[1:01] All right. Good morning. Call this uh
meeting to order. If you would all
[1:07] please rise and state the pledge with
me.
[1:10] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[1:15] republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[1:21] justice for all.
>> All right. Thank you very much. I've uh
[1:27] completed roll the agenda. Is there any
changes to the agenda?
[1:32] » Nope.
>> Do I have a motion?
[1:35] » Move the agenda.
>> Support.
[1:37] » All right. So, I got a motion and
support. Well, I don't even have to look
[1:40] over to the right side today. Um,
all in favor signify with I.
[1:46] » I.
>> Opposed. Okay.
[1:50] Moving on to number five. Approval of
minutes from the August 12th meeting.
[1:56] » Support.
>> I got a motion supported. Any
[1:59] discussion?
Seeing none, all in favor signify. I
[2:03] » I
>> opposed.
[2:06] Okay. All right. We move on to excuse me
we move on to number uh six which is
[2:13] limited public comment. If anybody has a
public comment u please come up to the
[2:17] podium and uh please keep it within 3
minutes.
[2:26] Okay. See no movement.
We move on to number seven which is
[2:33] construction codes.
Morning
[2:39] everyone.
>> Good morning.
[2:40] » Um, as far as my report,
I'll elaborate a little bit more on the
[2:45] soil erosion. Wait, we did have a
meeting with Eagle, um, Tammy and
[2:49] Claudine and I, which went very well.
Um, since we've gotten into this, we
[2:55] need to change the ordinance. Um, and
then once we have it changed, we need to
[3:02] send it to Eagle for their review, which
could take up to 90 days
[3:06] and then bring it back to the board for
approval of the change of ordinance. So,
[3:12] in talking with Ben and Claudine, I
think right now the goal is to for the
[3:16] my department to take over soil erosion
on January 4th, giving us time to do all
[3:22] of that. Originally,
we didn't know we had to do all this
[3:27] with the ordinance and there was the 90
days that they could have it up to. So,
[3:31] um, now we know.
So, that's where that's at. We are
[3:36] working on it. I'm getting ready to
hopefully next week be able to send it
[3:40] to
the state to Eagle and start the review.
[3:47] Other than that, um, planning and
zoning, all the everything's boxed up.
[3:52] All the flash drives are ready. The
town, all but
[3:57] three townships have picked up all their
material. I think Eaton and Caramel and
[4:01] Benton are the ones that haven't yet,
but don't quote me on that. They have
[4:06] all been notified.
Um if they haven't picked it up by the
[4:09] end of there's up by the end of the
week, then I'll reach out to them again.
[4:16] um BSNA cloud right now the tenative
dates
[4:22] it's in the report we're going to move
in January like the third week of
[4:26] January and then the treasur's office
and equalization will move in December I
[4:33] don't know what week in December yet but
that is the goal
[4:37] when that happens my office will be shut
down
[4:42] from taking permits for about 3 days,
which January is a slower time for us.
[4:49] And I will send out I won't I'll have
Tammy send out a a mass email to all of
[4:55] our contractors letting them know that
we're going to be shut down on 2 o'clock
[4:59] on a Wednesday and then reopen up on
Monday as far as being able to take in
[5:05] permits.
>> So, just to be clear, you're not going
[5:07] to do permits by paper either. there
will be no transactions at all.
[5:11] » Um,
right now, no. But that doesn't mean
[5:15] that won't change. I've been talking
with Kevin from Univate to see,
[5:20] you know, what what the standard
procedure has been with other
[5:23] jurisdictions. Um,
if we have a, you know, a hot permit,
[5:29] yes. But if it's just a, and most of our
contractors once I send out that we send
[5:34] out that email, they're going to pull
everything they need. If it was going to
[5:38] be a week-l long shutdown, that'd be a
different conversation that is actually
[5:43] now that you bring it up when
equalization and treasur's office switch
[5:48] over I will be shut down again and that
could be a longer period of time and if
[5:52] it is I will definitely we'll do it by
paper and by phone and in office. Okay,
[5:58] let's work with Logan to maybe put
something on the um face to put
[6:03] something on Facebook, maybe put it on
the website and additionally on your
[6:07] door like a month before.
>> Yep. And I plan on putting it on our web
[6:10] page on the website, too.
>> Okay.
[6:13] » Anybody have any questions about the
cloud?
[6:19] I think really that's all I have today
unless you guys have some other
[6:23] questions.
>> Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
[6:30] All right, we move on to uh community
development number eight.
[6:36] » Good morning everybody. This is my
second day back to work after leave. Um
[6:41] in my absence, thankful to Claudine and
Lisa, they were able to submit our
[6:45] veterans grant application to the state.
Um that is the grant that primarily pays
[6:50] for the salaries for Tom and Michelle
and um for Melissa that does a lot of
[6:55] our um financial oversight of that
grant. Um before you we are requesting
[7:02] um permissions to apply for a standown
grant opportunity of up to $50,000. We
[7:08] would not be applying for this grant
until January 1st, but there's five very
[7:13] specific criteria that we have to have
in place with partners for health care,
[7:17] mental health, transportation, things of
that nature in order to even apply for
[7:22] the grant. So, we actually have to have
contracts in place with say U of M and
[7:28] RAN and whatever it might be for the two
standown events before we can even make
[7:34] application for that grant. That's why
we're asking so far in advance. Any
[7:40] questions?
