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Please note the regular meeting day has been changed (as of the April 2004 meeting) to the second Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm.

The Village of Bear Lake Web Site has been in existence since July 1998. Click here to view the minutes archives.

Please note that the Minutes are not posted to the web site until they have been approved. The February 2004 Minutes, as presented here were approved at the March 2004 Council Meeting. A copy of the current month's minutes can be requested from the Clerk but please be advised that until approved they are subject to corrections and revisions.

WWW Village of Bear Lake

February 10, 2004

The regular meeting of the Bear Lake Village Council was called to order by President Glen Moore at 7:30 p.m. at the Bear Lake Village Hall. Present: Treasurer; Connie Gurene, Clerk; Pam Wade, Trustees; Dendra Best, Vern Best, Don Hyrns, Jeff Harthun, Joanne Schroeder, Carol Urbanus. Howard Higley. Guests; Carver Edwards, Jay Johnson, Jackie Johnson, Ron Ronning, Bill Howe, Dave Long, Michelle Mortenson and Bernie Ware Jr.
Minutes: The minutes were approved as corrected. (see attached)
Treasurer’s Report: Motion made by Vern seconded by Dendra to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Motion carried.

Bills: Motion made by Dendra seconded by Carol to pay the bills as presented. Motion carried. Motion made by Dendra seconded by Carol to add BP Oil bill when received as we do the other utilities bills. Motion carried.
Guests: Dendra reported that the Village had received a faxed letter from Harry Luzius stating that he was not aware that the council had expected him to attend the meeting. The letter informed the council that because of the elections and the fact that we are still in the “looking” phase, he would be happy to come back to the council with a proposal in April. Mr. Luzius stated that he would help us look for funding for technical assistance and would be happy to look at managing our existing septic system and phasing in an on site treatment program starting with the business district and moving on to the school and then to the general resident district.

Bernie Ware Jr. addressed the council with concerns about the proposed Coal Burning Generation Plant being proposed in the city of Manistee by the Manistee Saltworks Development Corporation. The main concern is that they haven’t done an Independent Economic Analysis or an Independent Environmental Impact Statement of the ramifications of this project. Mr. Ware presented a resolution concerning the Northern Lights Project; which among other concerns, states that the Village of Bear Lake is against the issuance of a special use permit Manistee Saltworks Development Corporation, Northern Lights Project until an independent economic assessment and an environmental impact statement have been completed and analyzed. Motion made by Dendra seconded by Carol to give President Moore and Clerk Wade the authorization to sign the resolution as presented. Motion carried.

Remember
911

Winter 2003 Village Newsletter.)

2003 Ordinances

2000 Census

Council Members: Vern presented the council with a news item concerning the cutting trees. Vern also presented the council with a news item concerning the liability of our snow plow truck driver.
Don addressed the council concerning the fact that the council is here to work together on every issue.
Carol commended Howard Higley for keeping our streets clean of snow and safe for traveling. A letter will be sent to the Bear Lake Township Fire Department to thank them for their help with keeping our hydrants clear of snow in case of the need to use them.
Motion made by Dendra seconded by Vern to authorize one registration request for the Soil Erosion and Sedimentary Control Planning DEQ workshop/class in March, after the election. The Clerk will cancel the registration by March 17th, if no council member decides to go. Yes votes; Dendra, Vern, Joanne and Carol. No votes; Jeff, Don and Glen. Motion carried.

Correspondence Sent/Received. The clerk sent a welcoming letter to ‘Curves for Women.” The clerk received an offer of more and better Medical coverage for Howard, at a cost of approximately $14.00 every two months. Motion made by Don seconded by Jeff to update Howard’s Insurance Coverage. Motion carried.

New Business: Budget: Joanne presented a Preliminary Budget to the council for fiscal year 2004/2005 for review.
Carver Edwards, the representative to the Library board recommended that the council raise the amount of money budgeted for maintenance and insurance for the Library to $750 from $500 per annum because current costs have increased. Motion made by Vern seconded by Joanne to set the public hearing to take up the budget for March 9, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.Motion carried.

