SUPERVISORS CORNER

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We all wish you and your family the very best this season and into the New Year. Be safe and responsible as we enjoy the season with friends and family. I have been active in this community most of my life. I can honestly say that I will spend the rest of my life here and am proud to say so. I love my community and work every day to protect it and help it thrive. After all when the community thrives, my own environment benefits, how much better can it be?
During my life here I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with many residents, travelers, vacationers and fellow lifers. Many have asked about future development of our area. Through these discussions, some have related the desire for more dining options. The pandemic cut a swath through our communities dining options and the results have been felt. One comment that keeps reoccurring is that the township has a general dislike for any fast food establishments coming into our community to the point of denial by the “powers to be” whoever they may be. I however can tell you that in my 15 years as your supervisor we have never had nor denied any such requests for service to our community. In fact, we would welcome any such establishments that may desire to locate here. In addition, we do not control which businesses desire to locate in our area. Most of them have a business model that they follow that involves studies of spending habits, traffic loads and patterns, demographic studies and population trends. As long as they meet our zoning requirements, we have no choice but to allow them. All are treated the same, whether they are part of a large corporation or a mom and pop start-up. They all follow the same rules. Anyone that refutes this, I challenge them to prove it by more than the proverbial “I heard from…”. Any request for commercial(business) operations in the township requires a zoning application, which if denied requires a denial letter by law(Michigan Zoning Enabling Act). Show me the letter, without cause, and I will gladly retract these statements in my next “Corner”.
I feel that I need to clarify an issue that came up at our last board meeting. As required by law, a township board is required to have at least one business meeting per month at a pre-established time and place. Ours are the third Wednesday at 6:30 in the Plaza meeting room. During this monthly meeting we are required by law to allow the public to comment to the board. Some consider this to be the time to ask the board questions. That is not the purpose of the public comment section of the meeting. The public uses this time to let the board know their feelings, wants, concerns or wishes for the community. It is not a Q&A session. These monthly meetings are our only business meetings each month. We need to approve bills, set policies, take action on motions before the board from previous meetings, set directions for commissions, review and modify the budget and bring other board members up to speed on current township operations and issues. If you have specific issues or questions we are always available in our office Monday through Friday, by email(we each have our own) and by phone(again we each have our own). We are available to meet after hours and usually at a location of your choosing, if necessary. Each of us have our own area of expertise with township functions, so asking all of us will only generate a response from the one responsible for that general area. Feel free to contact us at any time with questions, that is our job, you don’t have to wait for a meeting to do so.
Starting January 1st the waste site hours will be changed. We will open at 9 am Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and close at 4 pm on these days. We will keep our current Sunday hours of 9 – 2. Currently, the waste site is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 AM through 4 PM and Sunday from 9 AM through 2 PM. We are open on Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.
As always if you ever have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our community please contact me. I am in the office Monday – Friday 7:30 – 4:00 at 989-728-2811 or my cell at 989-984-7073 or by email supervisor@plainfieldtwpmi.com.
Fred Lewis – Supervisor Plainfield Township