The Torch Lake Township Board met for its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 26. All board members except Diane Zurcher attended. The board meeting had been postoned for a week because Supervisor Brian Cadwell was in Lansing last Wednesday representing the township.

Additional Time Needed to Complete Reassessment

While in Lansing, Brian met with Kelli Sobel of the State Tax Commission to review Torch Lake Township's progress on the reassessment. Brian laid out the current status of the reassessment as well as the impediments the assessors continue to face in trying to meet the original deadline -- completion in time for the 2008 property tax calculations.

Kelli Sobel agreed with Brian that completing a thorough and accurate reassessment is of primary importance. She said that she would recommend that the State Tax Commission approve an extension that would permit the township another year to complete the reassessment of residential parcels.

Board Borrows from Water Fund for Reassessment

The Rice Lake parcel remains unsold (although there were a couple of inquiries about it last month), so the board had no option but to find a creative way to pay a third $25,000 installment due on the $100,000 down payment for the reassessment.

Brian checked with the auditor to make sure that the township has the authority to borrow from another fund to make that payment. The auditor stated that the board can do so, but must repay the fund not only the amount borrowed but also the amount of interest the fund would have earned during the period of the loan.

The board voted unanimously (4-0) to borrow $25,000 from the Water Fund to pay DPM Assessing, and to pay back that amount with interest when money becomes available.

Progress Report on Reassessment

Matt Arko of DPM Assessing estimated that field work on the reassessment is now about 85% completed. During his visual presentation, Matt showed examples of photos taken by the teams of buildings on parcels already visited. Each sequence of photos starts with a photo of the 911 fire number for the parcel along with the parcel number maintained in the tax rolls, thereby making it crystal clear which parcel contains those buildings.

Back at the DPM office those photos are matched with the other records entered by the team to make sure every structure is properly recorded. All the teams are now achieving a high degree of accuracy, but now and then a team must still revisit a parcel to resolve discrepancies found during the quality control process.

Next week Matt plans to load the computer in the Hubbell Community Center with the latest available information from the reassessment. Property owners will then be able to check the records for completeness and accuracy. Matt encourages folks to call attention to any discrepancies they might find so they can be corrected right away.

Matt also explained some of the problems the assessors have run into, illustrating his points with the visual presentation.

Missing and Incorrect Legal Descriptions

A serious problem exists in the property records maintained by Houghton County that the assessors need to complete the reassessment. Matt explained that only 60-70% of the records maintained by the county Equalization Board contain proper legal descriptions. Most of the problems appear to result from a reduction in staffing in the Equalization Department.

The missing legal descriptions must now be obtained from the Register of Deeds and transfered to the property tax records. Matt had anticipated that some cleanup work would be required to get all the legal descriptions correct, but nowhere near the amount that is actually needed. (He had supposed the legal descriptions to be 90-95% accurate.)

Given the current inaccuracies, it is entirely possible that some property is being taxed twice and some not at all. The reassessment will straighten all of that out.

Brian and the assessors met with Jack Partanen, Director of the Equalization Department, to identify the steps that will be taken to correct the deficiencies. While the Torch Lake Township's assessors will participate, Brian and the township board believe (quite correctly, in my opinion) that Houghton County should absorb any expenses involved in cleaning up their own records. Jack Partanen agreed to bring the matter to the county board.

Deficiencies in Existing Tax Records

During the course of the reassessment, DPM has uncovered many discrepancies in the existing records. Last month Matt estimated that the owners of 7-10% of the parcels on the tax maps are not recorded in township records.

Furthermore, many buildings have been found on land previously classified as "vacant." As the field work continues, more unrecorded buildings are being identified. When the owners of previously untaxed parcels or improvements are identified, they will be billed for up to three years of back taxes.

The extension of time for the reassessment (if granted) will permit the assessors to conduct the research needed to ensure the accuracy of the township's tax rolls.

In response to questions from citizens, Matt explained that many property owners will find their valuations lower than they had been before. Because of the use of "factored rolls" in the past, all property values have been increased at a uniform rate instead of reflecting actual market values. In reality, lakeshore property has increased in value at a higher rate than other property, so people not living on the lakeshore have been taxed unfairly high amounts in the past.

