[0:00] Okay, I would like to

[0:01] call the

[0:02] Planning Commission meeting to order

[0:03] at 7:00 p.m. Let us

[0:04] rise for the Pledge of

[0:05] Allegiance. Okay, uh,

[0:22] Jennifer, would

[0:23] you like to call a

[0:25] vote?

[0:26] I will announce. Doug

[0:27] Newaker. We

[0:28] are going to postpone

[0:29] this meeting.

[0:30] I just saw him

[0:31] coming back, but if

[0:31] you want, read

[0:32] him last.

[0:33] Katie Westmoreland.

[0:34] Here.

[0:35] Jennifer Swagger is here.

[0:36] Michelle Westmoreland.

[0:37] Here.

[0:38] And Lori Zellner.

[0:40] Here.

[0:40] And Doug just walked in.

[0:42] We also have a

[0:43] typo here.

[0:44] Oh, thanks for noticing

[0:46] that. Good. Can I

[0:47] get a motion

[0:49] to approve the minutes of the

[0:51] Planning Commission meeting

[0:52] of January 15, 2025?

[0:54] Oh, Doug will love

[0:56] this offer. Good. Does

[0:58] anyone want a second

[0:59] on the January 2nd motion

[1:01] regarding the

[1:02] January 15th minutes?

[1:08] I support.

[1:12] Okay, everyone in favor?

[1:15] The proposal is accepted.

[1:18] Okay, next, can I

[1:19] have a motion

[1:20] to approve the

[1:21] agenda for tonight

[1:22] ?

[1:27] I am making a motion

[1:28] to approve the

[1:29] agenda for

[1:30] today's

[1:31] meeting in

[1:32] writing. Are there

[1:34] any comments? I

[1:35] support. Good.

[1:37] I support. OK.

[1:40] All in favor? The proposal

[1:43] is accepted. Okay, at

[1:44] this point I would like to

[1:45] ask if

[1:46] we would like to have a public

[1:48] discussion, but it looks like

[1:49] we only have our

[1:50] speaker. So, we

[1:54] will move on to new

[1:55] things. Um, our

[1:57] first item on the

[1:58] agenda is that

[1:59] I would like to

[2:00] welcome our

[2:01] new

[2:02] Planning Commissioner, Michelle

[2:03] Westmoreland. Thank you for

[2:04] being part of

[2:05] our group. We really

[2:07] appreciate it. Good. Hmm, the

[2:09] next item on the

[2:10] agenda is to

[2:11] review the

[2:12] site plan for Addison

[2:13] Township Fire Station

[2:14] #1. Hmm, the

[2:15] suggested

[2:16] training period.

[2:17] Sorry.

[2:19] Proposed

[2:20] training ground

[2:21] and planning on the

[2:22] east side of

[2:23] the site. As a reminder

[2:24] for the record, the

[2:26] Planning Commission's consideration is strictly

[2:27] based on our

[2:28] local

[2:29] zoning ordinance. This

[2:30] applies to

[2:32] site planning standards.

[2:33] The applicant remains

[2:34] solely

[2:34] responsible for

[2:36] determining and

[2:36] obtaining any

[2:38] independent permits

[2:39] required by the county,

[2:40] state, or

[2:41] external

[2:41] organizations. So,

[2:43] um, I guess now I'd

[2:44] like to ask

[2:45] Chief Moraschi

[2:46] if you'd like to

[2:47] stand up and

[2:48] present your

[2:49] project to us.

[2:49] Thank you for coming.

[2:51] We'll do it quickly

[2:53] because the lines are at 8:30. There are

[2:56] no queues. So, as you

[2:57] guys know, our

[2:58] fire department doesn't

[2:59] run on the village

[3:00] water supply, I

[3:01] missed that, sorry.

[3:02] Municipal

[3:04] water system, right?

