MONTAGUE — Residents of Soul Fire Forest farm spoke during public comment at Tuesday, Oct. 13's Montague Township board meeting to ask questions regarding the farm's possible routes to supplement and sustain themselves through agritourism and on-site living accommodations for visitors and seasonal workers.
The residents, Mike and Ally, highlighted items included on the Master Plan draft supporting agriculture, more diverse housing choices and preserving rural character.
For Mike, Ally and Soul Fire Forest, the main question is: “How could we go about as a community to support small farmers starting up, to be able to provide them supplemental income through educational activities and [a] very small [number of] campsites?”
The primary concern noted by board members regarding the plans for Soul Fire Forest is the Sikkenga Road property's current zoning as a mobile home parcel, which does not allow camping or temporary dwellings. While the township board was encouraging of the farm’s concepts, residents were informed they still need to operate within the township’s ordinances, which Soul Fire Forest signaled its willingness to adhere to. Supervisor Jeff King suggested the farm continue its dialogue with zoning administrator Rachael Novak to find ways to accommodate wishes of both parties.
Montague Township awarded a bid to R&S Tree Service for grinding stumps of trees removed at Montague Township Park, plus two more stumps and removal of one tree on property of township hall. For grinding eight total stumps and the removal of one tree, R&S quoted the township $1,250.
Planning commission board chair Bob Muzio presented the commission’s master plan draft to the township board for acceptance, at the recommendation of the commission board. The board accepted the draft, which will now be sent to county commissioners and neighboring townships for comment. Should no comments be received, the draft will be presented at another public hearing before final approval from both the planning commission and township boards.
Clerk Drew Roesler notified the board of a misprinted name on recent mail-in ballots sent to Montague School District voters. The misprinted ballots (255 for Montague Township alone) were recalled and new ballots have been reissued with the correction, and provisions have been made so the misprinted ballots will be disqualified by the tabulator.
Said Roesler of how the misprint will affect the clerk’s office, “It will be a lot of babysitting the process, knowing which ballot from which person. It’s adding a big, giant headache, which we will weather for all of our county residents.”
County Commissioner Kim Cyr, in attendance at the meeting, specially requested a letter explaining what happened and how the accident is being remedied, which Roesler assured he’d receive. In-person voting will be unaffected.
