The Torch Lake Township Board met for its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 17. All board members attended.

Board Addresses Shoddy Record-Keeping by Houghton County

After a detailed discussion of the adverse impact of the county's failures on Torch Lake Township's reappraisal, the township board voted unanimously to take two formal actions:

• To write a strong letter to the County Board concerning those failures.
• To consult with the township's attorney about possible legal remedies.

During the September board meeting, Matt Arko noted that only 60-70% of the records maintained by the county Equalization Board contain proper legal descriptions, even though the township has been paying the county each year to maintain those records accurately. In 2004-2005, Houghton County actually raised its rates for doing that job.

Furthermore, Treasurer Diane Zurcher noted that she has had to field many calls from taxpayers because property transfers have not been recorded by the county. As a result, tax bills have been incorrect and misdirected.

Assessor Matt Arko described other cases where records entrusted to the county are missing or incorrect, to the detriment of both the township's and the county's ability to collect taxes fairly.

In one major screw-up, a number of parcels were consolidated -- which should have been a wash insofar as taxes were concerned. The county staff added up the assessed values of those parcels, but failed to add up the taxable values.

Therefore the consolidated parcel's tax bills have been calculated on the taxable value of only one of the original parcels.

Matt looked over the records to see if a failure by the previous assessor could have caused the county's screw-up. Not at all. The paperwork submitted by the previous assessor was completely in order.

Board Discusses Reluctance of County to Accept Responsibility

Even though the county records are in much worse shape than Matt Arko thought when DPM Assessing bid for Torch Lake Township's reappraisal contract, Matt reiterated his 100% committment to fixing all the problems that exist. In view of the facts that:  

• Houghton County screw-ups are adversely affecting Torch Lake Township's reappraisal, and
• Houghton County will gain 90% of the additional revenue generated by the reappraisal

both the assessors and the board had expected the county to cooperate in the effort to get the records straightened out. Unfortunately that has not  been the reality.

Here is a case in point: In order to correct the legal descriptions that the county has failed to maintain accurately (and that the township has paid  the county to maintain accurately), the assessors need access to the existing county records. The county has told the assessors that they will provide our assessors those thousands of pages of records at the cost of $1.00 per page.

Supervisor Brian Cadwell and Assessor Matt Arko met with Commissioner Dennis Barrette, who represents our township on the county board, to lay out the facts and gain his support for -- at the very least -- free access to the county records so our assessors can make the needed corrections. Brian and Matt left the meeting disappointed.

Brian and Matt discussed the county's failures with the State Tax Commission's representative, Don Bode. Don wholeheartedly supported the position of Torch Lake Township.

Other Reassessment News

Matt Arko and Dave Peterson explained that two teams are cleaning up the small amount of field work remaining. The balance of the reappraisal will consist of turning the information gathered in the field into complete and accurate tax records.

Brian stated that the township has received no offers on the Rice Lake parcel. However, Secluded Land (the company that originally traded the parcel for an existing right-of-way) is now considering purchasing the parcel back from the township.

Preservation of Abandoned Railroad Grades

In September 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.

This month, the KPCC resubmitted the resolution: Lou Ambuehl moved that the board pass that resolution and Brian promptly seconded Lou's motion. Brian noted the importance of the local trail system to our economy and quality of life.

In opposition to the resolution, Diane Zurcher emphasized the problems faced by property owners near public trails, particularly from the garbage left behind by snowmobilers using those trails. Diane made the point that we already have plenty of public trails.

Speaking in favor of the resolution was Neil Marietta, who lives on Bunker Hill and is an active member of the KPCC Trail Committee, which is sponsoring the resolution. Here are a few of the points Neil made in favor of the resolution:

• The resolution doesn't mandate any particular use of those trails: that remains a matter for local citizens to decide.
• The intent is to consolidate political support to make sure that the abandoned railroad grades remain in public hands.
• Before the public trail system was in place, many more local businesses closed up for the winter.
• Because of the multiplier effect on tourism dollars, the public trails pump at least $10 million each year into the local economy.
• The public trails exist only because of the abandoned railroad grades: if the grades pass into private hands, the trail system will be lost.
• Should local copper mining ever become feasible again, the availablity of those grades will be essential.

After considerable discussion, Brian put the motion to a vote, saying that he felt the public good outweighed the problems pointed out by Diane.

The motion passed 3-2, with Lou Ambuehl, Brian Cadwell, and Denise Lepisto in favor. Diane Zurcher and Clerk Karen Rovano voted against it.

Other October Meetings

On October 17, minutes were available for two other meetings held earlier in the month.

The Election Commission met on October 4 and made the following decision:

Precinct #3 (Point Mills) was eliminated and consolidated with Precinct #1 (Hubbell). In the future, Point Mills residents will vote at the Hubbell Community Center.

A Special Meeting was held on October 10 to discuss the current water situation in Hubbell:

Dick Supina of Traverse Engineering explained the current dual water system and presented the options available to correct the problems. The board voted to approve spending $4000 to submit a planning application to the Rural Development Authority.

A write up of the information presented at the special meeting is available at the community center.

Other Items

• The township received a permit from MDOT to construct a storage shed behind the Hubbell Community Center that will encroach about 3 feet on the abandoned rail right-of-way. Mike Lahti's office in Lansing expedited the granting of the permit.
• A five-member Parks Committee was established and has the responsibility for reviewing the 1989 Parks Ordinance and making recommendations for any changes needed.
• Clerk Karen Rovano reported that the bill for painting and repairing the old garbage truck came in at $9,251, of which $6,029 falls to the township. The work was not completed satisfactorily though, so payment is currently being withheld.
• At Treasurer Diane Zurcher's request, the board voted to accept property tax payments within $5 of the actual amount without issuing refunds or bills for the remaining balance.
• The Bootjack FRD First Responders are sponsoring an all-you-can-eat Spaghetti Dinner from noon until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 28 at Dreamland. Cost is $7.00 per adult, $3.50 per child.

Next Board Meeting

The next Torch Lake Township board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21, in the Hubbell Community Center.

Lynn Torkelson