[3:05] We work on a

[3:06] rural

[3:07] water source. We truck

[3:08] all our water

[3:09] to the fire. Something very

[3:10] complicated. Unfortunately, we

[3:12] have to

[3:13] practice a lot to be

[3:14] good at it,

[3:15] right? Therefore, we

[3:15] need to have a place

[3:17] to train. And if

[3:18] you guys ever

[3:18] drive

[3:19] by on a Wednesday night

[3:20] , you've seen all the

[3:21] trucks out front, and

[3:22] we're working on our

[3:24] water system, and we're

[3:25] simulating driveways,

[3:26] that's what we do, right?

[3:28] We pick up all our

[3:29] cars in the front parking lot. We drive

[3:31] up and down there, and we

[3:32] simulate it being something like a

[3:35] 400-foot driveway, or

[3:37] 200 feet, or 1,000 feet long,

[3:38] right? We can

[3:41] move these

[3:42] components around when

[3:43] we get to the situation,

[3:44] right? So, with that in mind

[3:46] , we thought about the

[3:48] backyard of our

[3:49] station. I call

[3:50] it the backyard,

[3:51] right? By department

[3:52] . And you were all there to

[3:53] watch on

[3:54] Wednesday, on Wednesday.

[3:55] Sorry. I wasn't there

[3:56] . I was at another

[3:58] meeting. What we

[3:59] want to do is

[4:00] if you see that

[4:01] the slope drops off very sharply

[4:02] , we

[4:03] want to put

[4:04] some kind of filter there

[4:06] to be able to

[4:06] simulate an approach

[4:08] so that we can

[4:09] practice from behind

[4:10] instead of

[4:11] destroying the asphalt,

[4:12] right? Now, in front.

[4:14] So, we came up with this

[4:15] idea, and I apologize

[4:16] for how

[4:17] crude it is, but we're

[4:18] trying to do

[4:19] it inexpensively, right? But

[4:20] our city has a lot of

[4:21] taxpayers, and

[4:22] we want to

[4:23] make sure

[4:24] we're using our

[4:25] money in the best possible way,

[4:26] right? So we put

[4:27] some things together and

[4:28] thought, well,

[4:29] wait a minute.

[4:30] We have a pond there. If

[4:33] we make it

[4:34] slope down to the pond,

[4:35] fill it in, and

[4:36] build a driveway there,

[4:37] we can

[4:38] use that

[4:39] as our imitation for the

[4:40] driveway, right? So, that's where

[4:42] I am

[4:43] today, and

[4:44] I've brought some things up for the

[4:45] board of

[4:46] directors to consider. If there are

[4:47] any questions about

[4:48] the project, I would like to

[4:49] answer them

[4:50] now.

[4:52] Perfectly. Perfectly. Do you

[4:55] have any questions? Do

[4:57] you have a deadline for when you

[5:00] will start and finish?

[5:02] Hopefully, if this

[5:04] is approved, I'll

[5:05] call

[5:06] people tomorrow. I want to start

[5:08] work before winter, right? And

[5:10] then, um, put

[5:12] gravel in there and

[5:13] leave it for the winter

[5:14] , um, and then

[5:15] continue. Yes,

[5:16] as soon as possible. I've already,

[5:18] um, prepared the land

[5:19] for free, um, they're

[5:21] delivering it, but

[5:22] unfortunately I'm going to have to

[5:23] hire a bulldozer

[5:24] to

[5:25] move it all, right?

[5:26] So, this is where we

[5:27] are. That's what

[5:28] I'm on. So, as soon as possible

[5:30] ...Answer

[5:31] your question. I

[5:32] know it's long.

[5:34] The answer: "As soon as possible

[5:35] ." As

[5:36] soon as possible.

[5:38] That's good.

[5:39] I don't have a question,

[5:41] but I checked the

[5:42] FEMA website. I don't think I

[5:43] agree with you that

[5:44] these are not wetlands

[5:45] .

[5:45] Yes, that's how it is now. Aha.

