Saginaw Area Storm Water Authority Discussion & Resolution Adoption begins at 12:00
Consent Agenda Approval begins at 15:25
Closed Session begins at 17:40
Return from Closed Session begins at 21:53
Superintendent Updates begin at 24:06
Sandra Popp Bauman, a retired Bridgeport school teacher, spoke during the citizen participation period. There is a memorial for a Schluckebier teacher, Deanna McVittie, that is located between the Schrah and Schluckebier schools and citizens would like to save that memorial and have it moved over near the Popp School House in the Bridgeport Historical Society's historical village. They also discussed other possible historical items from the two schools. Sadly both Schrah and Schluckebier schools will be torn down, sounds like the process will start around December 1st. I loved going to those schools. I read on a Facebook post that a 1st grade class had buried a time capsule by the schools. Does anyone know anything about that? Would be nice if they could save that also.
They held a closed session to deal with the suspension of a student. The school is justified in taking that action, the priority should always be the other students and the schools. I just found it sad that any student has trouble in their life, especially to the extent that they are suspended from school. In my opinion, the 3 main foundations for a child's future is their Parent/family, Church, and School. For some children their last hope is the schools.
During the Superintendent updates, he discussed the latest Covid statistics for the school system. Other updates were about fiber-optic cables that will be going to the athletic facility and grounds. That is going to be a really nice upgrade!!
He also talked about a ESSER Fund survey that will be going out later this week. ESSER Funds come from monies that were allotted by congress for Education Stabilization Fund through the Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER Fund).
The schools are also a partner in the Community Christmas giving event. They will be helping families with needs this holiday season. You can go to any of these 5 locations and select a tag from the tree, Birch Run Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce, Birch Run Premium Outlets, LaFontaine Ford in Birch Run, Iwen Tool Supply in Bridgeport, and the Bridgeport Township Hall (assuming they mean the township governmental center). The Bridgeport schools also do their own Thanksgiving meals and Christmas giving events.
Another item the Superintendent discussed was the latest mandate coming from OSHA for the Covid 19 vaccinations. This discussion starts at 37:05 in the video. It would affect the employees of the Bridgeport School system and they discussed the affects this could have on the school system.
The last item discussed was updates to the shot put and discus pits for the athletic field.
On the Agenda: Approval of Agenda begins at 0:54 Approval of Minutes - October 5th, 2021 begins at 1:16 Special Orders: 1. Public Hearing for 2022 General Fund Budget begins at 1:51 2. Public Hearing for Zoning Ordinances 21-02 Text Amendments - Food Trucks begins at 2:37 Public Comments begin at 3:25 Unfinished Business: 1. Resolution R21-12 General Fund Budget & Appropriation Act FY 2022 begins at 21:07 2. Ordinance 21-03 General Power Ordinance Food Trucks begins at 22:08 New Business: 1. 2022 Fiscal Year Budgets begins at 23:36 2. Police Officer Oath of Office Mary Buszek begins at 24:46 3. Resolution R21-13 2021 Special Assessment for Street Lights begins at 27:50 4. Resolution R21-16 Police Protection Safety Resolution begins at 29:06 5. Resolution R21-17 Fire Protection Public Safety Resolution begins at 29:58 6. Resolution R21-18 Township Foreclosed Property begins at 30:51 7. Zoning Ordinance 21-02 Text Amendments - Food Trucks begins at 31:35 8. 2022 Township Board Meeting Schedule begins at 32:08 9. 2022 Township Holiday Schedule begins at 33:45 10. 2022 Township Attorneys begins at 34:20 11. 2022 Financial Institutions begins at 34:44 Accounts Payable Checks 68757 through 68886 $328,077.76 begins at 35:05 Police Department Report begins at 35:41 Fire Department Report begins at 38:08 Managers Report begins at 41:40 Board Member Comments begin at 47:40
First let me start by Welcoming the newest member of our township police department, Mary Buszek! She is our second female officer and she brings our force to full capacity.
There are seldom members of the public in attendance at any of the board meetings in this township. It is usually just a few regulars and employees, but since meetings have reopened there seem to be a few more members of the public in attendance. A few is better than none I guess, and several actually spoke during the public comment period. I will be commenting on that in a separate post.
I think most of the items voted on in this meeting are the items they have to do / re-do every year. The one item that caught my attention was Resolution R21-13 2021 Special Assessment for Street Lights. That will be increasing 9.75%. I meant to ask about that after the meeting but I got distracted. Sorry! I am assuming that it is based on rates from Consumers going up? If I find any more information about it I will pass it on.
Probably the two most important updates for residents to hear are the ones from the Police Department and the Fire Department. The police department had 761 calls for the month of October, up from 609 calls for the month of September. One of our new officers had a traffic stop which resulted in her getting a wanted felon & and stolen gun off our streets!! Another of our officers is investigating the homicide at the Marathon station. We may be a small town, with small minded and at times petty people, but our officers do come across some of the worst of society and they keep our small town safe.
