S-B Township clerk miffed she wasn't told about ALS contract

Suttons Bay Township clerk Sandra VanHuystee last week told township supervisor Rich Bahle that she was “shocked, hurt and angry” that no one had told her the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority had signed a contract to provide 24/7 Advanced Life Support ambulance service for Leelanau Township.

The loss of the contract last year was one of many factors the authority had cited publicly to justify its need for a 2.3-mill property tax levy to support Fire and Rescue Department operations. However, the contract was quietly renewed nearly a month prior to the Feb. 27 election in which Suttons Bay and Bingham township voters rejected the millage proposal.

Following an extensive “public information” campaign, voters approved the same millage proposal on May 8. Nonetheless, news of the Jan. 31 contract renewal was not widely known until a newspaper article about the issue was published on May 3.

“I didn’t know about this (contract) either until I read it in the newspaper,” said Suttons Bay Township trustee Ron Send. “I wonder why?”

VanHuystee said she checked minutes of each township board meeting this year to see if Bahle or treasurer Cathy Herman had ever made mention of the contract – but could find no reference to it. Bahle serves as president of the Fire and Rescue Authority and Herman serves as its treasurer. The two routinely present updates to the rest of the township board on Fire and Rescue Authority business.

“It looked like you were trying to keep it (the contract) quiet until after the vote,” VanHuystee said. “That bothers me.”

Bahle said there was “no deliberate attempt to obscure” the fact that a contract had been signed with Leelanau Township prior to the Feb. 27 vote, and that the issue “was openly discussed” at several meetings open to the public.

The contract is expected to bring in an estimated $30,000 in annual revenue to the department which operates on a budget of nearly $900,000.

At the regular monthly meeting of the Suttons Bay Township Board on May 9, Bahle updated the rest of the board on issues discussed at the Fire and Rescue Authority Board meeting the day before.
Bahle said the board decided to retain its officers in their current positions. Bahle continues to serve as president with Herman as treasurer.

Bingham Township trustee Mary Bush continues to serve as the authority’s secretary and Suttons Bay Township resident Sarge Begeman continues to serve as an “at large” member.

Although he was ousted by Bingham Township voters in a recall election on Feb. 27, former township supervisor Robert W. Foster continues to serve as vice president of the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority board. Foster was appointed to serve on the authority by the Bingham Township Board last year and only the Bingham Township Board can remove him.

Bahle also noted that the Fire and Rescue Authority plans to apply for a “2-percent” casino gaming revenue allocation from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians for two oxygen monitors for use in ambulances at $1,100 apiece.

In other business at last week’s meeting, the Suttons Bay Township Board:

• Endorsed an application for tribal “2-percent” money on behalf of Leelanau Christian Neighbors for $10,000 of the non-profit’s $53,000 program to provide emergency financial assistance to needy local families.

• Agreed to pay a $6,805 legal bill from Suttons Bay attorney Jim Williams for his work since May 2002 on a complex project to acquire land for the 45th Parallel Park – a project that was completed this month.

• Agreed to expend up to $250 on wood chips to be placed at the township’s waterfront Steimel Park on the Stony Point peninsula.

• Agreed to retain attorney Bryan Graham to begin work on creation of a special assessment district for residents of the Rocky Road neighborhood who have offered to help pay for improvements and paving of the county road serving their residences.

• Appointed Bahle as the township’s Freedom of Information Act coordinator and updated a schedule of FOIA fees. The township may charge up to $10 per hour to research FOIA requests and 10 cents per page for copies of documents.

• Agreed to appoint the auditing firm of Tobin and Company to conduct the township’s semi-annual audit this year for approximately $3,000.