[5:47] Just because I could, that's why

[5:48] .

[5:49] Yes. And what was that pond

[5:50] ...we dug it out

[5:52] when we were building the

[5:53] station in 2004. To

[5:55] provide water to

[5:56] someone who had a

[5:57] water source for

[5:58] our station for

[5:59] this training and the

[6:00] surrounding

[6:01] area, right? So

[6:03] this dry hydrant

[6:04] is used for

[6:05] fires.

[6:06] A.

[6:06] In this area.

[6:07] Good.

[6:08] Behind the station.

[6:09] So, um, I was looking at

[6:10] your elevation map that

[6:12] you have, your current

[6:13] elevation, and then your

[6:14] proposed elevation

[6:16] . And, um, my question

[6:19] is: can you

[6:20] guarantee that, um, the

[6:22] learning drain

[6:23] stays in place

[6:24] and doesn't move onto

[6:25] other, um,

[6:27] other people's property?

[6:29] Yes, um, good

[6:30] question. Yes, we

[6:31] do this because I want

[6:33] this water to drain

[6:34] into the pond, right? And so that we

[6:36] can provide

[6:37] ourselves with a source of water for the

[6:38] tide, right? And also

[6:39] use this in

[6:41] our modeling.

[6:42] So we guarantee

[6:43] that, as you can see, the

[6:45] slopes there, um, we

[6:46] took, um, the topography

[6:48] from the internet and

[6:49] drew it, and it

[6:50] goes from

[6:51] about 991 to the

[6:53] pond and up to

[6:54] about 9, um, at

[6:55] the top. I think it's a

[6:56] thousand. I just

[6:58] think it's about 8

[6:59] feet or no, sorry,

[7:00] 6 feet, hmm, difference.

[7:02] We're going to

[7:02] take this down to the

[7:03] pond.

[7:04] Good. There will be a

[7:06] small, um, ledge,

[7:07] so to speak, kind of

[7:08] , um, more of a slope

[7:10] along the district

[7:11] sewer, right? Because

[7:13] we don't want

[7:13] to interfere with that.

[7:14] Perfectly.

[7:15] We want all

[7:16] water to flow into the

[7:16] district sewer.

[7:17] Good.

[7:18] Right? So, we

[7:19] want it to

[7:20] drain into our pond.

[7:21] Perfectly.

[7:21] Going to...Yes, I'm

[7:22] going to provide

[7:23] that because I

[7:24] need a water drain

[7:25] to fill the pond.

[7:26] Good. Good. So, and, you may not know the

[7:30] exact number. I'm not

[7:34] necessarily looking for an

[7:35] exact number, but like

[7:36] during the exercises, I don't

[7:38] know if

[7:39] different volumes of water are used, but

[7:41] can you imagine

[7:42] what volume of water

[7:43] is served during the

[7:44] exercises?

[7:47] Yes, yes, I know that. It

[7:49] depends on what kind of

[7:50] manual line we have.

[7:51] Good.

[7:52] So the one

[7:53] and a half inch line that we

[7:54] actually take

[7:55] inside the house,

[7:56] or what we

[7:56] call our

[7:57] speed line,

[7:58] is about 130

[7:59] gallons per minute. A

[8:00] 2½

[8:01] inch line is about 400

[8:02] gallons per minute, and a

[8:03] deck gun or a

[8:04] drencher gun

[8:06] on the roof of a

[8:07] truck is about

[8:08] 1,000 gallons per minute

[8:09] .

[8:10] What was the second one? 1 and

[8:11] a half was 150

[8:14] and 1/2 was 130 gallons and

[8:16] then 400 gallons for a

[8:18] 2 and a half

[8:19] inch hose. And then the

[8:20] drencher gun—

[8:22] it's the top gun,

[8:23] it's mounted on a

[8:24] truck, and it's 1,000

[8:25] gallons per minute.