>> So, if public works um wishes to move
[7:45] forward, this would need a motion to go
to Ways and Means for application
[7:49] approval.
>> Yeah. So, do I have a motion or no
[7:54] motion?
>> I'll make that motion.
[7:58] » Okay.
[8:01] » Is there any further discussion?
>> I mean, your second day back. We should
[8:05] have a little suspense, shouldn't we?
Thank you.
[8:09] » Okay. No. Uh no discussion. All in favor
signify with I.
[8:15] » I.
>> Opposed.
[8:17] » All right.
>> Thank you.
[8:19] » Yep.
Moving on to
[8:23] uh number nine. Uh recycling.
[8:37] Good morning, commissioners. Morning.
>> Uh just a short report today. Uh we do
[8:43] have updates with the solid waste
ordinance license licensing and
[8:47] reporting. Uh we did receive DAG
container service finally. So, our only
[8:53] non-compliant is with LeBron trashing
and um he was finally responding to us
[9:00] uh with our last notification and so we
have hopes uh that he will be in
[9:05] compliance by next month. Otherwise, uh
we will be asking for a formal hearing
[9:10] in violation of the solid waste
ordinance uh for next month.
[9:16] uh our recycling event. We are working
through getting all the registrations
[9:22] together for our scrap tire cleanup in
Charlotte. Um we have about 200
[9:27] registrations and about 1,800 tires
registered. Uh so we're really looking
[9:32] forward to that event and it going well.
And again, that's on September 19th.
[9:38] And uh it the remaining space is filling
up fast. So, if anybody wants to
[9:42] register, they should do so as soon as
possible.
[9:46] At Sunfield Recycling Center, we're
going through a bit of a transition
[9:51] transition there. Um, we did lose
another staff and so, uh, current staff,
[9:58] we are restructuring and reorganizing.
Uh, in previous reports I stated that
[10:04] Eagle is now looking at regulating and
permitting facilities like we have in
[10:10] Sunfield, a material recovery facility.
And so during that process of
[10:15] restructuring, we're looking at
compliance with all of the updates to
[10:20] part 115 that Eagle wants to see
implemented. So, um, in addition to
[10:25] that, our material broker has retired or
left the company. So, um we are also
[10:32] looking at engaging in directly
marketing and selling our materials over
[10:36] there. Um and due to staffing
limitations, we are temporarily closed
[10:41] on Sundays and we're looking forward to
reopening on Sundays or Saturdays,
[10:45] sorry. Um when we have the staff, our
mobile recycling program is going really
[10:51] well. Um we'll be in Belleview Alvette
today um for recycling and our mobile
[10:59] electronics program is going really
well. We have one date left, October
[11:04] 21st. It's a Wednesday at Sunfield
Recycling Center. So it's a last chance
[11:09] for uh people in the community to get
their electronics recycled with us. And
[11:15] also of note is Eagle has extended the
grant. Um, we do have program costs that
[11:23] are going to be running through the
winter and Eagle was generous enough to
[11:27] grant um us an extension through May
28th of next year. So, we're we're very
[11:34] grateful for that. Um and finally of
note, um the MMPC, our materials
[11:41] management planning committee did meet
this month and we reviewed the surveys
[11:46] that went out uh about a month ago and
we got incredible responses. about 400
[11:53] people um responded to our survey and
the survey is remaining open um just to
[11:59] get more information from people and and
these surveys will really help us make
[12:04] better decisions and develop the MMP to
meet the needs needs of the community
[12:09] here in Eaten County. And that concludes
my report.
[12:14] » All right.
>> Yes, Commissioner.
[12:17] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um thank you for
that report. I did have a question.
[12:21] You'd mentioned the electronics
um recycling event in Sunfield. Is that
[12:26] for Sunfield residents only or all Eaton
County?
[12:28] » All of Eaton County residents are
>> And what was the date on that one?
[12:32] » Uh that is
I have glasses now.
[12:40] October 21st. So it's a Wednesday,
October 21st from 2 to 6:00 p.m.
[12:45] » Okay. And
I might have missed it, but can you
[12:50] recap? How did your recycle pulooa thing
in Charlotte go in August? Very
[12:55] receptive.
>> Oh yeah, it went great. Um, we had over
[13:00] about 800 registrations and we do get
some no shows. So about 600 came
[13:05] through. Um, it was very smooth. We had
um our hazardous waste and our
[13:11] electronics and uh we are getting the
invoices hopefully soon so we can
[13:17] actually see the data. But from what we
saw on the ground and what we saw from
[13:21] our vendors um our our hazardous waste
vendor, they almost ran out of boxes to
[13:29] take hazardous waste. So, um, there's a
really great turnout by the community
[13:33] and we're really looking forward to to
seeing those weights come in from from
[13:37] the event. So,
>> good. Thank you for that.
