Board covers 8th Annual Liberty Fest, other calendar issues

The Canton Township Board of Trustees met Tuesday to discuss calendar and budget issues for the upcoming months.

Among the topics discussed was the confirmation of the 8th annual Liberty Festival Parade that is scheduled from 9am-11am on Saturday, June 19, 2010. The board approved the temporary closing of Ford Rd. during these hours along a stretch from Canton Center to Lilley roads. The request came from the Michigan Department of Transportation and was granted via unanimous decision.

Wade Shows has been selected on the basis of a one year contract to provide carnival rides and attractions which have been a part of the weekend long festival since 2007. According to Supervisor LaJoy, a five person panel was formed to score Wade shows and Skerbeck Brothers Inc., which has had the contract for the past two years. “Wade Shows was scored the highest by each independent reviewer, “ said LaJoy, “and we recommend they be offered the contract.”

“This is one of the great ways for us to generate revenue at Liberty Fest,” said Treasurer McLaughlin of the attractions.

Topping the budget was a $73, 480 approval of funds for the township’s IT division. The township will purchase two servers for disaster recovery. “One of the units will be sitting in the library and we will be backing up our system on a daily basis,” said Trustee Anthony. The other will be housed in the Administration Building serving a similar purpose, each acting as a fail-safe for the other.

The Board also granted an additional amount close to $31,000 for the Water Main Replacement and Rehabilitation Program. “Additional costs are mostly for concrete, sod, and other expenses that were difficult to asses with the original estimates,” Director LaJoy explained. “These additional funds still put us below the $500,000 budget we voted on last year,” he added.

Two decisions were made involving environmental waste and energy consumption as well. The township will purchase two solar-powered traffic control arrow boards from a Canton company by the name of Poco Traffic Control Specialists. “It’s nice to see the bid go to a local candidate vender,” said Trustee Anthony. The budget for the two boards, which will replace outdated, diesel run boards, is just under $8,000.

The township will also be purchasing eight self dumping hoppers for the purposes of separating and storing waste material in an effort to make more money selling the scrap. The budget for these hoppers is $6,900.

All issues were decided by unanimous vote with trustee Caccamo absent. The next meeting of the Canton Township Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 7pm in the Administration Building. For more information visit http://www.canton-mi.gov.