Beaver Island Michigan

SPECIAL MEETING NOTICE


A Special Meeting of the Peaine Township Board of Trustees is to be held on

January 29th, 2018 at 11:00am
at the
Peaine Township Hall
36825 Kings Hwy

Purpose: To Consider and Take Action on Determining the Number of Resident Members of the Township Consolidation Coordinating Committee to be Elected at the May 8th, 2018 Regular Election

Pam,

Thank you for posting this notice online! Your efforts are appreciated.

Sheri

The way I understand it today's special meeting was about whether or not the Township would open to qualified petitioners a slot on the May ballot alongside the question of unifying the two townships of Beaver Island, Peaine St. James, into one. If elected this candidate would serve on a transition committee to finalize plans for unification but only if the Ballot proposal passes both townships and is adopted. If it fails there would not be the need for the committee but if it passes then it wouldn't matter if that candidate was in favor or not. They would have to serve to make unification work. The Peaine Township Board with a quorum present and nine people in the audience passed the resolution 3-0, but I'm asking here if I got what the resolution means correctly

Bill, that was my take on the meeting and as we were told, no other questions could be answered at this meeting that was not on the agenda. Bill Kohls said he needed his entire board present. Carla Martin, Bill Kohls, and Larry Kubic were the only board members at this meeting.

Additionally, candidates who desire to place their names on the ballot to be a resident member of the coordinating committee need to file with the Peaine Township Clerk on or before February 7, 2018 a "qualifying petition" which can be picked up and dropped off at the clerkâ??s office or at the gas station. It is unclear how many signatures would be needed on the "qualifying petition" to be collected as I heard 7 and 10 being thrown out. It will be on the filing handed out by Carla. No board member was authorized to answer questions since it was not an agenda item.

It was a 5 minute meeting.

The number of registered signatures for a "qualifying petition" for the Township Consolidation Coordinating Committee is 15 registered voters according to both township clerks. The petitions for consideration must be filed with the township clerks in the township in which you reside on or before February 7, 2018.

Bill Markey summed up the situation well, "If elected this candidate would serve on a transition committee to finalize plans for unification but only if the Ballot proposal passes both townships and is adopted. If it fails there would not be the need for the committee but if it passes then it wouldn't matter if that candidate was in favor or not. They would have to serve to make unification work."

Individuals interested in Beaver Island are encouraged to apply in St. James or Peaine Township. If the voters say no, your services will not be required. If it is voted to consolidate, islanders need to be in place to fill these position otherwise they will sit empty.