[8:26] Someone can't

[8:27] hold it in. So it's

[8:28] mounted on a

[8:29] truck and it's

[8:30] flowing at a speed...That

[8:31] makes sense. Will you be

[8:32] training

[8:33] year-round?

[8:35] Hmm, no. We don't

[8:37] train very much

[8:38] in the winter.

[8:38] Okay, it was me,

[8:40] and the ice, and so

[8:41] on.

[8:41] So we kind of leave

[8:42] that to the real

[8:43] firefighters.

[8:44] Good. I was

[8:45] wondering how that would affect...

[8:47] Um, because it would kind of

[8:48] change the whole, I think,

[8:49] plan of what you're

[8:50] trying to do.

[8:52] Um, you know, like this

[8:53] . Good. So, um,

[8:57] my next question

[8:59] is: Are you planning on

[9:00] bringing in about 3,000

[9:01] yards plus or minus of

[9:02] gravel and other types of

[9:03] bulk soil. Um,

[9:07] so you're really

[9:08] going to fill in

[9:10] and change the shape of

[9:10] this slope. How

[9:12] will the

[9:13] side

[9:14] embankments be finally stabilized? Are you thinking

[9:16] about something like

[9:17] riprap or seeds,

[9:18] or will it be grass.

[9:21] And another question that

[9:22] I hadn't thought about before,

[9:23] as you just mentioned.

[9:27] For the winter, to get

[9:28] the grass growing, I'll have to

[9:29] quickly

[9:30] sow some rye

[9:31] so that something sticks

[9:33] and holds the soil in

[9:34] place.

[9:36] Good. Good.

[9:37] Because it's the only thing I can

[9:39] grow right now.

[9:40] Of course.

[9:41] So when

[9:43] you, um, have a road

[9:44] to your

[9:45] training

[9:46] ground, you know,

[9:47] of course we need

[9:49] some kind of slope. I

[9:51] was wondering if you

[9:53] were thinking about a 4:1 slope,

[9:55] which has a 25% slope, which is

[9:57] very gentle,

[9:58] for example, for

[9:59] lawn mowers, or if you

[10:01] could do a 33

[10:03] % slope, which is a 3:1 slope. It's

[10:04] steeper. You

[10:06] can still do, you

[10:07] know, a zero

[10:08] turn.

[10:08] Yes, we will do it

[10:09] more gradually. We'll

[10:11] try to keep

[10:12] it level from the edge

[10:13] down to the pond.

[10:14] Okay, so more

[10:15] subtle...

[10:15] Yeah, the top, that

[10:16] little picture

[10:18] I drew

[10:19] shows the bottom for

[10:20] every, I don't know,

[10:21] so many feet.

[10:22] Good.

[10:23] This is

[10:23] normal.

[10:24] This will be very

[10:25] gradual.

[10:25] Okay, so make

[10:26] maintenance easy for

[10:28] you guys and then

[10:29] you don't have to

[10:30] worry about,

[10:31] you know, because I was thinking about

[10:32] keeping an eye on

[10:33] maintenance. But,

[10:34] um, sometimes when you have the

[10:36] force of the water coming

[10:36] down at that

[10:38] speed because of the way

[10:39] the hose is being pumped,

[10:41] it would probably like to

[10:42] , you know, cause

[10:43] a little erosion there,

[10:45] so that would be, you know,

[10:46] difficult. Yes, that's definitely

[10:50] , um, that'll definitely do

[10:52] it. So, even where the

[10:55] slope

[10:56] or incline ends, you still

[10:58] stay within the

[10:59] indentations that you have

[11:00] given us here.

[11:02] Yes. Oh, yes.

