Bainbridge Township releases survey results; adopts a new off-road vehicle ordinance

The Bainbridge Township Board of Trustees held their monthly meeting on Oct. 9 at the Bainbridge Township Hall. The meeting was called to order by Township Supervisor, Andrew Gardner. In attendance were Nancy Weber, Treasurer, Patty Hiler-Molter, the Township Clerk, and Trustees Don Baiers and John Yetzke. Office Manager, Beth Fritzsche was also in attendance.

One of the items covered under New Business was The Master Plan Update Community Survey Report. This report is from the Bainbridge Township Master Plan Update Steering Committee which opened up an opinion survey to gather public input on land use planning and other topics that concern the township.

The survey questions were developed with the help of Williams & Works, a professional group of engineers who work with public and private sector clients to design and assist with the construction of infrastructure projects.

The survey was mailed out to all addresses associated with property ownership within the township. A total of 1,274 surveys were mailed and 295 responses were returned, which was a 23.2% completion rate.

One of the inquiries that brought up a lot of conversation was Question 9: Bainbridge Township needs more commercial zoning. The replies were that 10 people strongly agreed, 58 people agreed, 130 people disagreed with the statement, 74 people strongly disagreed with the statement, and 23 people skipped the question. All this to say is that the majority of the people who returned surveys do not want to see more commercial zoning in the township. They want to keep the rural life that Bainbridge offers.

To read the report in its entirety, log onto the Bainbridge Township web page at bainbridgetownship.org and click the tab labeled ‘General Development Plan,’ then choose ‘Community Survey Report, 2023’ to view.

Treasurer’s report

Nancy Weber presented the treasurer’s report for September. The Township Board approved the paying of bills for a total of $21,606.64 for the month. In her report, Weber noted that two expenses need to be noted as the reason for such high expenditures. The two payments were for the contracted services fee of $4,244.95 and the Master Plan Update cost of $2,485.10.

Safety department reports

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Department submitted the statistics for August 2023. The report reflected that there were 46 complaints worked in the township with 11 tickets issued and six arrests.

Medic 1 Ambulance had logged 10 calls within the township for September. The report reflected that there were two Priority I calls with both response times being seven minutes or under. There were eight Priority II calls on record with an average response time of 14.25 minutes.

Sister Lakes Fire Department reported no calls for September and Benton Charter Township Fire Department had no report.

Other reports

At the board meeting, the board discussed and approved the assessor’s report submitted by Scott Anderson. Anderson has been entering data for the new parcels and construction from this year.

The Code Enforcement Activity Log submitted by Tracy Newman showed 5.5 hours worked with a total of 35 miles driven. Two notices were given; one for a dangerous building and another for litter debris.

The Building and Zoning report submitted by Ross Rogien showed ten permits totaling $14,170.50 for the building department and three Zoning permits totaling $90 for September.

The Mechanical Activity Report by Ken Jewell reflected an income of $720 for four permits.

The Plumbing Report by Ken Benjamin was not available for review.

Ron Kettlehut, the Electrical inspector for the township, issued four permits totaling $1,010.

All reports were approved as presented.

New business

The board received the proposed Solar Panel Ordinance that will be reviewed by the Planning Commission before it gets returned to the board for their approval.

The board also approved a new Off-Road Vehicle Ordinance for the Township. The ordinance aims to regulate the operation of off-road vehicles on certain public roads within Bainbridge Township.

Public comment

Coloma Library Director, Mary Harrison was present at Monday night’s board meeting. Harrison wanted to update the board on some staffing changes and she passed out solar protection viewing glasses to those present. Two solar eclipses are visible to North America in the next six months. An annular eclipse occurred on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, and a total eclipse occurs on Monday, April 8, 2024.

Harrison told the audience that Bainbridge Township residents have the best chance of seeing this rare opportunity on April 8, 2024. Since it is not safe to look directly at the sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing, Harrison provided those in attendance with their very own specialized protection eyeglasses for future events.

Having no other business, the board thanked all guests for coming to the meeting and adjourned shortly after 8 p.m.