Clark Township residents will vote whether to approve a fiveyear, 0.75 mill tax levy Tuesday, May 5, to fund two full-time emergency service workers in the Clark Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

The Clark Township Board of Trustees approved adding the millage language to the ballot at its Thursday, February 19, meeting.

If approved by voters, the millage will provide the ambulance corps with funding to hire at least two emergency service technicians as full-time employees or to contract the services through a third-party contractor, to work the day shift Monday through Friday.

Ambulance Captain Kathy Kasper said the all-volunteer corps cannot provide adequate 24- hour ambulance coverage, particularly during the daytime.

"We can still do what we can do at night without the constraints of the other pressures of life coming in, like our day jobs. There are very few of us that are in town during the day. It is a true possibility that a call may go unanswered," she said.

Township Treasurer Katie Carpenter said if the millage passes, tax money won't start to be collected until December 1, 2009, and won't be available for spending until the beginning of the township fiscal year July 1, 2010. In the meantime, the ambulance corps and township board would research and choose either to hire employees or go through a contractor.

Ms. Kasper said she already has contacted one emergency services contractor, but declined to say which one and plans to contact others to help find the best solution for Clark Township.

The Clark Township Ambulance Corps also provides ambulance coverage to the southern portion of Marquette Township because the corps is the closest life support agency.

Adding the millage proposal to the ballot will cost the township approximately $1,000.

DDA Exemptions

The board voted to approve two resolutions to exempt township allocated and special millages from being captured in a tax increment finance authority (TIFA) if a downtown development authority (DDA) is formed in Clark Township.

Under the Downtown Development Authority Act, Mrs. Carpenter said, the township has the 60 days following a public hearing on the proposed boundaries to exempt taxable growth millage in the proposed district from capture.

"The public act is very strange in that we have to do this prior to any financial plan or TIFA being proposed," she said. "If we don't do this and a financial plan or TIFA is proposed, we are not exempt. This is the only time when we can exempt these millages."

A TIFA is a financing tool that captures future growth in property values in the district to finance DDA projects. It is based on the idea that as the downtown areas are improved, businesses will invest more in their properties, which in turn will increase their property values.

If a DDA is formed, the board could pass subsequent resolutions to rescind either of the two resolutions to allow for the capture of those taxes.

Mrs. Carpenter said it is more likely that the board would rescind the exemption of township-allocated millages rather than special millages if a DDA ordinance is passed.

"I would think it would be necessary to entertain that idea," she said.

A public hearing concerning the proposed boundaries of a DDA was held January 8. Under the DDAAct, the Clark Township board has to wait at least 60 days after that hearing before it can vote to approve a DDA ordinance. The earliest the board can approve such an ordinance is Monday, March 9.

Zoning Ordinance

Review Schedule

A special meeting of the township board will be held Thursday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m. to begin reviewing the township zoning ordinance articles to be adopted, altered, or sent back to the Clark Township Planning Commission with recommended changes. The board plans to review the 23 articles over the course of several special meetings. Additional special meetings are yet to be scheduled.

The zoning ordinance articles have been approved by the Clark Township Planning Commission as well as commented on by the Mackinac County Planning Commission.

Darrell Hill of the Clark Township Recreation Committee sought and received board approval to spend $9,885 out of the recreation fund to print calendars featuring photographs of the Les Cheneaux area to raise funds for the Snows Heritage Park behind Clark Township Hall.

Mr. Hill said about $6,300 in advertising is expected to alleviate some of that initial cost. He plans to have 1,500 calendars printed for the 2010 calendar year.

A 2009 calendar fundraiser, so far, has raised $3,750 for the park.

"We didn't sell quite as many as we'd hoped, but we did pretty good," he said. "It's our opinion that that's a pretty good fundraiser and it's got a potential to make quite a bit more."