Retiring Hagstrom receives plaque at Annual Meeting

After 28 years of service to Leland Township, zoning administrator Robert Hagstrom is stepping down.

One of the first orders of business at Leland Township’s Annual Meeting Saturday was the presentation of a plaque to Hagstrom by supervisor Harry Larkin.

Township board members paid for the plaque, which commemorates Hagstrom’s nearly three decades of service.

“Bob will be hard to replace. He has been a very good zoning administrator and will be sorely missed,” Larkin said. Hagstrom accepted the plaque and thanked the audience and board members.

Retiring Leland Township zoning administrator
Robert Hagstrom (right) shares a laugh with
township supervisor Harry Larkin Saturday after
Hagstrom was presented with a plaque
that recognized his service.

About 50 people attended the meeting in the Old Art Building in Leland. Refreshments were provided by the Leland Michigan Chamber of Commerce. In addition to a public hearing on the proposed 2007-08 budget (see Page 4), the audience heard reports from township departments and District 5 county Commissioner David “Chauncey” Shiflett.

Sewer administrator Steve Patmore said the township’s sewer system processed 23.1 million gallons of effluent for the current fiscal year, below the 25.3 million gallon level allowed under the state Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) permit for the wastewater treatment facility.

Patmore said Gosling-Czubak Inc., of Traverse City, submitted an application to the DEQ to expand the treatment facility’s drainfield beds on the Provemont Pond Recreational Property. Patmore said he is still awaiting word from the DEQ on the request. The sewer commission will hold a series of public forums this summer to take input from residents and users on potential locations on where the treatment plant improvement should take place. There has been some discussion in the community about building a plant built on the east side of Lake Leelanau.

Planning commission chairman Steve Clem reviewed the past year’s work for the commission. The commission has completed an update of the township’s Master Plan, which Clem said is being reviewed by adjacent townships and the county Planning Commission as required by state law. The township Planning Commission will hold a final public hearing on the plan before it is approved.

Any new changes to the Master Plan would have to be reviewed before the final version could be approved by the planning commission.

Township harbormaster Russell Dzuba presented his report, and said high fuel prices deterred many boaters from venturing too far from their home ports. At its peak in mid-July, Leland harbor was charging $3.81 for a gallon of gas and $3.55 for diesel. The harbor handled 1,783 vessels for 2006, 486 fewer than in 2005.

Dzuba said fuel prices for 2007 will be adjusted to make the harbor more competitive with nearby ports. He also updated the electorate on ongoing troubles with the harbor improvement project. As of Saturday, March 24, the township had not received final approval for moving forward on the project. He said the township is working with state and federal Army Corps of Engineers with hope of beginning work by this fall.