[13:41] » Just one item to note on the MMP, Jared
did have a resignation of one of the
[13:46] members. Their bylaws require the board
uh receive notification of that in
[13:50] writing. So, that'll be a communication
in the board packet for next week and
[13:54] Jared will work on finding somebody to
apply uh for a replacement for that.
[14:01] Yes, Morgan uh resigned and the
nonprofit seat for the committee is
[14:06] currently open and so um my first choice
I I would like to see the conservation
[14:12] district on our uh committee but if
there's any suggestions uh I would
[14:18] welcome them. Thank you.
>> So Claudine is that something that stays
[14:23] in our county or to the public? It's a
board appointment and it's a specific
[14:28] board appointment. That's the nonprofit
one or the one from another agency.
[14:32] » It's the nonprofit seat for the
committee. Yep.
[14:35] » So, he's it has to be somebody from a
nonprofit. We're going to talk about
[14:40] committee appointments at the end. I
would wrap it into the advertisement for
[14:43] that.
>> Okay. I like I said, I wasn't sure if it
[14:46] went out on the county's website like it
was open to the public or if it was
[14:49] » It is, but it's specific for a nonprofit
se. So, similar to the construction code
[14:53] appointments, they have to be uh they
have to be a mechanical um person, a
[15:00] » certified mechanical inspector or not
inspector but license holder.
[15:04] » Correct. Okay.
>> Or they have to be a licensed builder.
[15:07] You have to be specific things to sit on
that construction code board of appeals.
[15:11] So, this is similar to that. So, when we
advertise it, we put that in there. Must
[15:14] be a member of a nonprofit.
>> Thank you for clarifying that.
[15:19] » Mhm.
All right.
[15:22] » Any other questions?
All right. Seeing none. Thank you.
[15:27] » All right. Thank you.
>> All right. Moving on to item 10, parks.
[15:36] » Good morning, commissioners. Short
report today. Uh the new ADA accessible
[15:41] playground at Fox Memorial Park has been
completed. Uh staff's currently working
[15:45] on um putting down grass seed for uh
around the cemented areas. Um repairs
[15:53] are scheduled for the Fox Park
Observatory and orders have been placed
[15:57] for the facility's rear beam. Um this is
expected to be delivered within 10 to 12
[16:02] weeks. Uh project agreement has been
finalized with the DNR for the Michigan
[16:07] Natural Resources Trust Fund grant to
acquire the 50 acres adjacent to Lincoln
[16:11] Brick. Uh we're currently awaiting a
response from the DNR regarding next
[16:15] steps. And then all the required
documentation has been submitted to the
[16:18] DNR for our out of cycle uh Michigan
natural sources trust fund grant uh to
[16:24] acquire the Charlotte Southern Rail
Line. And on August 25th, we met with
[16:30] Warren Trosper uh and HRC to for the 75%
design review for the new entrance uh
[16:38] atrandle park. That's my report. Any
questions?
[16:49] » That doesn't look like it.
>> Okay. Looks like everybody's pretty
[16:53] somber like the weather, I guess, today.
So, I guess we move on to the Fox Park
[16:58] Observatory Agreement. So, start.
There's two items under this. First is
[17:03] the agreement, which is an action item.
Uh and then there are some guest
[17:06] speakers um that are in the audience to
kind of talk about the history the
[17:11] observatory. So for the agreement uh we
worked with our legal council and with
[17:15] friends of the park and uh the
observatory uh volunteers. We've got
[17:20] them all in the process of executing
volunteer agreements which we've put in
[17:25] place a couple years ago just so that we
formalize who's a designated volunteer
[17:30] for liability purposes. So, uh, members
of those groups have started executing
[17:34] those, um, agreements. So, then that way
they can lead programming while out
[17:38] there on a temporary basis. What we
currently have is the volunteers can
[17:43] still run programming and use like the
side entrance for the main building. The
[17:47] roof cannot open. I do have a question
to our insurance carrier to make sure
[17:52] they're comfortable with that
arrangement, but the engineering
[17:55] concerns were all with the roof coming
out to that like landing strip
[18:00] essentially. Um, if for some reason our
provider isn't comfortable with that,
[18:04] then we'll utilize a concession stand on
a temporary basis and make sure the
[18:09] volunteers have access to that so they
can still take their mobile telescopes
[18:13] and stuff in and out to do programming
in the meantime. Um, but I'll follow up
[18:17] once I hear back from MMRA on that. Uh,
so this agreement, if approved, would go
[18:22] right to the full board. Uh, we wrote it
less as just an agreement for Fox Park
[18:27] and just an agreement overall. So, if
Friends of the Parks comes up with
[18:31] another program, say with uh invasive
species management or what have you,
[18:36] this would cover volunteers through them
and they'll get a liability policy that
[18:40] covers them as well. Um so, yeah. Yeah,
they were good with it. Um if we move
[18:46] it, we can get it signed by the end of
the month.
[18:48] » Move the MOU in agreement.
>> Support.
[18:51] » Is there any discussion?
