The Bingham Township Board approved a new phone system for the township hall on 7171 S. Center Hwy at their July 15 regular meeting. The township is subscribing to a $100 monthly plan from the phone company U-Tel.
“We’ve needed this for a while,” Township Supervisor Midge Werner commented. “It includes our own phone line, and this would also include a phone line for the assessor, and for (Zoning Administrator) Steve (Patmore).”
The phone line will connect callers to the township’s new assessor, Barbara Jones, who provided her first report to the township board last month. Jones is also tax assessor for Elmwood and Solon townships. Similarly, Patmore is zoning administrator for three townships, including Leelanau, Suttons Bay, and Bingham. Bingham extended their contract with Patmore through 2024 last year.
The township board met again Monday evening because Werner realized that a second bid for the phone system was not included in the July regular meeting packet, and she wanted the rest of the board to review it. After a brief meeting, however, the board decided to go with the contract they approved with U-Tel the previous week and adjourned after taking no action.
Also at the regular meeting, the township recommended Patmore to be representative for Bingham Township on a new joint airport zoning board for the Northwest Regional Airport Authority, which manages the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City.
The Leelanau County board of commissioners requested representatives from Elmwood, Bingham, and Solon townships – the townships within the airport’s 10-nautical-mile “hazard area” – to serve on this zoning board, along with representatives from Grand Traverse County. This board will be responsible for establishing a zoning commission and drafting an airport zoning ordinance. The Leelanau County board will review the townships’ recommendations and appoint the county’s representatives at one of their future meetings.
Earlier this month, the Bingham Township board held another special meeting where they approved quotes from Deering Tree Service in Maple City to remove and prune several trees at Keswick Cemetery and haul everything off-site for $3,800. The board also approved an additional $4,500 to remove a maple tree near the cemetery’s well house, for a total of $8,300.
