BathMIBlog Stories

Public input sought on Bath Township park plan

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:06:00 -0400

BATH TWP. � Big plans are in motion for Bath Township's park system, and residents are invited to have a voice, said township officials. A July 21 public hearing will put a cap on the process of putting together its five-year master plan."It's where (residents) can say they agree or disagree with something and then, at our discretion we can change it," said Jenn Wood, director of the Parks and Recreation Commission. "All of the plans that have been made are based on input from the community."The creation of a plan is necessary for the township to be eligible for potential grants, she said.She said a highlight of the plan is the creation of a non-motorized path system."One of the big things we are working on is connectivity throughout Bath, be it walking trail, paved, concrete or mulch," she said."The township is going to try to connect the main focal points like the parks and the downtown area. Right now there is not much leeway to walk down by Park Lake to get to the beach area and the park. That's something we are working on."She said she is hopeful it will encourage people to walk around and safely enjoy the community.The "Boundless Playground" in Wiswasser Park is another of the plan's priorities. It is a barrier-free playground that will be implemented in two phases. Plans include two play structures - one for ages 5 and under and one for ages 6 and up.The project carries a $155,000 price tag and will be paid for largely through community fundraising and grants, said Wood.In 2012, plans call for work to begin on a multi-use sports park to be located on 19 acres south of the overpass on the east side of Upton Road. The first phase will include the construction of two ball fields and a recreational football field. The $80,000 cost is expected to be covered by grant monies and local fundraising.Detailed plans can be viewed at Bath Township Hall or at the Web site Bath Township

Bath Days committee to hold final meetings

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:49:03 -0400

The Bath Days Festival committee will be having its last three planning meetings on the following dates: July 8, 22, and 29. Meetings are at 6:30 p.m. at Joe's Diner, 13631 Main St. in downtown Bath. All are welcome. na

Interim school chief found

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:02:46 -0400

The board of education is expected to name Daniel Heckman to temporarily fill the school district's top spot at its June 23 meeting. "He's a retired superintendent from Plainwell School District and was also interim superintendent for Leslie Schools for the 2006-07 school year, so he has experience in that capacity," said Hawkins. Heckman will replace superintendent Dennis Furton, who is leaving to take over as chief of Spring Lake Public Schools, a school district of 2,400 students located near Lake Michigan between Muskegon and Grand Haven. If approved by the board of education as expected, Heckman will begin his duties on July 1. "He brings a lot of experience as an administrator and will continue to move us forward, which is what we expect, said Furton. The search process for a permanent superintendent begins in January of 2009 under the advisement of the Michigan Leadership Institute, the same organization that assisted with the school district's strategic plan, said Hawkins.

Verizon expands high speed Internet service to Bath

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:52:45 -0400

High speed Internet access is coming to Bath Township, as Verizon Wireless upgrades its Lansing-area network, township officials announced. The New York-based telecommunications giant will be offering digital subscriber line, or DSL, service at the end of July. Only certain "pockets" of the township will receive the service at this point, said township superintendent Troy Feltman. That may change as the township continues to grow, he said. "The economics simply aren't there for others to make the investment at this juncture in some of the less populated areas. And as time goes on, and they make a bigger investment in the community, I am sure they will be looking for as many customers as they can get," he said. Feltman said residents can visit the township's Web site at www.bathtownship.us to access a map which details which portions of the township will receive the service. Verizon's service costs between $25.99 and $42.99 per month, depending on speed. It can be bundled with landline, Verizon Wireless cell phone and DirecTV Group Inc.'s satellite television services. According to Feltman, response to the high speed Internet has been favorable. "People are quite anxious to receive high speed Internet access," he said. As part of its expansion, Verizon will also be offering the service to areas in Laingsburg, Onondaga, Stockbridge, Wacousta, Webberville, and Williamston. Parts of DeWitt and Grand Ledge began receiving the service in May.

Lightning Strikes Township Hall

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:38:54 -0400

A lightning strike during a storm last week crippled the telephone system of Bath Township Hall and caused at least $10,000 in damage to computers and other pieces of equipment, officials said. "Sometime over the course of the weekend, either this building or the maintenance building was struck by lightning and our backup server just came through the line and just completely fried the wiring," said township superintendent Troy Feltman. The township was left with one operating phone line in the township hall and one phone line at the police department next door. "It just impacted the phone system - which was completely shot - and then the server was impacted and right now five to seven PCs were damaged beyond the point of repair and then there is a whole bunch of other equipment like routers, switches, etc.," said Feltman. Feltman estimated about $10,000 in damage to the equipment with another $3,000 in labor costs on top of that. The cost should be covered by the township's insurance. The damage occurred despite having surge protectors in place, said Feltman. The township will receive recommendations from its information technology consultant on how to better protect itself in the future. "I don't know. Time will tell if we have do something internally," he said.