[11:03] Good. Good. Hmm,

[11:09] I have another

[11:10] question that I will

[11:11] pass on to the other members of

[11:12] the commission: I appreciate

[11:14] your

[11:15] thinking about

[11:15] creating a berm,

[11:17] for example, near the

[11:19] Leonard drainage system. You know,

[11:20] just to

[11:20] make sure that the water

[11:22] stays

[11:22] inside your

[11:23] property so that we do

[11:25] n't have, well, you know,

[11:26] any intrusion,

[11:27] even if it's

[11:29] Leonard's drainage system. It makes

[11:30] life easier for all of us when it

[11:32] comes to, um,

[11:33] things like that. But do

[11:34] you feel like there are

[11:35] any tree lines,

[11:36] vegetation, or anything

[11:37] else that could be

[11:38] disturbed in this way?

[11:39] Just grass and whatever else

[11:41] is there now. We do

[11:42] n't mow it.

[11:44] We usually mow it

[11:45] about once a year,

[11:46] or sometimes in the spring we

[11:47] have, um,

[11:49] wildfire training where we

[11:51] burn it.

[11:52] Good.

[11:53] We do

[11:53] training, but sometimes

[11:54] we need the

[11:55] right conditions so

[11:56] she can burn that

[11:57] vegetation there. So

[11:58] usually, if we

[11:59] can't burn it, we

[12:00] mow it, um, with a

[12:01] brush cutter, once a year.

[12:03] Of course. I

[12:04] don't want all these

[12:05] trees to grow.

[12:06] I know, and they really are sprouting

[12:07] .

[12:08] Yeah, and when we first

[12:09] got there, when we

[12:10] first moved in

[12:11] 2004, um,

[12:13] we were mowing all this

[12:13] grass in that place. There was

[12:14] too much of it, and I

[12:15] had to call the

[12:16] boss. I'm like, "

[12:17] No, that's too much

[12:18] mowing. We'll just

[12:19] leave it as is." And hmm

[12:21] , a premonition of burning

[12:22] it for a forest fire

[12:24] .

[12:24] Good.

[12:25] So, they are trained.

[12:26] Perfectly. Oh, sorry.

[12:28] I have another one. So, um

[12:30] , and I think your,

[12:31] um, assistant

[12:31] chief that we

[12:32] talked to on Wednesday

[12:33] when we, um, went

[12:34] there, he

[12:36] explained things really well, but I was

[12:37] hoping you

[12:37] could elaborate a

[12:38] little bit more. You

[12:40] dug that

[12:41] pond yourself, right? So do you

[12:42] have an idea of the

[12:43] volume of the water, how much

[12:44] water it holds, and what

[12:45] happens to your

[12:47] overflow? Do you have an

[12:48] overflow?

[12:49] It was built

[12:50] many years ago to

[12:52] Winthrop Village specifications, and there is a drainage

[12:54] that leads to the

[12:55] Leonard Drain. So if

[12:56] this pond ever

[12:57] gets that

[12:58] high, there will be a

[12:59] drainage that leads

[13:00] that way. I've never

[13:01] seen one in all the

[13:02] years I've been there go

[13:03] that high.

[13:04] Got it. Okay, Okay, just

[13:07] wanted to make sure

[13:08] he would hold it.

[13:09] So that's all I have

[13:10] for myself regarding the questions.

[13:13] Someone else may

[13:13] ask, because I'm just

[13:15] ready. Uh, I just

[13:18] said that as for the

[13:19] stones going into your

[13:21] foundation, I'm on Porter

[13:22] Lane. We had to

[13:24] add some rocks. There are

[13:25] no large

[13:26] stones there. Is there any

[13:27] reason not to put

[13:28] large stones at

[13:29] the base, or is it

[13:30] more expensive? There's, um, there's going to be

[13:32] crushed concrete, but

[13:34] it's going to be smaller, not

[13:35] really big, but

[13:36] well, I mean

[13:37] this big or

[13:38] big, you know,

[13:38] like, it's

[13:39] huge. Yes,

[13:40] no, sorry, I can't

[13:41] do that.

[13:41] Oh, okay. So it's

[13:43] actually

[13:43] small.

