Township Board Passes Several Items; The Root Gets Occupancy

was awarded a temporary certificate of occupancy during Tuesday's Township Board of Trustees meeting. It was the biggest news of the night, and garnered much discussion.

There have been water and sewer issues associated with the Village Lake complex, where The Root is located, for years. The complex contends Commerce Township is misapplying residential equivalent unit (REU) calculations, and overcharging businesses in the complex for sewer and water fees.

REU's are used to calculate sewer and water costs, based on usage.

The problem with the Village Lake calculations it two-fold. There is no support for the REU factors assigned the particular uses, according to the lawyer Trey Brice, and the term "employee," used as a calculation factor, is undefined causing an inconsistent application to different types of retail operations.

The REU calculations are done off a "total payroll" calculation, which assumes that every employee is at the store everyday. This method was compared to having a household with four regular residents, but getting charged year-long for the extra company they might have stay at Christmas.

Intergovernmental agreements between White Lake and Commerce require that White Lake must mirror Commerce's REU calculations in its ordinance — which means White Lake is also overcharging. It is hoped that a study the townships and Village Lakes are conducting will resolve the REU issue.

This temporary certificate is needed to allow the restaurant to open. Under normal circumstances, the issues between the townships and Village Lakes would delay to opening of the business. However, all parties agreed that this issue should not delay the opening, and as a result the temporary certificate was necessary.

Conditions of the temporary certificate for The Root are as follows:

• Village Lakes will pay to White Lake Township the $19,584 due to Commerce. This will be held in escrow for Commerce until the conclusion of the REU study.
• White Lake will defer collection of the outstanding township water and sewer fees until the conclusion of the REU study.
• A new study to determine the correct REU assignment factor for retail stores will be performed within 60-90 days by Commerce's engineering consultant. The cost will be incurred by Village Lakes and/or Commerce.
• Following the study, the fees due to Commerce and White Lake will be recalculated and: Village Lakes will pay any balance due to White Lake; any amount due to Commerce will be paid out of the money held in escrow, and any remainder refunded back to Village Lakes; and following the study, should a refund be due to Village Lakes on previous paid amounts, Village Lakes and the townships will work together to determine the overpayment to be refunded.

The certificate, with these conditions was unanimously approved by all board members in attendance and will allow the restaurant to open as scheduled on May 31. Treasurer Jay Brendel was absent due to a conflicting training seminar.

A series of other agenda items and resolutions were passed, unanimously, at the meeting and included the following:

• As part of an emergency response packet, resolutions 11-010 and 11-011 were passed, which includes appointing the fire chief as management coordinator for all declared emergencies.
• Another resolution passed that stipulates all new-hired township employees be provided with a health care savings program, as opposed to the one offered in the current employee benefit package.
• The Bluff at Williams Lake Crossing was approved to receive assistance regarding an encroachment issue which occurred during this year’s season of heavy rain.
• The Capital Improvement Plan for 2012 – 2017 was approved by the board. According to the 2010 CIP, “A six-year capital improvement plan and an annual update of that plan is a requirement for White Lake Township under the Michigan Planning Enabling Act of 2008. The following report identifies the major capital improvements needed and/or planned for the community, the time-frame for implementation of those improvements, and the budget and revenue sources that will make those improvements a reality. Capital improvements cover multiple departments within White Lake Township, and include new township facilities, water and sewer extensions, fire protection vehicles and equipment, police equipment, parks and recreation facilities, non-motorized pathways, and professional services.” 

In other news, Supervisor Greg Baroni, informed the public of the newly revamped bulletin boards inside the front doors of the Township Offices. The boards are labeled by departments and publicly display currents news and events of the respective categories. White Lake residents are encouraged to stop in and see what's going on. 

Five township vehicles were also sold at the Oakland County Auction. The sale of these vehicles, after auction fees, provided White Lake Township with $28,950.

The next Township Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 21.