waste hauler ordinance at the township hall. He said it will be a question/answer format. He asked the board for permission to have the township attorneys draft an ordinance to be presented at a future meeting. After the meeting it was announced the hearing will be held at a future date to be determined.

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The board approved unanimously to renew the Paint Lake (formally known as Squaw Lake) Special Assessment District (SAD) for weed control. The previous SAD expired in 2022. Wright said it includes about 20 lots. He moved to have Sharpe Engineering to move forward with determining the boundary of the 10-year long SAD and to get cost estimates. After that, Wright said the process takes about four to five months to complete. The township has to notify all property owners by letter, publish notices and have public hearings.

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The board moved to contribute $300,000 from the General Fund to be used for the MERS contribution which will be used for police retirees and police retiree beneficiaries for the 2023 Fiscal Year.

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Representatives from the three medical marijuana licensed providers in the community asked the board to amend its ordinance to allow recreation adult sales as well as medical retail sales. The representatives stated in letters to the board and in person the reason for the request was because the market has changed since the township allowed the medical sales. The board approved asking the township attorney to draft the amendment and forward it to the Planning Commission for consideration, 5-2, with Ferrari and Wright casting the no votes.

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The board moved forward with the “Appraisal for Easement Acquisition” of property on the east side of M-24 near Tim Horton’s. The property, or easement needs to be acquired to begin the township’s North Area Sanitary Sewer project. This action, called a “quick take”, is because the property owner has refused previous township offers to purchase the property. The board motion also included the cost of the action is not to exceed $5,000. “Because of this,” Supervisor Curtis told the board, “the project is two months behind. Every month behind, the cost of materials goes up about five percent.” He said the commercial property in question is about 50 feet that the sewer needs to go under.

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The board approved spending $45,000 to overhaul the water pump at Oxford Woods Well Number 1.

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Wright informed the board the township is in the process of redistricting voting precincts, “We are trying to put all those who vote in Lake Orion Schools into one precinct,” he said.

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Trustee Charles informed the board the Oxford Area Youth Assistance will conduct a can/bottle drive for fundraising in March.

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Curtis asked the board to arrive at the March 8 meeting one hour early for a workshop meeting. The township attorney will present to the board current methods of conducting a meeting and making motions. No actions will be taken at the meeting.