Engadine School To Seek 2 Mills for Building Repairs
By Paul Gingras

To repair the Engadine Consolidated Schools building, the school district will ask voters Tuesday, November 6, for two mills for two years, which will raise $294,340 a year.

School board secretary Kevin Dennis explained the ballot issue to the Garfield Township Board at its Monday, October 15, meeting. The millage will be designated on ballots as the Building and Site Sinking Fund Tax Levy.

The money is strictly designated for repairs to the school, he told the township board, and cannot be used to pay salaries or for other operational expenses.

"A lot of things have not been updated since the '60s, and some go back even further than that," he said.

To reduce the district's $11,000-a-month winter heating bill, the board plans to install more energy-efficient windows. Snow comes in through one window in the superintendent's office, for example, he said. Some windows will be replaced with smaller ones.

The district also plans to upgrade some heater units. For years, outdated units have caused dramatic temperature differences in some classrooms, he said. The district plans to replace lighting fixtures to increase energy efficiency. Other improvements include ceiling work in a locker room and replacing brickwork on the building's exterior, some of which is falling apart.

The Engadine school millage request is independent of an Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District millage request, which seeks an additional 0.75 mills for special education programs, Mr. Dennis explained.

In other business, the township board tabled a request from the Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning and Development Commission, which sought board approval for changes to the region's solid waste plan. The plan is a collaboration among Mackinac, Luce, and Chippewa counties.

After examining a list of amendments to the plan, board members declared the meaning of the changes unclear. Township Supervisor Cleo Smith said the board would investigate the proposed changes prior to making a decision.

The board tabled a street signreplacement project. The township is seeking financial assistance for the project from the Mackinac County Road Commission, and board members are investigating sign laws.

There are 214 street signs in the township, said Planning Commission Chairman Stephen King. Garfield Township has been discussing the project with contractor Clayton Rooney, who has been hired to make signs for Moran and Hendricks townships.

The board appointed David Krauscher as Garfield Township's new representative on the Construction Board of Appeals, which includes representatives from Garfield, Portage, Newton, and Hendricks townships.

Although rarely called upon, the appeals board includes electricians and building experts who investigate disputes between residents and township electrical and building inspectors, said Newton Township Clerk Alice Zdebski.

The state required Newton to form the board in 1997. To save costs, four townships agreed to collaborate and provide one member each. When a resident disputes the work of an inspector, he or she can call for the board to meet. After analyzing the dispute, the board of appeals makes a recommendation, which is acted upon by the municipal government, Mrs. Zdebski said.

In 10 years, the board has met only once.

The recent change in membership on the appeals board resulted from an incident about two months ago in which the state was drawn into a dispute regarding Newton's building inspector.

Following state scrutiny, Portage and Garfield townships were informed that their board of appeals representatives no longer met state criteria, according to Dorothy Pfister, department analyst for the Office of Local Government and Consumer Services, a wing of the Bureau of Construction Codes and Fire Safety. Mr. Krauscher will now represent Garfield, and Tom Clock, a licensed builder, will be the new Portage Township representative, it was decided October 9.

Garfield Township voted to allow its maintenance man, Walt Frazier, to begin his 20-hour work week in November, rather than December, and to return to 40 hours a week in March, rather than April.

The Garfield Township Ambulance Corps had four runs in September, and 55 for the township's fiscal year, reported Aaron Oberle. The department scheduled a Jaws of Life training session with the local fire department Wednesday, October 17. New coats for fire department members have arrived.

Mr. Oberle requested permission to draw on donated money to purchase uniforms for special occasions, such as Independence Day and funerals. The board approved an expenditure of $1,200 to $1,300 for 13 uniforms.