Brush Clean-up: Motion made by Carol seconded by Don to send out the brush clean-up schedule with the April water bills. Motion carried.
Clerk announced the names of Election Intended Candidates received to this date.
Running for President are: Glen Moore and Vern Best.
Running for Treasurer is: Connie Guerne.
Running for Clerk are: Michelle Mortenson and Dendra Best.
Running for the three, 4 year term; Trustees are: Don Hyrns, Ricke Guerne and
Ron Ronning.

Library: Glen presented a letter from Pleasanton Township Board concerning the assignment of the K.N.M.L. account. Carver reported that the Library Board is working on changing the charter wording so that the account can be transferred to the Pleasanton Township Board.

Park: Carol has concerns about seasonal campsites. After discussion of the potential problem, the council decided to leave the reservations “as is” for 2004 camping season and see what transpires before making any decision about changes.
Motion made by Dendra seconded by Carol to approve applying to the Local Revenue Sharing Board for Engineering plan ready for handicap pier for the permits from DNR, DEQ and Core of Engineers. Motion carried.

Sewer: Glen presented a letter from the BLPUB. Motion made by Dendra seconded by Vern to send the letter presented, to the Village Attorney to have him confirm that the letter satisfies our legal responsibility to withdraw from the BLPUAB. Yes votes; Dendra, Vern, Jeff, Don, Joanne, Carol. No vote; Glen. Motion carried.

Water: Wellhead Protection, DEQ had sent Glen a letter stating that the Village’s contract had not been signed and mailed back to them. Glen asked Connie to call Don Conway at Gosling Czubak and obtain a new copy of the contract that was not received and Glen filled it out and signed it and mailed it back to them for the grant contract. Dendra reported that she has been working with Michelle Mortenson on the Wellhead Protection education material we received a grant from the Manistee County Community Foundation to print. Dendra and Vern will be attending the Brownfield Redevelopment Funding workshop on February 18th to research for funding.

Ordinance: Garbage and Animal parts. The Ordinance Committee cannot agree on a Junk Ordinance at this time. Joanne will collect the official complaint form from the Manistee County Health Department, concerning the residence on Maple Street.

Old Business: Annexation (425): Motion made by Dendra seconded by Vern to have the Village Attorney draft an Annex (425) proposal for approval at the March 9th council meeting. Motion carried.

Capitalization Policy: Joanne presented a capitalization policy, which was requested by the Village Auditor. Motion made by Joanne seconded by Dendra to accept the Capitalization Policy as presented. Motion carried.

Village Elections will be held on March 8, 2004. The Village will have an “open ballot” which is a complete write-in ballot. Anyone interested in running for the offices of President, Treasurer, Clerk or any of the three (3) Trustee seats, must obtain a Declaration of Intent form from the Clerk. The form must then be filled out and returned to the clerk before 5:00 p.m. on March 5, 2004. Only the names of those who have filed the Declaration of Intent forms will be counted on Election Day. Upon receipt of the completed Declaration of Intent form, the clerk will hand the intended candidate the Statement of Organization form to be completed by the candidate for filing with Manistee County Clerk’s office by the close of business that day.
Candidates running for any office are responsible for their own campaign publicity. Any candidate may request from the clerk, a list of absentee ballot requests received and must copy the list themselves in order to campaign to those voters.
Motion made by Carol seconded by Joanne to pay the Election Chairperson $6.75 per hour and Inspectors $6.50 per hour on Election Day. Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned at 9:22 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Wade, Clerk

Bills paid for January
Bear Lake Ace Hardware; $200.41, Bittner, Hyrns; $1,149.00, C.N.A. Surety; $480.00, $480.00, D.E.Q.; $14.00, Hyde Equipment; $486.60, Manistee County Road Commission; $753.34, Mathieu Insurance Agency; $812.41, $1,736.00, McLeod’s Sales & Service; $598.14, $57.08, $541.06, Northstar Automotive; $477.56, Pioneer Press Printing; $62.00, Sam’s Club; $152.49.

Page updated March 9, 2004

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