Trustees address noise and food truck ordinances, park projects

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Various items pertaining to life in the township were addressed by elected officials at the Clinton Township Board of Trustees meeting on June 12.

One item discussed that would affect everyone in Clinton Township is a new noise ordinance, which was introduced for a public hearing. As introduced, the ordinance stated loud noises generally could not be made from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.  It specifically mentioned no landscaping machinery (such as lawnmowers) from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., and no nongovernmental construction projects near residential areas from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Trustee Tammy Patton pointed out the longer hours for the landscaping times compared to the standard 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. times. That led Trustee Julie Matuzak to recommend bringing landscaping into the same allowable times as construction. Trustees discussed how the limits would affect landscaping companies and how the ordinance would be enforced.

“Oftentimes, it means they go out and give a warning first, say, ‘Hey, we got some complaints. Can you cease and desist the noise because it’s a problem for your neighbors?’” said Clinton Township Treasurer Paul Gieleghem. “Then, if they have to come out a second time, that’s when they have to enforce it.”

Gieleghem expressed his satisfaction with the ordinance as it was presented to the board, followed by Township Supervisor Robert Cannon’s suggestion that the ordinance go into effect as presented.

“I’m with Mr. Gieleghem,” Cannon said. “I think we should give this a try and then come back to it if it doesn’t work.”

Trustees will take a final vote on the ordinance at the July 26 meeting.

 

Food truck changes
After about a year of being in effect, the township’s food truck ordinance is undergoing a number of changes.

The $25 application fee is being removed, the fire department is taking over application and inspection fee collection from the clerk’s office, and inspection fees will not be waived going forward.

Though it was not stated in the ordinance or the fee-adjusting resolution, a memo by Gieleghem, read aloud by Clinton Township Clerk Kim Meltzer, mentioned that the supervisor’s office and Community Relations & Media Services Department will make a food truck page for the township website to help truck operators find the information they need to do business in Clinton Township.

“I wish other communities that are not doing anything would take a look at some of the things we’re trying to do, because it is very difficult for us to be only one sometimes out front,” Cannon said.

 

Parks projects
Trustees also approved a change in scope for the Prince Drewry Park pathway project, as contractor Best Asphalt Inc. is donating fill soil from another project to help level 3.5 acres of the park’s fields.

“This is a major improvement to Prince Drewry Park,” Matuzak said. “Prince Drewry Park was built on a landfill that shifts and moves and changes; and when you’re on the fields, there are dips and dives; and when it rains, there are puddles. The fact that this contractor was willing to work with us to make a substantial donation to improve this park is unbelievably good.”

The soil will be used to level out the northern end of the park for football and soccer uses. Transportation, regrading, furnishing and installation of the soil will be done at no cost to the township, while $51,250 will be added to the project cost for hydroseed restoration, watering and soil testing.

While the project is expected to improve park conditions once completed, two groups will be inconvenienced by the work in the short term. The Quinn Road Reunion will have to work around the park’s condition as it may be at the time of the event, while the QRD Tarheels youth football program will need a new practice field for the time being. The township will work with the Tarheels to find a new field, with the Clinton Township Housing Commission’s fields being the most likely site.

Trustees also accepted a $100,000 grant from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and the Environmental Protection Agency to help fund improvements to the parking lot at Joy Park.