The Saint James Township Board met Wednesday evening. There was an update on the marina project. Everything seems to be proceeding apace with just some final small details to be worked. The Anderson’s are applying for a junk car removal permit to deal with vehicles that have been abandoned at the shop as part of the cleanup for the sale. The board voted to support that.
They also approved up to $1,200 to support a Quickstart study of high speed broadband options for the island. Quickstart provides a sophisticated mapping tool and financial modeling tool for Rural communities to assemble key cost information to build or partner for a broadband network. The Quickstart Program helps communities navigate different deployment options — full Fiber-to-the-Premise, full wireless, and hybrid — each based specifically on a community’s specific needs.
Diane McDonnough reported on a copy of a letter she received from the health center from Networks Northwest—the folks running the dental clinic in the Center’s space. It reports that Networks Northwest has experienced trouble getting dentists to the island because of some medical issues with their staff. They say in the letter they are working hard to resolve them. In the meantime, unfortunately, a lot of planned appointments are being cancelled. If you have an appointment booked you may want to give Networks Northwest a call to check on the status.
In other developments:
Finance
Form L-4029 annual millage tax rate request form must be filed with Charlevoix County by the end of September to indicate the millage rates let the Township reports to levy in December of this year
Beaver Island Airport Commission
The current airport ordnance and minimum standards are outdated – revised standards were approved by the August BIAC meeting. Airport manager Rachel Teague will be at the Township October meet board meeting to review the new document.
Cemetery fencing
The cemetery fencing project is completed. Looks great.
Bike Path
A County engineer Should be on the island September 9th or 10th to assess the path.
Maintenance Vehicle
The board authorized $15,000 to purchase a new maintenance vehicle.
Additional reporting provided by Kevin Boyle
