Bridgeport Township Board Meeting November 3rd, 2021

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.

https://www.facebook.com/FriendsofBrandellAdams

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.

https://www.facebook.com/SaginawCountyClerk

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:

https://www.facebook.com/BirchRunBridgeportCOC