>> Okay, seeing none. Uh we have a motion
[18:57] to support. All in favor signif I
>> I opposed. Okay.
[19:03] All right. So that's that. And then uh I
guess we have individual like to come
[19:08] speak.
You come on up and introduce yourself.
[19:12] And
[19:15] I have never been here before. So this
is all new to me. But my name is Jason.
[19:18] I lead the v the Fox Park volunteer
team. And um I did write a PowerPoint
[19:23] presentation. Can I plug into this?
>> Yes.
[19:29] It might take one second.
[20:12] saying it's duplicating.
I could send this to you afterwards
[20:17] then.
It's okay.
[20:21] So, anyhow, I just um I'll just use this
as my guide because this is what I was
[20:25] going to talk about. But first of all,
I've been doing the observatory since
[20:28] 1997. I was on the team that built it. I
actually built the observatory with the
[20:33] builder and um have been volunteering
out there ever since in some capacity.
[20:38] Um just so you guys are aware, I work
for Popeyes Corporation. I lead field
[20:42] technology for the US and Canada. So
that's what pays for my ridiculous
[20:46] hobby. And um the observatory has been
our home for my whole group since 97.
[20:53] Some of us have come out a little later,
but um I want to give you a little
[20:56] history. So from 97 to 2005, we had what
was called the Fox Park Observatory
[21:02] Board of Trustees. And so we managed the
observatory. We had an agreement to
[21:06] lease the facility from Eden County. I
don't know how all that worked. Um but I
[21:11] ran the observatory and did all the
equipment, did all the programming and
[21:14] everything for that group from 1997 to
2005. In 2005, that group merged with
[21:20] the Capillary Astronomy Association. And
then in in 2007, the association
[21:24] dissolved and the observatory was turned
over to you or in county parks. Jackie
[21:30] was the naturalist back then. So she
reached out to me and asked me if I
[21:34] wanted to continue helping her with
public nights. And so her and I worked
[21:38] repainted the inside of the observatory.
We got everything up and running. I
[21:42] taught her how to use the telescopes.
And you'll see in my presentation, my
[21:47] first group of volunteers were all my
kids. I have five of them. So, they were
[21:50] helping me run all this stuff until we I
brought on more volunteers. Um, since
[21:55] 2007, I've been under the impression
that I was just a volunteer for the
[21:59] parks department and I worked with
Jackie and about 22 different directors
[22:03] or I don't know how many there were up
until Ethan came on. And um we just we
[22:09] open two weekends a month and we still
do that today. Well, up until we
[22:13] couldn't open the roof anymore. And so
we open on Friday and Saturday. every
[22:18] other weekend. I try to schedule them
around first and third quarter moon for
[22:22] different reasons. And um we open on
Saturdays regardless of weather. And so
[22:28] we want to make sure that we give people
opportunities to come out to the
[22:31] observatory. If I could show you these
pictures, you'd see I've had anywhere
[22:34] from 20 people show up to over 300 just
depending on the event and on the night.
[22:41] Um, we are one of the largest public
observatories in the country and I don't
[22:46] think you guys realize what you have in
Fox Park Observatory. There the only
[22:50] observatory bigger than us that's
actually just run by a county government
[22:54] is Sun River Nature Center in Oregon and
um with my connections into the
[22:59] astronomy community. Fox Park
Observatory is not just an eaten county
[23:02] facility. It is a national facility
almost international. The website that I
[23:07] built in 1997 is the largest website for
amateur astronomy in the world. We have
[23:13] over 600,000 members now and I have 80
volunteers around the world that
[23:17] maintain that website. And so we have
quite the um presence in the in the
[23:23] community. In 200 I can't remember what
year it was, but um in 2008 I started or
[23:29] 2010 something like that, I started a
group called Michigan Amateur Astronomy
[23:32] on Facebook. We have over 3,000 members
now and Fox Park Observatory is kind of
[23:37] the center of that. They come out on
astrophotography nights and join us at
[23:41] the observatory. They come out on public
nights and visit and then we also
[23:45] contribute to different events around
the state. My team right now is nine
[23:50] people. Um you've met Brian before. Um
he's kind of my right hand. Him and I
[23:55] come up with all the programming and the
schedule. Um Kevin and Chuck have been
[23:58] helping me since 2007. They came on
shortly after Jackie and I started doing
[24:02] the public nights and have been with us
ever since. Um Tim and Brandon are more
[24:07] recent. Um I want to highlight one
member in particular that's Dustin. So
[24:12] Dustin was a student at Michigan State
um University studying in astrophysics
[24:16] and he came to me and wanted to learn
astrophotography.
[24:19] And so he's he volunteers out at the
observatory now. He left for a while.
[24:22] He's a doctor in nuclear physics at MSU
at the FRIB facility and he is kind of
[24:28] our coordinator for our future plans
with MSU's um science department that
[24:31] we're going to help them with some
projects. And then Jane and Christine
[24:35] are more recent um volunteers and we all
kind of have our strengths and we all
[24:40] kind of have our different areas but um
I think you can read in the public
[24:45] comments that I put in this um
presentation that the volunteer team is
[24:49] what makes Fox Park Observatory what it
is. The facility is fantastic. There's
[24:53] nothing wrong with it, but um we uh we
work hard to make sure that we put on a
[24:58] good show for the public.
