The Bingham Township Board this week renewed a franchise agreement with Cherryland Electric Cooperative, allowing the utility to continue providing service in the township for the next 10 years.

Cherryland representative Nick Edson appeared before the township board at its regular monthly meeting Monday evening and said the cooperative would prefer to renew the franchise agreement for 30 years rather than 10 years to save on legal fees.

Edson noted that Cherryland has been providing electric service in Bingham Township since 1938. He said that of the 38 townships in northwestern lower Michigan that have franchise agreements with Cherryland, 36 have 30-year agreements. He said the agreements were “non-exclusive” and that it was legally permissible for such agreements to be revoked at any time.

Township supervisor Ross Ard and trustee Mary Bush said they were concerned that township boards serving decades from now would not have the option of approving or disapproving an agreement with Cherryland if the 30 year agreement were signed, and that they preferred the 10-year agreement. Everyone but trustee Steve Voisin agreed, with the board voting 4-1 to approve a 10-year franchise agreement with Cherryland.

In other business, the Bingham Township Board:

• Discussed the status of an apparently forgotten project to add outdoor lighting at the township hall. Township resident Duane Bingel noted that the lights had been stored in the hall basement by former supervisor Robert Foster. Township clerk Peggy Core agreed to look into the issue and work with a Cherryland Electric representative to install light poles.

• Conditionally renewed a contract with CynergyComm for phone service at the township hall that includes “a modest rate reduction” and three months of free service. Voisin suggested that the contract might also include free voice mail service and not include a $500 cancellation fee. Final terms of the contract will be considered at next month’s meeting.

• Approved a three-year contract with TruGreen Chemlawn for an estimated $600 per year for treatment of grass in township cemeteries and around the township hall.

• Formally declined to provide the township’s performance guarantee for a community septic system serving the Au-She-Gun Resort, allowing the property owner to seek alternate approval of a septic system from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

• Discussed the status of the township’s website, which hasn’t been updated in many months. Core said she had not found any time in the past month to contact Voisin, who in September offered to show Core how to update the site. Voisin was designated “webmaster” following the resignation of clerk Dorothy Petroskey last year.