Blair Humphrys signs with SVSU

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:51:18 -0400

Coach Drago Dumbovich and the Saginaw Valley State University women's soccer team are pleased to announce the signing of Blair Humphrys 2008 Bath graduate who played on the Laingsburg-Bath high school soccer team. Blair Humphrys is a midfielder who is very strong and physical on the defensive side of the ball. She will strengthen the Cardinal defense this upcoming season. Her aggressive play on the ball should earn her a solid reputation around the league. The 2008 Saginaw Valley State University women�s soccer season will begin on August 31st when they take on the University of Indianapolis at the SVSU Soccer Field.

Bath Days seeks volunteers

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:37:30 -0400

Planning for the Bath Days Festival, scheduled for Aug. 1-2 in downtown Bath, is off to a promising start, but the event is still in need of volunteers, funding, and door prize donations, said organizer Melissa Doerr. "We are hoping we won't have to work so hard to make this happen. We enjoy doing this, but we need people to come out and show support to their community. We need to keep this tradition going," she said. There is still a need for participants in the annual tub races. Making a vehicle - essentially a bath tub on wheels - is not nearly as hard as it looks, said Doerr. "As far as I understand, we have some shells and other miscellaneous parts. I guess they are pretty easy to make. I thought they were quite complicated," she said. Race participants can win money and trophies. Students of all ages have a chance to be crowned into Bath's "Royal Family," with king and queen, prince and princess, and junior prince and princess. Essays are required in order to be considered. Elementary students must submit a picture book depicting their time in Bath. Middle school students have to write a 500-word essay about the Bath School bombing, and likewise, a 500-word essay is required of high schoolers as they describe what they believe they bring to Bath currently, and what they hope to bring back after graduation. The winners will be featured in the parade. "We want to make it as easy as possible for the kids, yet fun. I recently got something from an 8-year-old that was just adorable," said Doerr. Several contests will be held for children at the park on Saturday, along with a pie and cookie baking contest after the parade. There are a few spaces left for crafters to join the festival. A car show will be held at the corner of Clark and Webster that Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All information and forms are available at the Bath Township hall, located at 14480 Webster Road and/or by e-mailing melissabathdays@yahoo.com or by calling Melissa at (517) 202-2881. Those interested in volunteering are also encouraged to call or e-mail.

Bath High School Student Receives Congressional Medal of Merit

Tue, 13 May 2008 13:26:00 -0400

BHS senior Christie Wilkins was chosen to receive the Congressional Medal of Merit for Outstanding Youth Leadership. Christie was honored at the State Capitol by Congressman Mike Rogers last week. She is the daughter of Heidi and Chris Wilkins. Christie Wilkins was chosen to receive the Congressional Medal of Merit for Outstanding Youth Leadership.

The Congressional Medal of Merit is bestowed on one outstanding senior from each high school in the Congressional District, as nominated by their high school. These students have demonstrated exemplary citizenship and academic excellence in their high school careers. They have also been leaders in the area of peer respect, community service, school citizenship, and involvement in extracurricular activities. These recipients have contributed significantly to making their schools better places.

She also was one of 23 area students to recieved 2008 Good Citizen Award from the Lansing Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for dependability, service, leadership and patriotism characteristics in recipients.

Christie participates in many high school activities: National Honor Society, high school renaissance, Student Council president, journalism copy editor, Drama Club and Academic Team. She is a Big Brothers, Big Sisters volunteer, a Relay for Life Team captain and a fifth-grade counselor.