Our main mission is public outreach. So,
[25:03] in addition to the two public nights
every month that we do, the two
[25:06] weekends, so four public nights if it's
clear, we also hold special events for
[25:10] eclipses. Um we've had for the solar
eclipse in 2017, I had almost 400 people
[25:15] out there and it wasn't even a total
eclipse. They just wanted to see what it
[25:19] was all about. um comets, comet Neoise,
right at the end of COVID, which was
[25:24] kind of challenging. We had over 350
people show up just to view the comet
[25:28] through the telescope at your park. Um
we open also for meteor showers if
[25:34] there's a northern lights um prediction.
We'll open up the observatory. Um we
[25:37] also do, everyone's probably heard in
the media about this planetary
[25:41] alignment. We've um we've opened up for
those events and we anything that's big
[25:46] that happens in the sky, we open up for.
And so it's um and that's something
[25:51] we've always done.
Um we also host scout groups, school
[25:56] groups. Um Charlotte Elementary School
came out last year. We did a
[25:59] presentation for them on them. I can't
remember if it was a Wednesday or
[26:02] Thursday night, but they came out. We
did a presentation for them. Um the
[26:06] local Cub Scout groups all over Eden
County, Ingam County, Ionia County, all
[26:09] use the facility. We helped them get
their astronomy badges. Um Chuck on my
[26:13] team is on Chief Okamist Council. I'm
not really really sure what that means,
[26:17] but um he signs off on the badges for
the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts. And
[26:21] then we also host college students. Um
we've tutored a few. Um Emma from Emma
[26:27] Gorba from Potterville. She came out,
worked two summers for me as a
[26:31] volunteer. I signed off so she could get
credit for University of Michigan. And
[26:35] now she's a planetary scientist in
Flagstaff, Arizona. And so and she still
[26:40] comes back and volunteers when she can.
And if you ever listen to her talk about
[26:44] exoplanets,
it'll blow your mind. Um, we also fam is
[26:50] a doctor in astrophysics from he started
at MSU, finished at University of
[26:54] Rochester. He's back in the area. He
comes out and hangs out with us. We
[26:57] taught him how to use a telescope and
how to do astrophotography.
[27:00] And so, and then Dustin that I mentioned
before. And any other group that wants
[27:04] to come out. We've had homeschoolers
out. We've had something like a Girl
[27:08] Scout group that I can't remember what
it was called. um just various groups
[27:12] that we host at the observatory. We ask
them for a dollar per kid donation to
[27:16] our donation box and make sure they have
plenty of adults and then we we teach
[27:20] them the sky.
Um astrophotography is another part of
[27:25] what we do and amateur astronomy. Um we
have astrophotography nights that are
[27:29] very specific to astrophotography. Um
the Michigan amateur astronomy group
[27:32] that I mentioned earlier, matter of
fact, tomorrow we're going up to Great
[27:36] Lakes Stargaze. I'm presenting up there
um for an astronomy um get together up
[27:40] by Meno City. And then we had our Fox
Park star party. Unfortunately, we
[27:45] couldn't have it this year. It's the
third largest star party in the states.
[27:48] It's the third longest running star
party in the state. And that is our
[27:50] biggest fundraiser. Um on average, we
contribute over $500 to $1,000 to the
[27:55] Friends of Eden County Parks Fund. And
that's how they've helped us over the
[27:58] years u maintain the building. I just
one thing I want to make sure you guys
[28:02] understand too is this building was all
built by public money. Um, we had I
[28:08] don't some people loved him, some people
hated him, but Rich Michaels was a DJ in
[28:12] the area. He reached out to me to build
this building and um, so it was really
[28:16] his idea. We had there was a few of us
from um, LCC and MSU that built the
[28:21] building and $254,000
later from public money, we built this
[28:26] facility.
Over the 28 years that it's been open,
[28:31] I've never asked you guys for a penny.
Um, the one beam that we did have to
[28:35] replace years ago, friends and county
parks paid for it. And this one,
[28:40] honestly, I would have just fixed it
myself, but I was told I wasn't allowed
[28:43] to do that anymore. And so, um, that's
where this whole new beam thing came
[28:48] into play. And so, this facility has
given more to the county than I think
[28:52] anybody realizes. Um, and, uh, we would
really are appreciative of the fact that
[28:57] you're letting us continue once we get
this repair done. Um, we signed this
[29:00] agreement already with seven of the nine
of us have. Two of us are out of town.
[29:04] Um, so we'll have those to Ben at the
end of the meeting here. And, um, we
[29:09] have future plans, too. Um, there's a
dark sky resolution for the park. I
[29:13] don't know if you guys have ever, it's
written on the website. Um, we do need
[29:17] to take care of the light in the
bathroom, though. That kind of violates
[29:20] the whole point of the resolution, but
we can talk about that some other time.
[29:23] But, um, we we want to continue that.
