general

Republican House Member Joseph Aragona (Macomb County) proposes HB-6019 Stripping Townships of Power to control Sand and Gravel Mining

Bob Yager , , , ,

Donni Steele (Oakland Township house representative to the Michigan legislature for the far southwest 1/16 th of our Township, Lake Orion and other parts of Oakland County) put an excellent editorial in the December 18th Record Newspaper, page 11, alerting us primarily to HB-6019 which proposes eliminating sand and gravel mining as things that our township can regulate via our zoning ordinance.  About Donni Steele | Michigan House Republicans

HB-6019, introduced 11/14/24 by Republican Joseph Aragona of District 60 (much of Macomb County) About Joseph Aragona | Michigan House Republicans proposes to modify the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. HB-6019 IS in the Regulatory Reform  committee Michigan House – Regulatory Reform for consideration as shown here at these two links-2024-HIB-6109.pdf, House Bill 6109 of 2024 – Michigan Legislature.

If you sign up for notifications of this committee’s activities Committee Meeting Notifications – Michigan Legislature you will receive emails that show when they meet to discuss this. You then can thrn potentially go to Lansing and comment on this bill when, if ever, they discuss it.

Call for Improved / More Comprehensive Board of Trustee Minutes

Bob Yager , , , ,

I would like to see our new Clerk (Mabry or Mangiapane, whoever is elected) recommend returning to more comprehensive minutes of Board meetings. Abbreviated minutes that meet only the legal minimum requirements were implemented by the Board at their March 13, 2013 meeting. See page 1 bottom at this link for very terse description of this major change.

https://ecode360.com/OA3183/document/54051437.pdf

Their reasons were not clear, except, as I recall from faulty memory, a reference to meeting videos being available. However no video is available for this meeting or any meeting before 2017. So we cannot research the discussion around this decision like we can decisions before 3/12/2013.

Past minutes before 2014 had summaries of Board discussions and citizen comments. Current minutes show only motions and votes and list your name if you comment, but nothing about what you said. The Board is alone among township boards or committees in their approach to minutes. Parks, Planning Commission, Zoning Board Appeals and Library Board, for example, provide comprehensive minutes.

The importance of going back to the old-style minutes was driven home to me today. I went to Township Hall and looked at 1980 minutes to research formation about our library board formation. What wonderfully complete but not too wordy descriptions of the Board discussions on this issue were in these minutes.