Bath Township begins work on 'menu of services'

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:13:01 -0400

BATH TWP. � Over the rest of the year, Bath Township superintendent Troy Feltman will be sitting down with department heads and making a list of what services are being offered and how much it will cost. It is all part of his plans of converting the township into a "performance-based" style of management. "It's almost like a menu of services, if you will," he said. "I do this every where I go. I am a firm believer in performance-based management. That citizens have a right to see what they are getting for their money and we have an obligation to run this place as efficiently as we possibly can," he said. It will be a long-term project, as Bath Township provides nearly 150 different types of services with a budget of a little more than $3 million, said Feltman. "What we will do is look at efficiencies in terms of are we redundant in terms of certain activities taking place in the organization? Are their gaps? Where do we need to develop policy?" he said. "But at the end of the day what we will be able to do is as we go through these services, we will be able to produce a list of services that the township provides to the public." For example, if the system of providing burning permits is not working, the township can look at things to do differently. It will be a sharp departure from the traditional way of organizing the budget, said Feltman. "The idea is we will be able to link tax dollars coming in to specific services and outputs that the public can see and begin budgeting around these things. Rather than line items we will be budgeting around services," said Feltman. "So there will be a significant change in the organization when it comes to how we are organizing ourselves. We will see a dramatic change in terms of how the budget appears." Supervisor Roni Christmas said she expects the new system to improve communication with the public. "It will also show outcomes of the work people are doing. So when we are talking about the millage for the police and fire, we can say, 'This is what that is doing for you. When you pass the millage, you are getting this, this, and this,'" she said. She said it will establish a work plan for each employee, which will then be patterned after the goals of the township and will prevent the township from duplicating efforts.

Bath School & Ballot Election, May 6

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:44:00 -0400

Bath will hold a annual school board election. Running are Randy Paape and Steven M. Plemmons for two open seats. Also on the ballot is the proposal to keep the Headlee override of 2 mills on non-homestead properties. Bath Public Schools
BALLOT PROPOSAL AT A GLANCE
FOR THE ANNUAL MAY 6, 2008 ELECTION

REASON FOR REQUEST
▪ To maintain the funding that voters have already approved � THERE WILL BE NO INCREASE TO HOMEOWNERS
▪ To get full per student operational dollars ($7,204 estimate) that the state authorizes under Proposal A
▪ If this election is not successful, the district may lose approximately $50,000 of funding due to a Headlee rollback in the future

THE PROBLEM
▪ The 18 mills approved by voters in 2004 for non-homestead property faces exposure to be rolled back resulting in a lose of school funding from potential Headlee rollback
▪ The rollbacks occur because of Proposal A�s impact on the Headlee law when properties are sold and the assessed value is increased
▪ This vote is required to allow the district to continue to collect the full 18 mills which voters approved previously on non-homestead property such as apartment buildings, rental homes, vacation properties, some vacant land, and commercial/industrial properties

THE PROPOSAL
▪ At the May 6 annual school election school district voters will be asked to vote on an increase of 2 mills on non-homestead properties for 6 years � (although the ballot language uses the word INCREASE, it is actually RESTORING millage from a decreased millage rate when a rollback occurs)
▪ If passed, the district will levy only that portion of the 2 mill requested when a Headlee rollback occurs and there is a need to restore the total rate to 18 mills for non-homestead property � which is the maximum allowable by law. The total operating rate is capped and cannot go higher then 18 mills

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST
▪ A SUCCESSFUL VOTE WILL RESULT IN NO COST INCREASE TO HOMEOWNERS
▪ The first year impact on non-homestead property including apartment buildings, rental homes, vacation properties, some vacant land, and commercial/industrial property will be that they pay the same rate, 18 mills, as was in place since 2004

The ballot proposal
CANDIDATES & PROPOSALS
TO APPEAR ON MAY 6, 2008
ELECTION BALLOTS
BATH COMMUNITY SCHOOLS � SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER

Vote for 2 � FOUR (4) YEAR TERMS

Randy Paape	15462 Upton Road	East Lansing, MI 48823
Steven M. Plemmons	15407 Upton Road	East Lansing, MI 48823

BATH COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPOSAL
OPERATING MILLAGE PROPOSAL
This proposal will enable the school district to levy the statutory rate of 18 mills on all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, required for the school district to receive its revenue per pupil foundation allowance.

Shall the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property, except principal residence and other property exempted by law, in Bath Community Schools, Clinton and Shiawassee Counties, Michigan, be increased by 2 mills ($2.00 on each $1,000.00 of taxable valuation) for a period of 6 years, 2008 to 2013, inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes; the estimate of the revenue the school district will collect if the millage is approved and levied in 2008 is approximately $50,000 (this millage is to restore millage lost as a result of the reduction required by the Michigan Constitution of 1963 and will be levied only to the extent necessary to restore that reduction)?

Yes/No