Clark Township has agreed to let a local wind and solar power apparatus company seek funding for four projects the company has proposed for township facilities. Meeting Thursday, December 17, the board gave the go-ahead to Mike McMakin to find the money to install solar hot water and electricity generators at the Hessel Marina and erect wind turbines at the township hall and sewer treatment plant.

Trustees also approved $800 to have the recreation park plans revised, discussed the purpose of township minutes before tabling their approval of minutes from November 19, and agreed to publish new zoning and planning resource books for the planning commission and zoning board of appeals.

Mr. McMaken owns Green Energy Systems, which sells products to harness wind and solar power, and he told the township board he hopes to find grants and donations to pay for some or all of the projects he is proposing.

The first proposal is to install a solar hot water system on the roof of the Hessel Marina building. He envisions a 4-foot-by-8-foot panel to capture solar energy to heat water, reduce the load to the existing electrical water heating system, and reduce the township's electricity consumption.

He also is proposing a 10-footby 12-foot solar panel on the same roof to generate electricity for the facility in summer and energy credits when closed in winter.

At the township hall on Blind Line Road, he proposes a wind turbine atop a 60-foot tower, which he said could provide most of the electricity consumed there. Using wind data already collected in the area, Mr. McMaken estimates a 2.4 kilowatt system would produce 6,800 kilowatt/hours annually.

Donations from the community will cover the majority of the cost, he said, and he agreed to discuss placement of the tower with the township before moving forward, since some trustees were concerned the tower may interfere with the recreation park being developed on the adjacent property.

"We are very close to having this unit almost completely paid for," he told the board, "and we are using very little grant money."

He also proposes a wind turbine for the sewer treatment plant, which he estimates will provide half the electricity needed there. The turbine would sit atop a 100- foot hydraulic tower which would swing down for maintenance.

The township, he said, could pursue grants or no-interest loans for his proposals.

All four energy proposals met with approval from Supervisor Gerald Hill, Trustee Mike Lofdahl, Treasurer Katie Carpenter, and Clerk Mike Miller, who told Mr. McMaken to go ahead and apply for whatever funding he can and report back to them on his progress. Trustee Gary Wellnitz was absent.

An earlier proposal Mr. McMaken had made to install a wind turbine near the marina was rejected at the board's November 19 meeting. At that time, trustees said he was welcome to suggest other energy-saving projects.

Mr. McMakin is also starting a recycling company, Green Choice Refuse and Recycling Services, which he said will provide free recycling services to Clark Township residents and process the material at a facility in Cedarville. He said he will have more information on the company as it gets underway.

C2AE will update Clark Township's recreation park plans for $800 to eliminate tennis and volleyball courts, since on-site measurements determined there is not enough room for everything originally included in the plan. The new plans and cost estimates will be available after January 1 and be used for grant applications.

Mr. Lofdahl said residents are interested in funding the park, too, so the cost breakdowns will help the township seek sponsorships for various elements.

In another matter related to the engineering company, trustees withheld a $21,856.93 bill from C2AE for ongoing work on a comprehensive sewer system plan because the township has seen no progress on the project.

"I haven't seen a written report to the board," Mrs. Carpenter said, or seen "them come back and give the board an update on what they've done and what they've found. I think we should have something like that before we cut a check for $21,856."

A report is expected at or before the next scheduled township board meeting January 17.

Trustees tabled approval of minutes from their November 19 meeting after Mrs. Carpenter said she found several inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

The board discussed the difference between minutes that give a synopsis of the meeting and minutes that attempt to create a verbatim transcript, and trustees agreed they need to be one way or the other. Mrs. Carpenter said statements made by her were misrepresented in the minutes and Mr. Lofdahl agreed, since comments he made were not included in the minutes at all.

"I know minutes are tough," Mrs. Carpenter told Mr. Miller. "Detail is important. I don't fault you that at all, but it's also important to be correct and represent what was said accurately."

"Minutes are meant to be a synopsis of the meeting," Mr. Miller said, who noted he was trying to provide more detail by quoting speakers, but not create a transcript.

Mr. Lofdahl said if the directquote format of minutes is used, everything that is said should be included. Both Mr. Lofdahl and Mrs. Carpenter agreed that the minutes could be summarized more generally instead of using the direct-quote format for reporting minutes.

Trustees plan to look closer at the minutes before considering them for approval at the next meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, January 21.

In other business, Jeff Davis, John Grenier, and Steve Honnila were reappointed to the Clark Township Planning Commission, and Nathan Harrision was reappointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals, and trustees approved spending up to $900 to publish planning and zoning ordinance books at $45 apiece. The most recent books, which guide planning commissioners and zoning board members, were reproduced in 2005.

Mr. Miller said the new planning and zoning act of 2006 should be included.

"Since we are getting into some planning and zoning issues, we really need to update these to the latest version for our Planning Commission and our Zoning Board of Appeals," he said.

The trustees approved the purchase of up to 20 books, although no more than needed for the two boards.