The fire department had 124 calls for the month of October which puts them at 1,242 calls for the year so far, which is 209 calls more than this time last year. The fire chief also gave an update on the current staffing levels. The fire department also helps to keep our small town safe and protect our lives.
I think it is time that the residents of our township show our police and fire departments the grateful respect they deserve!!
One sad note is that because of covid requirements, both the fire department and the historical society have decided to not hold the Pioneer Christmas & Santa events this year.
All residents should also listen to our Township Managers report. I won't try to recap her update verbatim, residents just need to listen to it. She gives updates about the election, grants they are seeking, grants they have received, economic development plans, looking at housing studies etc... Maybe if more residents would actually pay attention to what the township government is doing, not just the rumors and opinions they read online, then maybe they could get involved, give them feedback. That would be better than just bitching about things after they happen and definitely better than posting things online when you don't actually know what you are talking about.
****EDIT****
Several things I forgot to add:
Everyone should follow our newest board members Facebook page. He has lots of good information he shares there that would be of interest to everyone, especially of interest to our youth. I am hopeful about his future on our board.
Everyone should also follow the Facebook page of the Saginaw County Clerks Office. If you ever need to find information about elections in our township, it looks like this is the only place you may find it.
It is time to get in those nominations for the Birch Run/Bridgeport Chambers Best Of Awards, and the chamber will be holding a Christmas for the Community event where they will help families in need in our community. Links to both events are on their Facebook page:
The check registers for the township are a matter of public record. They have copies available at every township board meeting and I believe you can go to the township offices and request to see a copy. I provide these copies here for any resident that is interested in being informed and can't make it to meetings or the offices. You can learn a lot about how this township operates just from looking at the check register. If you have questions about any items on there you can call the offices and someone will be more than happy to answer your questions. If more people would take the time to look at things like the check register, or even the financial sections on the township website, then they would know things like the fact that the township does not use the former church building for free, but do actually pay a monthly rent for it.
Maybe if people would take the time to look at the website they would know what the actual income and expenditures are for the township. They have a section called Citizens Dashboard, you can go there and click on the section for Bridgeport Township Financials. Click there and you will see their sections:
On the Agenda: Approval of Agenda begins at 0:48 Approval of Minutes - September 8th, 2021 begins at 1:05 NEW BUSINESS: 1. Beautification Sub Committee Report begins at 1:40 2. 2022 Budget begins at 4:38 3. Capitol Stone Works Façade Grant Request begins at 5:46 OLD BUSINESS: 1. Dixie Hwy Project Completion begins at 8:36 2. RRC / MEDC Update – CEDAM Fellowship begins at 9:20 3. Economic Development Plan and Studies Update begins at 10:19 DDA COORDINATOR'S REPORT begins at 13:36 DDA MEMBER COMMENTS begin at 20:00
One sad bit of news came from the Beautification Sub Committee. Abele's will no longer be able to place and then pick back up the flower pots each year so the township would need to find other means to get that done, and the cost will be $30 more per pot. The beautification sub committee will be having more meetings to come up with a solution for this.
The community Fall Cleanup will be moved to next spring, probably around April 29th & 30th, 2022.
They awarded another grant for a local business to spruce up their building. I can't remember what year they started doing this and wanted to share some information for businesses that may want to apply, but I can't find any information about it on their website. Some parts of the township website are up to date and very informative, other parts haven't been updated in years.
There were some informative updates by the Township Manager, the DDA Coordinator, and the Township Supervisor about Economic Developement plans etc....
In case anyone was wondering about the work that has been done at the closed Gobeyn's Service Station, it is an environmental cleanup. They mention it briefly here in this meeting.
I see residents bitching online about the empty buildings here in Bridgeport and the DDA Coordinator mentions here an update on the empty hotel situation. I don't think that most residents realize that to get these empty buildings properly dealt with, burned out homes etc... can take years of paperwork, court cases, legal fees etc... Maybe if more residents would attend the meetings, or at least give these videos a listen, or even contact the township government, they would understand how much work the township does on these problems and how long the process can take; but then I guess they couldn't go online and bitch about things they don't actually know about.
There are always little bits of good information here and there in these meetings, and it is worth it to residents to take the time to listen to the whole meetings.
I attended my first school board meeting in over 2 years and was excited to share it, but I had audio problems so no video of the meeting to share. It was a great meeting!! It was the kind you walk away from feeling happy and positive about the future of our school district. There are so many improvements happening in our district, exciting things. I don't know if most of the residents are even aware of everything going on in our schools.
I can't remember everything that was discussed word for word from the meeting, but one thing I can share is the audit report which was very positive. The school has a good website with a lot of information on there for the community to see. The transparency section is full of reports Transparency Reporting
