Portage Twp. To Put Noise Ordinance on '08 Budget
By Paul Gingras

Portage Township voters will be asked a year-and-a-half from now whether they want the township board to develop a noise ordinance. Until then, trustees decided Tuesday, February 13, the Portage Township board will quit its review of such an ordinance.

Township Clerk Marcia McDonald will add the referendum to the August 2008 primary election ballot, a date suggested by Trustee Patrick Abram because the most voters are in the area during the summer.

Waiting for the primary 18 months from now also gives the township time to discuss with residents the advantages and disadvantages of a noise ordinance.

Proponents point to loud activity at bars and other businesses, and cite late night snowmobiling that keeps people awake and affects business at motels.

Opponents cite the expense of enforcing a noise ordinance and say it would dissuade tourism.

A petition has been signed by 171 residents who do not want the ordinance.

According to Township Supervisor Donald Ferris, county prosecutor Fred Feleppa said he would not prosecute violators of a township noise ordinance and Sheriff Scott Strait said he would not respond to noise complaints in the township.

To enforce noise rules, the township would have to hire its own noise control officer to investigate complaints. The noise control officer would need training and a decibel meter, estimated to cost roughly $5,000, to measure the levels of noise.

According to information obtained from the office of the township attorney, John Wood, Mr. Ferris said, people could be charged for producing more than 72 decibels of sound, which is the noise level created by a new snowmobile.

People charged with noise violations would be prosecuted with civil infractions, not criminal offenses, and the township attorney would be hired to represent the township in such cases.

A noise ordinance is "unenforceable without a lot of expense to the township," Mr. Ferris said.

One-Mile North

Gould City Road

Repair To Cost $341,520

Debate took place at the meeting over the cost of restoration of a one-mile stretch of North Gould City Road, between Sandtown and McConnell roads.

The Mackinac County Road Commission estimates the cost of restoration at $341,520, a figure which concerned board members and residents. Township Treasurer Nancy Kister said state funds are not available to assist the township in this project.

Mr. Ferris said he has asked the Michigan Department of Transportation if the township can seek competitive bids, rather than accepting the Road Commission's price, and the board decided not to take any action until an answer is received, hopefully by the Tuesday, March 8, board meeting.

Mrs. Kister insisted that research include a breakdown of expenses, including costs for materials and labor.

Referencing a sparsely worded document from the Road Commission, she said, "I have worked for many organizations, for 35 years, and I have never approved spending this type of money without [being provided with] anything more than a few words and a price."

Board members agreed that restoring North Gould City Road is a township priority. It is impassible in the spring, so emergency vehicles cannot reach residents who live along the road, Mrs. Kister added.

Road Commission Manager Craig Kelso later told The St. Ignace News that his agency does not have the funds to repair the road, and there are no state or federal funds for such a project.

The road bed needs to be strengthened to provide support, he said, and better ditches and culverts must be put in for proper drainage. The road must be raised and widened and brush and stumps along the road must be cleared, he added.