One thing that makes Fox unique is being
[29:28] so close to major cities, it's still
what is called a Bortal four site. So on
[29:33] a scale of zero to or one to nine with
nine being the worst and one being the
[29:37] best, Fox is a Bortal 4. And being close
to that um being close to the city, but
[29:43] also having dark skies like that gives
us an opportunity to do a lot of stuff
[29:46] that no other public observatory in the
Midwest can do.
[29:51] Um we are partnering with MSU
astrophysics department. One of the
[29:55] problems they have is that they only
have one telescope on campus and they
[29:58] have 131 kids in the astrophysics
department and so they need some
[30:03] telescope time. So we're going to take
some images for them that they can use
[30:06] for their research and stuff like that.
And we're also going to teach them how
[30:09] to run a telescope because most of them
can run a computer and have never seen a
[30:12] telescope. Um what we're going to do
with that is we're going to confirm
[30:16] exoplanet discoveries. So has anyone
heard of the Roman Grace telescope that
[30:20] was recently launched by NASA? So, this
is going to be one of the most powerful
[30:25] space telescopes in the country or in
the world, out of this world actually.
[30:29] And um we're going to partner with the
NASA night sky network and when they
[30:33] discover an exoplanet candidate, they're
going to send it to us and then and
[30:37] other observatories around the country
and we can verify that data is real or
[30:40] not. And then if we get if they discover
an exoplanet, Fox Park Observatory gets
[30:45] on the map for that too. And so, lots of
stuff going on in the future there. I
[30:50] also want to collaborate with Michigan
Stormchasers. They do a lot of um
[30:53] YouTube stuff and they have a huge
following and we are going to work with
[30:57] them on Northern Lights nights and
meteor shower nights and I've got a
[31:01] connection with them and we're going to
just keep building our programs and
[31:04] doing what we do. I think you'll find in
the public comments that I included in
[31:07] this deck that uh we're very much
appreciated. Uh my rating on Google is
[31:12] 4.7 stars. The only non- fivestar
comment is about the beach. Everything
[31:17] else is five stars about my volunteer
team and the facility that we have. And
[31:22] so I think we've done a really good job
of reaching out to the public. Our
[31:24] Facebook page has over 3,000 followers
now that we created ourselves just to
[31:29] market the observatory. Our Instagram
page is kind of getting started, but
[31:33] we're getting there. And then we also
have a presence on Cloudy Nights, Miss
[31:35] Michigan Amateur Astronomy, and uh
Astrobin. So the observatory is very
[31:40] well known around the country. And it
shocks me the number of people that come
[31:44] out to Fox and say, "I didn't even know
this was here." One guy lived half a
[31:47] mile down the road and he had never been
there before. And if I had a dollar for
[31:51] every time someone said that, we
wouldn't need to ask for money for a
[31:55] beam.
Um,
[31:59] we've also had a lot of news and I
brought them with, but I have an article
[32:02] from the state journal that was written
about us. I did an interview with Studio
[32:05] 10. Um, I included a link in this deck
so you guys could watch it. Um, where we
[32:09] they came out to the observatory and I
gave them a tour and the public night
[32:12] after that that show was almost 200
people. And so we're looking to do that
[32:17] again. I've had art we we got an award
from M Parks um for community outreach
[32:22] and then our reviews are off the chart.
And so I would encourage you to take a
[32:26] look at those when I send you this. And
um the only thing I got to do is my son
[32:31] will get really mad if I send you a
picture of my granddaughter. I don't
[32:34] know why he's so big about that, but so
I have to take that out and then I'll
[32:37] send this to all of you if you just tell
me where to send it. And the most
[32:41] important thing I want to say is thank
you. We have worked really hard with
[32:44] Eaton County to make this facility what
it is. And we've been through a lot of
[32:49] changes in the government. We've been
through a lot of changes in directors. I
[32:52] can't even count how many. But the main
thing is is this observatory stood
[32:56] through all of that. And I'm looking
forward to working with you guys more to
[33:00] make this happen. So that's all I just
want to say. Thanks. And if you have any
[33:04] questions for me, I can answer whatever
you want to answer ask.
[33:07] » Commissioner uh Richardson, I mean
Christensen, excuse me.
[33:12] Thank you, Mr. Chair. I actually do have
a couple questions. Um,
[33:18] and they're probably kind of personal
for your group, but are you going to
[33:23] reform a 501c3?
>> We are going to work with the Friends of
[33:27] Eaton County Parks under their 501c3.
>> Okay. And, um, I guess the personal
[33:34] question is you guys, you said you raise
funds. Um, what do those funds go for?
[33:39] » Um, it varies. Um we we go we give them
to friends of county parks and then um
[33:45] when we have like equipment that needs
to be upgraded or equipment that just
[33:49] doesn't stand that like right now for
example there are three main telescopes
[33:53] in the observatory only one is owned by
Eaten County at this time because the
[33:58] other ones have fallen apart they've I
mean they're 30 years old their their
[34:01] electronics have died so we've put our
own equipment on those for now so that
[34:05] we have enough telescopes for public
nights and then through our fundraising
[34:08] we'll go through friends of eating
county parks. They'll help us buy that
[34:11] new equipment and that kind of stuff to
replace the broken stuff.