[13:44] Good.

[13:45] And then that will be the base,

[13:46] and then we will

[13:46] go up from there.

[13:47] Because we found that we

[13:48] needed such a base in

[13:49] certain places where

[13:50] it is completely

[13:51] underwater. We need

[13:53] something stronger. Hmm,

[13:54] and luckily we're not in

[13:55] such a swampy

[13:56] area.

[13:57] Yes. Well, I thought, you

[13:58] all, you're not in a

[13:59] swampy area,

[14:00] but you have something heavy

[14:01] going through

[14:03] it.

[14:03] Yes.

[14:05] It was just my

[14:06] new experience.

[14:07] Yeah, and I actually

[14:09] sold, uh,

[14:09] specs from other

[14:11] projects all over

[14:12] town with my

[14:13] requirement that they have a

[14:14] road and, uh,

[14:16] support for a 60,000-

[14:17] pound truck.

[14:18] So I know she

[14:19] can handle it.

[14:21] We didn't have to pay for it

[14:22] . It just

[14:23] paid off.

[14:25] Cool.

[14:25] Good. Anyone else? Okay

[14:28] , so I'll just

[14:29] summarize what we

[14:30] just did here

[14:31] before we move on

[14:33] to the

[14:33] proposal. So

[14:36] basically, the project

[14:37] that Chief Murawsky is asking us

[14:38] to do

[14:39] , it

[14:40] seems to me that the

[14:41] requested

[14:42] use

[14:43] supports

[14:44] public safety operations,

[14:45] which is important to this

[14:46] community, and we

[14:47] appreciate that, and we appreciate

[14:48] our firefighters.

[14:51] It seems that all obstacles

[14:53] have been taken into account. It seems like the

[14:55] engineering substructure

[14:56] you mentioned

[14:57] also supports your

[14:58] equipment, as

[14:59] the weight you

[15:00] mentioned is the weight of the

[15:01] fire engines. And

[15:03] it looks like the planning

[15:05] will direct the water to a

[15:06] pond on the property

[15:07] and stay within the boundaries of the

[15:08] site. So, in

[15:13] light of this, I

[15:13] move to approve the

[15:15] site plan for

[15:17] Fire

[15:18] Station One Training Site as

[15:19] depicted on the

[15:20] site plan dated August 26,

[15:21] finding

[15:23] that the layout,

[15:24] setbacks, and

[15:24] proposed

[15:25] layout

[15:26] meet

[15:27] the standards of the

[15:28] Village Zoning Ordinance under

[15:29] these conditions. First,

[15:33] the applicant is solely

[15:34] responsible for

[15:36] determining

[15:36] the need for and

[15:37] obtaining any

[15:38] necessary

[15:39] work permits for

[15:40] approval from

[15:41] external

[15:42] county government agencies prior to

[15:43] construction commencing.

[15:46] Second, all

[15:47] earthworks, layout and

[15:48] drainage must be

[15:49] constructed and

[15:50] maintained in

[15:51] strict

[15:51] accordance with

[15:52] approved elevations

[15:54] so that all training

[15:55] runoff is directed

[15:56] to the local pound without

[15:57] adversely affecting

[15:58] adjacent sites. And

[16:01] finally, thirdly,

[16:02] disturbed slopes

[16:03] should be

[16:03] finally

[16:04] stabilized

[16:05] with vegetation or

[16:06] suitable

[16:06] soil cover

[16:08] after planning is completed

[16:09] . Do

[16:10] I have a second?

[16:12] I will support.

[16:17] We will hold a

[16:18] roll call.

[16:19] Good. Yes, we

[16:20] will hold a roll call

[16:21] . Please take a

[16:22] roll call on

[16:23] this matter. Lori?

[16:24] Yes.

[16:25] Doug?

[16:26] Here.

[16:27] Katie?

[16:27] Yes.

[16:28] And Michelle?

