DALTON TOWNSHIP SPECIAL BOARD MEETING-MAY 28, 2008, 6:30 P.M.

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Scott Hladki, Mary Ellen Sherwood, Rosemary Rinella, Mike Hiner, Elizabeth (Petsy) Jenkins and Diane Misze and Lynn Young.

BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: None.

Supervisor, Scott Hladki, called the meeting to order at the Dalton Township Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance said, invocation given and roll call taken.

This special board meeting was set up by the board of trustees at the regular meeting of the board held on May 12, 2008. The purpose of this special meeting is to discuss the fire chief's contract language and consider putting this into a resolution format. Also to discuss policy changes to the ordinance and policies relating to personnel matters. The board will also review and consider quotes received for the update of the township's five year parks and recreation plan.

FIRE CHIEF CONTRACT:
Petsy asked the township's attorney if approving this contract is a benefit to the township. The attorney stated the benefit from a practical standpoint as he sees it, this gives job security to the fire chief. He stated that there is nothing in the contract that cannot be put into a policy. However, he stated it is not uncommon to have a contract with management or department head type employee. The attorney stated that this is a policy decision, not a legal decision. Diane questioned why the contract is back on the agenda. Mary Ellen stated that she was not sure if she was comfortable with her previous vote against approving the contract. Therefore, she conducted further research and due to the information that she received, she has reconsidered her vote. Mary Ellen gave all board members a copy of the contract with one revision to the sick leave portion of the contract. Diane asked Gary if the contract was acceptable to him. Gary stated that the contract was acceptable. Petsy requested language be placed into the contract to state this is an "administrative fire chief" position to better define the position as it actually is at this time. Mary Ellen stated that most fire chief positions are administrative/management positions anyway. Petsy stated that no physical requirements are stated in any policy or ordinance requiring physical abilities for fire fighters to be able to do the job. She states this is an oversight and needs to be clarified. Petsy also stated the vehicle should only be used for fire department business, not for personal use. Petsy read part of a legal opinion from a previous township attorney with regard to the contract. Petsy also stated that regular office hours need to be held as stated in the contract. Further discussion followed among all board members.

Motion by Mike, support by Rosemary, PASSED to approve the Contract for the fire chief as written. Yes: Mike, Rosemary, Mary Ellen and Scott. No: Diane, Petsy and Lynn.

EMPLOYMENT POLICY REVISIONS:
Mary Ellen stated that we are still here tonight to consider revisions to the personnel policy as this was one of the reasons for this special meeting and also to review the ordinance in regard to personnel matters. She stated that there are certain areas of the personnel policy that need to be clarified and other areas that need to be changed. Mary Ellen stated the medical opt out section needs to be more defined and the "at will" needs to be changed, in her opinion.

Mike suggested that we inquire about short term disability for all employees and explained the same. Petsy stated that this type of insurance is usually provided under the same policy as the life insurance. Portions of the personnel policy were reviewed. Mary Ellen suggested that she review the personnel policy and bring suggested changes back to the board. She stated that she will have the attorney review any recommend changes before bringing it back to the board for consideration. Scott stated if board members have concerns or changes they would like to have incorporated into this document, contact Mary Ellen. He stated this will probably take a few months to complete. Mary Ellen requested that board members get any changes to her within a couple weeks. The attorney suggested that the ordinance refer to the fire department rules and regulations for definition of duties. Diane suggested that changes be made to the driver's license portion of the documents.

Motion by Mary Ellen, support by Mike, PASSED to table this item. Yes: All.

PARKS AND RECREATION PLAN:
Scott stated that Westshore Consulting submitted the lowest quote. He states that a lot of the work has already been done by Fleis and Vandenbrink when the original plan was done. To have another company do the update a lot of the work that is done would have to be duplicated. Petsy stated that she previously questioned if she needed to form a committee for the equestrian trail to be able to apply for grants for the same. She stated that she has obtained the information that she needed. She also gave an update regarding the trail. No action was taken at this time.

PUBLIC COMMENT:
Lori Hayes had questions regarding why items three and five were placed on the agenda. She stated she was at the last board meeting and she believes that tonight's meeting was called to review policies and ordinances, and working toward resolution of the fire chief's contract. She stated that a lot of people at the last meeting may have been interested in attending this meeting had they known that the fire chief contract and the parks and recreation plan was going to be brought up. Mary Ellen stated the meeting was posted in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. Connie Burchfield questioned if she is correct that there is only one full time position on the fire department. She gave a scenario of an incident and questioned if the one full time person had to respond to this incident, would this person be capable of helping a victim. Scott stated that the township has not received any complaints and the chief usually oversees the on call fire fighters. Scott and Rosemary stated that we have two persons employed by the maintenance department that are also here daily and respond to calls. Darlene Jarvi stated that many people now days have no job security. She does not feel that a three year contract should be allowed for anyone. She stated that any contract should not be longer than one year and they should have to be able to perform their job.

BOARD COMMENT:
Petsy stated that the Fremont Fire Department has no full time employees. Stating they are all on call and they have an ISO rating of level six. She stated that she was always under the impression that we needed at least one full time person on the fire department to get to the level we are at, which is a level seven rating. She stated again, that Fremont does not have any full time personnel and they are a level six. She questioned if we have been misled regarding this issue.

ADJOURNMENT:
Motion by Mike, support by Diane, PASSED to adjourn the meeting at 7:18. Yes: all.

DALTON TOWNSHIP BOARD
Scott Hladki Supervisor
Mary Ellen Sherwood Clerk
Rosemary Rinella Treasurer
Michael Hiner Trustee
Elizabeth Jenkins Trustee
Diane Misze Trustee
Lynn Young Trustee

Clerk__________________________
Mary Ellen Sherwood