Members of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees will not meet until the first week of January.
All meetings have been cancelled and township hall is closed to the public. Some township employees are available to meet with residents by appointment while others are working from home. The Senior Center is closed for activities, although food distribution continues at the site.
The closures are in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the orders of the Michigan Department of Health which has urged as little public contact as possible as the infection rate of the virus continues to spiral. Currently, several area hospitals are nearing capacity and ICU units are becoming scarce, according to Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun, Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy Director for Health for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Sumpter officials, however, took the action at the Nov. 17 meeting prior to the latest extension of orders from the health department. During discussion of the closures, Trustees Tim Rush and Don LaPorte agreed that the board members should determine which employees will remain working in township hall and which will work from home. The board will also determine the schedules of the employees who will be paid at their full-time rates.
Treasurer Ken Bednark suggested keeping township hall open with personal service by appointment or at curbside as winter tax season is already under way and bills have been received. Bednark also suggested the township technology department establish a Zoom account so that the board members could meet virtually.
Trustee Matt Oddy said the state has ruled that all municipal meetings must be virtual. He added that establishing the Zoom procedure should be referred to the township technology employee.
The board members also approved all warrants for payment until Dec. 31. Rush suggested the warrants be mailed to officials as they are received for approval.
Notification of the cancellation was posted on the township website and on the front door at township hall.
