If sufficient demand by Moran Township residents warrants it, trustees will pursue a grant through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to replace ash trees that are likely to be killed by the Emerald Ash Borer, a voracious insect that has destroyed ash trees throughout the region. Their presence has been confirmed in the township, noted board members at their Wednesday, August 6, meeting.

Grants offered by the DNR are designed primarily for urban areas, but if enough residents of Moran Township seek to replace ash trees on their own property, the township would will seek the grant to help pay for tree replacement, said Township Supervisor Jim Durm.

The township must use the grant money by September 15, so the application must be submitted soon. Township residents seeking to minimize the impact of the borers on their properties would pay 50% of the cost of replacing trees. If the township secures a grant, it would pay the remaining 50%.

Anyone interested is encouraged to contact the township hall.

Sticky, purple boxes with a chemical that draws ash borers were placed in the area by the Michigan Department of Agriculture this spring.

"The purple boxes are catching them," said Trustee Mark Spencer.

The boxes are not a method by which the borers can be eliminated. They are a survey mechanism to help determine the insect's presence in the area.

The township is considering developing a forestry plan for its parcels, including Doc Holle's Silver Mountain recreation site and a waterfront parcel on US-2.

Whether the township will address ash trees only or develop a plan to encourage the health of all tree species has yet to be determined.

Part of the plan would be to remove ash trees before they become infested with ash borers.

To appraise township woods and possibly develop a forest management plan, Mr. Durm said he will seek the input of Dean Reid, a private contractor and former member of the United States Forest Service.

The plan may include removing large trees, helping smaller trees to flourish, Mr. Durm said.

The board emphasized that it will not clear cut any township properties.

Community Center

Still for Sale

The board chose to re-list the Brevort Village Community Center, which has been for sale for about two years, with the added stipulation that the township receives regular updates from the agent on how many people are investigating the property.

So far, the township has been told how many people have looked up the property on the Internet, but has not been updated on the number of people who physically went to the site in Brevort village and looked the building over.

The board briefly considered, but chose not to reduce the price of the property and the building, which is appraised at $55,000.

Moran Township's move to encourage competition among solid waste removal services is working out, reported Mr. Durm. A representative of Republic Waste visited the township hall recently and explained that the company is seeking to do business, now that it has legal authority to use its dump sites for trash picked up in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Noise at Waterfront Resort

Sparks Debate

The board debated, but took no action on, a complaint regarding allegedly excessive noise produced by a business that hosts wedding receptions on waterfront property on Pte. LaBarbe Road.

Seasonal resident Howard Walker has complained this summer and last summer that frequent wedding receptions violate land use and noise ordinances and says racket should be stopped.

"It appears that another summer will pass without the township taking any action to protect the neighborhood welfare," he wrote in a letter to Mr. Durm. His letter included a petition by seven residents seeking to prohibit amplified sound at the site.

The matter was investigated by the township and the Mackinac County Sheriff's Department last summer, Mr. Durm said.

The board explained to the public that the township must enforce the noise ordinance and will do so, if the police are called and determine that there is excessive noise produced at the site.

The wedding receptions are legal, they added.

Board members noted that frequent noise violations are a legitimate complaint and should be addressed, however, neither the police nor the township has received a noise complaint this summer, calling into question Mr. Walker's renewed attempt to prompt township action on last summer's complaints.

The business owner was informed that another noise violation would lead to a civil infraction, Mr. Durm said. Since 2007, however, the establishment has lowered the volume of entertainment at the wedding receptions, and it no longer allows people holding the receptions to provide their own entertainment, board members noted.

The next Moran Township Board of Trustees meeting will be at the basement of Brevort Lutheran Church Wednesday, September 3.