[16:29] Yes.

[16:29] Perfectly. And Jennifer?

[16:31] Yes.

[16:32] So, everyone is "in favor." All "

[16:34] for".

[16:35] The proposal is accepted.

[16:37] Okay, you're accepted,

[16:39] thank you for your

[16:40] presentation and your

[16:41] time, and, um, if you have a

[16:43] Lions game, you don't

[16:44] feel the need to

[16:45] stay. Therefore.

[16:48] Okay, so, um, we're

[16:49] moving on to, um,

[16:50] item number three, which is

[16:52] to update

[16:53] information regarding the

[16:54] village council. Hmm, we have

[16:55] n't

[16:55] met in a while, so I'll

[16:57] just try to

[16:57] provide, um, a

[16:58] CliffNotes version of the updates

[16:59] regarding the village council.

[17:01] Hmm, we're looking for a

[17:02] DPW manager. Um,

[17:04] interviews

[17:05] will probably start next

[17:07] week. Hmm, we have a

[17:08] few applications. We have

[17:10] three candidates, but

[17:10] if someone

[17:11] is interested in a

[17:12] part-time job

[17:13] that is a bit

[17:14] irregular, maybe

[17:15] it's someone who likes outdoor activities

[17:16] .

[17:16] Hmm, we could, you know,

[17:18] be some of the

[17:18] locals. Local

[17:19] people are always the best.

[17:21] Maybe even a

[17:21] retiree, we would

[17:22] like to talk to them

[17:23] .

[17:23] They don't have to

[17:24] be villagers,

[17:25] right?

[17:26] They are not required

[17:27] to be residents of the village.

[17:28] No. Hmm, next

[17:30] point - we are

[17:30] looking forward to the

[17:33] 2027 road repair project. Hmm, and

[17:36] we're going to start

[17:37] on the north side of

[17:38] Forest Street, but

[17:40] we're having

[17:41] difficulties, and that's our

[17:42] audit. Hmm, this is an ongoing

[17:44] problem that just has

[17:46] n't been solved. Hmm, the

[17:47] previous person who

[17:49] conducted our

[17:50] audits, and we, being a

[17:51] small

[17:52] municipality,

[17:53] conduct audits every

[17:54] two years. Hmm, they did

[17:56] n't audit us

[17:58] for 2024 and 2025. We

[18:00] canceled the audit and

[18:01] transferred it to a new

[18:03] auditor. So, um,

[18:05] they made us some

[18:06] promises, but they

[18:08] didn't keep them, and now

[18:09] we have a very stressful

[18:10] deadline. Hmm, we

[18:13] need to make this

[18:15] first payment to our

[18:16] engineers, hmm, by

[18:17] the end of September. Hmm, without

[18:22] the money under Act 51

[18:23] and without the audit, not

[18:24] only will we not be able to

[18:25] complete the road

[18:26] project, but we also won't

[18:27] be able to get the

[18:29] grants. I tried to

[18:32] apply for a

[18:33] Ralph K.

[18:34] Wilson grant about

[18:35] a month ago, and the first

[18:37] question was, "We

[18:38] need a copy of

[18:39] your audit." So

[18:41] we are absolutely

[18:42] stuck in

[18:43] attracting money to this

[18:44] village. So, um,

[18:46] I really hope that something

[18:48] will be, um,

[18:48] settled. Hmm,

[18:52] the sale of land in

[18:54] Leonard Natural Park is almost

[18:55] complete. Hmm, and then

[18:57] they can start

[18:58] making some

[18:59] improvements to the park. The

[19:00] largest park committee we've ever had

[19:02] .

[19:04] Exciting things are happening. It

[19:05] seems to me that you

[19:06] guys are local

[19:07] plants, and there are

[19:08] a lot of

[19:10] really exciting

[19:11] projects going on there.

[19:13] This should be very

[19:14] interesting. Yes.

