[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.

9-9-2026 Public Works & Human Services Committee

Transcript