[34:15] » So,
I don't know about all this stuff. I
[34:19] apologize, but how what's the life
expectancy of a telescope and what's the
[34:23] cost of one?
>> Our main telescope costs $17,000.
[34:28] Um, that was donated to us by EDS. Um,
the mount on that one lasted like 10 to
[34:33] 20 years, so that's about average. I
mean, they're electronic. And let's be
[34:37] honest, over the many years, more and
more stuff has been shipped offshore.
[34:41] That quality is not like it used to be.
So, a telescope that lasts 5 to 10 years
[34:45] is a good one. Um, our main telescope's
been there since the beginning. Um, we
[34:50] did have to change out the mount about
10 years ago, but for the most part, 5
[34:53] to 10 years typically for electronics if
you maintain them. Luckily, I'm a tech
[34:57] guy, so that's easy for me.
>> All right. Thank you for that.
[35:01] » Yeah.
>> We have any other questions?
[35:06] Mr. Commissioner,
>> thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you,
[35:08] Jason, for your report. Very
interesting. Um, you mentioned some of
[35:13] the outside agencies that benefit from
this observatory. Um, and some are
[35:17] international. Is that correct?
>> Yes, sir.
[35:20] » And can you list a few of those?
>> Most notably, NASA, which is a a you
[35:26] know, federal agency. Um, they rely on
amateur astronomers for auxiliary data,
[35:31] and we have the facility that we can
contribute to that. Um, the
[35:35] International Dark Sky Association
recognizes us as a dark sky preserve.
[35:39] So, and most of what we do is about
awareness around astronomy. That's how
[35:43] they benefit is having facilities like
us to send people to.
[35:48] » All right. Thank you. And you mentioned
the cost of the initial construction to
[35:52] be what you said 240ome,000.
>> 254,000.
[35:55] » 254,000. If someone were to try to
duplicate the this facility today, what
[36:01] do you estimate that might be? it'd be
over 700 grand. We just built one in uh
[36:06] near Fort Davis, Texas. I worked with a
group that built one there and it was
[36:10] $740,000.
[36:13] » Very similar in size to us, but they're
associated with McDonald Observatory.
[36:16] It's a research facility, not a public
one.
[36:18] » Okay. So, it's in our best interest to
maintain this one rather than try to
[36:22] reconstruct.
>> Absolutely agree. There is nothing wrong
[36:24] with this building. We just need that
rear beam fixed and we'll be ready to
[36:27] go.
>> All right. Thank you. And one last
[36:29] question. and you and I spoke on the
phone and I did not realize this, but
[36:32] can you give us a brief rundown of the
struggle you've had to keep this area
[36:36] dark sky?
Yeah. Um, number one, that Shellg gas
[36:41] station in Potterville, they they think
they should light up the world. So, I
[36:44] met with them, got shields put on their
lights. Then, General Motors built a new
[36:49] factory in Delta Township over off it's,
you can see from I 69. If you notice,
[36:55] all their lights have shields. That's
because of Fox Park Public Observatory.
[37:00] We reached out to them, worked with
them, and got shields installed on all
[37:03] their lights. Um, we've also worked with
other various people around the
[37:06] community to try and keep the lighting
down. And so, it's a constant struggle,
[37:10] not just in Eaton County, it's it's a
national, international thing with all
[37:15] the LED lights and all that kind of
stuff.
[37:17] » So, when you mentioned the bathroom
light, it's not just something that's
[37:21] very close to the observatory. It's
miles and miles away that can affect all
[37:25] » Absolutely. Absolutely. That's one of
the reason like when we when Crannle
[37:30] Park was first brought into Eden County,
I got asked if we were interested in
[37:33] relocating there and absolutely not.
Number one, Meyer does not believe in
[37:38] light control. And two, the skies are
darker at Fox than Crannle Park and so
[37:43] we want dark skies are the most
important thing for amateur astronomy.
[37:47] » All right. Thank you, Jason. I
appreciate it.
[37:52] » All right. See no other questions. Thank
you.
[37:54] » Thank you.
[37:59] All right, moving on to 11
agency and she's not here. Uh, do you
[38:06] have
>> no materials? Nothing.
[38:09] » Yep.
>> Okay. All right. So, skipping over that,
[38:12] we moved the um number 12 committee
appointments.
[38:16] » Yep. So, last month there was a list in
your packet of those appointments that
[38:20] were expiring. They have all been
reached out to a couple of them. um we
[38:24] could not make contact with. A majority
of them had all said they would like to
[38:28] seek reappoint. There's the few that we
couldn't get a hold of. Obviously, I
[38:32] would recommend just putting an
advertisement in the paper for any of
[38:35] them that have expiring appointments.
[38:40] » Does any commissioner have any comment
on that? That I mean that's our standard
[38:45] practice is to advertise all. So,
>> correct.
[38:47] » How many
[38:51] » that are expiring?
