Sciota Township buys $500 election camera; $2,250 grant sits unused

Sciota Township's board authorized its clerk to spend up to $500 on a new election surveillance camera, voting 5-0 by roll call at its Sept. 14 meeting. Clerk Jamie Parker-Wing, Trustee Reed, Trustee Vondrasek, Treasurer Palmer and Supervisor Matthews all voted aye; nobody was absent. The motion came from Palmer and was seconded by Matthews, according to the draft minutes posted by the township.

The reason given in the minutes is mechanical. Parker-Wing reported the current election camera is about four years old, "has experienced intermittent recording issues, and can no longer synchronize with Reolink's cloud service due to outdated firmware," the minutes state. She researched the problem through Reolink.com and technical support. The replacement is a grant-eligible purchase.

The Current reported on Sept. 19 that the township's Aug. 10 minutes, approved at this same Sept. 14 meeting, recorded a third reported interference with the township's election-box camera. The September minutes do not connect the replacement to those reports.

A second camera question went the other way. The board had a $2,250 MTPP grant award on hand and had reviewed cost estimates for a surveillance system at the township hall. The minutes say the board "voted down the proposed surveillance system, and the Supervisor deemed the proposal closed." Some members had questions about resolution, zoom, installation and whether the equipment fit the township's needs; others "expressed frustration that the earlier proposal had not moved forward and pointed out that the grant award should be used before it expires," the minutes say. No expiration date is listed.

District 6 County Commissioner Cindy Garber told the board the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has sent letters to affected residents about gravel washing on Colby Lake Road, and that Shiawassee County has joined the review. EGLE must finish environmental studies before any approval because the area contains roughly 13 wetlands and three or four ponds, Garber said, and if a washing plant is permitted the operator may later pursue a cement facility. Withdrawing 900 gallons of water a day "could affect nearby homes, wells, wetlands, and other water resources," according to her report. The township's August minutes recorded residents objecting to a gravel pit water withdrawal permit, as The Current reported last month.

Garber also reported the county audit went well, that revenue rose about 4% — below inflation, but enough to support a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for employees — and that the E911 department is in good financial shape after voters approved a $0.35 rate increase. Retirement payments to MERS for grandfathered employees are beginning to ease, she said.

On the township's own books, the board approved $5,541.81 in payroll and $64,212.02 in accounts payable, checks #11747 through #11764, and placed the treasurer's report on file: $181,080.45 in the general fund, $110,279.92 in the tax fund and $34,795.17 in the CD fund. Board members also signed off on a land division for parent parcel #009-05-100-002, an irregular split of a barn and driveway from a 46.5-acre parcel that will be combined with a Clinton County parcel, requested by Sharri Kast of 4901 S. Meridian Rd., Ovid, and recommended by the township planning commission. In public comment, Traci Buxton asked the clerk for a copy of Board of Review payments for February and March 2026 to check their accuracy. The board also corrected the August minutes, changing the name of the applicants on a county Community Development Office application from Gerald and Mary Sayles to Sandra and Arden DeZess.

What happens next: the minutes are a draft until the board approves them at its next meeting, and no date for that meeting appears in the document. Two old-business items stay open — monthly submission of weekly and draft meeting minutes returns in December 2026, and the cemetery management and plot sales reassignment remains in process. On Colby Lake Road, EGLE's environmental review has to be completed before any permit decision.