[19:15] Yeah, I mean,

[19:17] just to

[19:17] make

[19:18] something really beautiful that has to

[19:20] be really

[19:21] unique, and with the

[19:22] trail, you know, we have a

[19:23] lot of business. Some

[19:27] came to us because they

[19:28] use the trail

[19:29] . They were like, “Hey,

[19:30] we like this.

[19:31] We need an

[19:32] outbuilding for a

[19:33] day or longer.”

[19:34] Oh, that's great. It's just

[19:35] so nice to hear that.

[19:36] So, that's all I have

[19:38] for an update on the

[19:39] village council. We'll

[19:40] just get back to

[19:41] business as usual. And the old

[19:44] thing is

[19:45] 42, 85 Forest Street, that's that

[19:47] awful yellow

[19:48] house over there. Hmm, at the

[19:51] last

[19:52] village council meeting

[19:54] we had on Monday,

[19:55] we had a hearing

[19:56] on the case. Hmm,

[19:58] Kaja Holdings representatives

[19:59] didn't show up. Hmm, that

[20:02] allowed us to

[20:03] move on to the

[20:04] next stage, which is

[20:05] submitting all the

[20:06] documents this

[20:07] week. Hmm, we'll start

[20:10] tracking time for 60

[20:12] days. After the

[20:14] 60 days are up,

[20:15] Oakland County will begin

[20:17] issuing

[20:18] demolition permits for this

[20:19] property. So, um, it would be

[20:23] nice if that

[20:24] went away. Um,

[20:27] law enforcement

[20:29] , um, the village received

[20:30] a complaint from um, a

[20:31] local resident, that

[20:32] several piles of bricks

[20:33] were stacked near

[20:34] Leonard's Market very, high and were about to

[20:37] topple over. They

[20:39] rolled over.

[20:41] They have already

[20:41] rolled over.

[20:42] They rolled over, did

[20:44] n't they? Um, and someone had to

[20:45] get hurt. I think

[20:46] maybe the owner could have

[20:48] flipped them. So,

[20:49] he was served with a few

[20:51] different, um,

[20:53] violation notices, um, and then

[20:54] he got one, um,

[20:55] on Wednesday, which, actually,

[20:57] I take

[20:58] back. It was on

[21:00] Tuesday. That he

[21:01] actually had 24

[21:03] hours to

[21:04] do something, or the

[21:05] fines, civil

[21:06] violations,

[21:06] would start at

[21:08] $75 a day,

[21:09] every day, until they were

[21:10] cleaned up. Um, we

[21:11] just had to

[21:12] severely limit it

[21:14] because these building

[21:15] materials have been there

[21:17] since 2018.

[21:19] Yes. I think it

[21:22] was hard to see them

[21:23] behind the broken van

[21:24] that had been sitting there for 2

[21:25] years. Hmm, but now that

[21:26] he's gone, so

[21:28] hopefully we'll

[21:28] see some action

[21:30] on that, and

[21:30] hopefully this

[21:31] area will, um,

[21:32] be cleaned up, and then,

[21:33] you know, things

[21:34] will look a little

[21:35] better here, gradually. Hmm,

[21:36] do any of the

[21:38] planning commissioners have any

[21:39] questions,

[21:40] concerns, or

[21:41] comments they would

[21:42] like to make at

[21:43] this time? No?

[21:46] Good. With no

[21:47] further business

[21:48] before the

[21:48] planning commission, would

[21:49] anyone like to

[21:50] move that

[21:51] the meeting be closed?

[21:53] I propose to close the

[21:54] meeting. Do

[21:55] you offer?

[21:56] Yes.

[21:56] Can I have a second?

[21:57] I will support. Will you

[21:59] support? Good.

[22:01] Hmm, everyone in favor?

[22:03] Yes.

[22:03] The proposal is accepted.

[22:05] 7:22

Village of Leonard Planning Commission Regular Meeting: September 17th, 2026

Transcript