If you don't know right off the top of
[38:55] your head, that's fine. I just
>> I have it right here. One, two, three,
[38:59] four,
[39:02] five, six.
[39:08] » And the new one.
>> Yeah. And the one that we just talked
[39:11] about.
>> Yeah.
[39:14] » Yep.
[39:17] » And that and that list is in your
>> It's in last month's packet.
[39:22] Yep.
>> What paper does that go in, Claudine?
[39:27] » It'll go in the county journal and the
flashes.
[39:31] » Okay.
>> Over in Eaten Rapids because the county
[39:33] journal doesn't publish in Eaten Rapids.
So, you have to do two different ones.
[39:37] » Okay.
>> And it's also posted on the website.
[39:41] » Yes.
>> Of a community I mean a citizen
[39:46] » citizen involvement application.
>> Yeah. Citizen involvement application
[39:49] notification on their website. So,
>> okay.
[39:52] » All right. Any any other uh questions
about that?
[39:56] Okay. All right. That moves us on to 13.
That' be our last um public comment
[40:03] section. If anybody has any public
comments, please come up to the podium
[40:07] and keep it within three minutes. Thank
you.
[40:12] » Good morning. Everybody knows why I'm
here. I don't have to say. Uh, I've been
[40:18] to many meetings and I I'll bring it up
anyway just so the public it goes on
[40:22] record to the public. Uh, I feel that
I'm getting screwed and I feel like a
[40:27] bunch of other people were getting
screwed by Eaton County, mainly the
[40:30] drain commission, but I feel that this
group should have done something as
[40:35] these assessments went out. And I feel
that if you were hold any one of you
[40:38] were holding the bag for $40,000
for Eaton County uh, infrastructure, you
[40:45] would feel the same way I do. Uh, I've
been here many times. I feel like I'm
[40:49] talking to the walls. When I asked
questions, I I uh I got the comment once
[40:53] that that person felt they were being
attacked.
[40:57] Um,
you people need to answer questions. You
[41:01] don't need to answer questions to me at
at this um public time right now. I know
[41:07] you're not obligated to, but you need to
be transparent about this.
[41:13] And uh as I said, there's I mentioned
before, there's a farmer near me that
[41:17] owes $200,000 in Eaton County uh drain
assessments, infrastructure assessments.
[41:22] What's he going to leave to his kids?
He's a thirdyear farmer or a third
[41:25] generation farmer. Uh and each of my
neighbors down less than a quarter mile
[41:31] from me each ow 30ome,000, $40,000.
Um and I know I've talked to a hundred
[41:38] other people holding the bag for 10,000,
20,000, 30,000. and they were living
[41:42] right on the line already. And I I uh
listened to your budget meeting this
[41:48] morning on the way here and u I heard
that you're constantly in pursuit
[41:54] looking for grants and funding for
things. Does any that of that include uh
[41:59] going back and make some reparations to
these people that you're screwed?
[42:05] And by the way, has the Eaton County
Drain Commissioner been here? I I
[42:08] haven't been here for a couple months.
I've been taking care of my I got family
[42:12] family obligations that um that family,
you know, that that uh you're taking
[42:18] $40,000 from uh obligations with them.
Um
[42:24] has eaten county commissioner been here?
Has he explained anything? Has he is he
[42:29] doing bigger projects to screw more
people? What's what's the deal?
[42:34] I'd never heard of such a thing. and and
you people are in place to represent us
[42:38] and to so so-called serve us and I'm
feeling screwed
[42:44] and I talked to a lot of other people
that are too and rightfully so.
[42:50] And I'm wondering why I get I'm talking
to the walls here. Has anybody picked up
[42:55] a phone? Has anybody lifted a finger to
do anything
[43:00] about this?
talk to uh higher up politicians or
[43:04] people that can find this funding.
[43:09] I want the public to know
[43:14] and it's not it's not talked about here.
I don't understand. I don't understand.
[43:19] Got all these people that are that are
hurt and somehow have to find other uh
[43:23] other ways to
get it's a home improvement that
[43:27] somebody couldn't make. It's a college
fund that somebody was planning for
[43:30] their kid. It's a It's a new car that's
welld deserved. It's a These are
[43:36] life-changing numbers. And I think if
you were people were holding the bag,
[43:40] each any one of you, you would
understand that $40,000.
[43:47] Why is that not sinking in? Why Why is
that? It's like, oh, well, that's
[43:50] passed. That's done. They won't be noisy
about it.
[43:53] » Your time is up.
>> Yeah. Well,
[43:54] » yeah, your time is up, sir. Yeah. Thank
you very much.
[43:57] » Yeah. Thanks for nothing.
>> Yep.
[43:59] » I hope it gets better.
Do we have any otherbody? Do we have
[44:04] anybody else that wants to make a public
comment?
[44:08] All right. Seeing none, we'll go ahead
and adjourn to
[44:13] uh what's the date?
[44:17] » Say
>> the first Wednesday of October.
[44:22] » October 14th.
>> Yeah. Huh.
[44:24] » October 14th.
>> Okay. October 14th. Do I have a motion?
[44:30] » Motion. Yep.