Because of the current downturn in property sales, the assessors will base the township's land values on a one-year study instead of a two-year study. However, Matt noted that the slowdown in sales has not yet been accompanied by a decrease in the value of property that has been sold. Matt firmly declined to estimate the per-foot value of lakefront property at this time.

Bootjack Fire and Rescue Department

Chief Dan Sarazin reported on the status of the BFRD:

• The BFRD has received twelve 800-mhz radios and has two more on order.
• Work toward the ISO review continues, but the review won't take place until preparations are complete.
• The dry hydrant at Rabbit Bay has been repaired.
• Other hydrant repairs are planned before winter.
• George Beveridge is retiring from the department after having served since 1966.
• The DNR has not cooperated with the department in making sure that they know about burn permits that have been issued. While most folks have been good about calling the department voluntarily, Dan asked the board to draft an ordinance requiring everyone to notify the department of planned burns to ensure a fast response when necessary.
• The mutual aid agreement between the BFRD and Lake Linden is being revised so that both fire departments will be called whenever a fire is reported. This will ensure the quickest possible response to all calls, and will result in a better ISO rating for both Lake Linden and Bootjack. A better ISO rating will mean lower fire insurance costs in both areas.
• Two more first responders are being trained and will be certified in December. The foundation is picking up the $600 cost for each trainee.

Dan also announced that the Spaghetti Dinner  fund raiser will be held at Dreamland on Sunday, October 28, from noon until 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $3.50 for children.

Hubbell Fire Department

Greg Budweg reported on the status of the HFD:

• Eight department members will receive inoculations against Hepatitis B.
• Twelve 800-mhz radios were received and three original non-working radios are to be replaced at no cost. Greg thanked Brian for expediting the cutting of the check that enabled the HFD to obtain the radios before the supply was exhausted.
• The HFD is looking to buy a foam nozzle to fight car fires, etc. The foam nozzles are now much cheaper to buy than they had been.
• In a major undertaking, several members worked to remove a stainless steel screen that had been impeding the flow of water used for fighting fires. The screen had collapsed after being clogged with leaves. It took nine boats and a lot of labor and equipment to remove the screen. Eventually the department used the jaws of life to do the job.
• Greg seconded the need for an ordinance regarding burn permits and notification. He gave an example of a non-cooperation problem in Hubbell.

Greg also asked the board to set the hours for trick-or-treating so that the HFD (and parents) can plan properly. The board voted to set the period of 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on October 31 as the official hours for trick-or-treating.

White City Park

Nineteen Jacobsville residents petitioned the board to take steps to maintain order at White City Park.

The board decided to resurrect the dormant Park Committee and will advertise for members. By next spring the board will have in place an ordinance that applies to all parks in the township. Signs will be posted at each park listing the park rules.

Hazardous Property Complaints

On August 29, the Hearing Officer evaluated the complaints against two property owners:

• The owner of the property at 5211 Avenue F in Hubbell was required to fix all broken windows and doors by September 28.
• The property at 47376 Lower Point Mills Road was found to be in a condition of blight, but not to be in a hazardous condition.

Other Items

A number of other items and issues were discussed and addressed by the board. Among them were the following:

• Clerk Karen Rovano reported that the work done on the old garbage truck looks good.
• The board rejected (for lack of a motion) a request by the Keweenaw Peninsula Chamber of Commerce to pass a resolution supporting the preservation of abandoned railroad grades for use as public trails.
• Torch Lake Township's audit report has been received and is available for review at the Hubbell Community center. Brian will review the report and respond to the auditor next week.
• Brian will request an application for federal money for the White City Boat Launch. (The application must go to the federal government through the state, and is due by October 31.)
• A public meeting to discuss the water situation in Hubbell will be held at the Community Center on Wednesday, October 10, at 6:30 p.m.

Next Board Meeting

The next Torch Lake Township board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17, in the Hubbell Community Center.

Lynn Torkelson