GREENWOOD TWP — Last year, Greenwood residents upped the township’s levy from $300,000 requested by the board to $600,000, asking that the additional levy funds be put aside noting that the department’s fire engine, among other things, was aging and in need of replacement.
And at this year’s annual meeting, residents again upped the ante, reacting to a detailed presentation of the township’s aging fire department fleet, upcoming town hall maintenance projects, options for addressing the town hall water quality, and possible renovations to the town hall kitchen.
Voters almost unanimously approved a 2027 levy of $800,000, with only one voice vote noting opposition. About 40 township voters were in attendance.
Treasurer Jill Clark, who was attending the meeting via telephone, gave a quick overview of the proposed 2027 budget, which set spending at the same level as 2026, at $713,000.
“The biggest portion of the budget is for the fire department,” she said, adding that most of the fire department spending was setting aside $278,615 for future capital purchases and about $130,000 in fire department operating costs and salaries.
Clark said she would recommend a levy of $690,000.
This budget and levy discussion came after presentations on the fire department, building maintenance needs, the kitchen project, walking trail resurfacing, and the safe drinking water issue.
Residents seemed eager to make sure the township had enough financial reserves to tackle future projects.
The town hall, built in the late 1970s, is at an age where repairs are needed. Last year the township replaced roofs. This past December, furnace issues cropped up, and the township was told they will need to replace four furnaces at a cost of around $50,000.
“Some are so old we can’t get parts,” said Supervisor Craig Gilbert. In addition, the water storage tank in the fire hall needs to be replaced soon at a cost of around $20,000. Windows in the town hall will also need replacement in the next few years, he said, and the town hall siding will need to be cleaned and repainted.
The township has applied for an IRRR grant, which would pay half the cost of some of these hall maintenance projects, and the township should hear in May if the grant request is successful.
Gilbert said the $20,000 for the fire hall tank is in the budget, but the furnace issue is not. The board does plan to add that project to the IRRR grant request but will need to replace the furnaces, whether or not grant funding is received.
Fire Chief Brian Trancheff gave a rundown of a first draft of the fire department equipment replacement plan. He noted that none of the costs are set in stone and that there are plenty of options available. There may also be ways to consolidate some equipment in the future. He said delivery times on fire trucks can stretch from two to four years. The township’s main fire engine is now 24 years old, and while it is still a “good truck,” according to Trancheff, it should be the first one the township replaces. He expects the cost of a new fire engine to be at least a million dollars. The new engine could be outfitted to also carry rescue and extrication gear, which could mean phasing out the department’s rescue truck. That could be replaced with a smaller, heavy-duty pickup at a significantly lower cost.
Trancheff also said the department needs to plan on replacing its firefighting SCBA and clothing in 2029 at an estimated cost of $150,000. The snowmobiles will also need to be replaced in a few years.
In more positive news, he noted all three of the fire boats are in good shape, though they would need to look at engine and electronic updates further down the road.
Residents asked how much the township should be looking to set aside each year to meet these needs.
“Would $600,000 a year be enough?” asked Steve Zaudtke. “I am not trying to raise my own taxes, but … ”
“Do we need to be setting aside $250,000 a year for 10 years?” asked Dan Carnicom.
Gilbert, who is also a fire department member, said if the township sticks to the $600,000 levy, in five years there would be enough to purchase the new fire engine. And while the township can look at grant opportunities, there aren’t any guarantees.
Trancheff said FEMA grants have been curtailed in the past few years.
Another item on the annual meeting agenda was kitchen upgrades. Last year, the township formed a committee after input at that annual meeting to look at the costs of updating the kitchen so it could be used for community events. Right now, there is not a working stove or oven, a commercial refrigerator, and no freezer.
“The kitchen committee looked at what would be needed to update our kitchen,” said committee member David Farley, “to make it safe, user-friendly, and functional.” He noted the kitchen is large enough to meet these needs, but it needs important upgrades before it could be used to serve food at community events.
“We aren’t looking at a Taj Mahal here,” he said.
Farley noted this isn’t a rush, and the township does need to consider priorities.
“I want the fire trucks to work and to have the water fixed,” he said.
“The first issue is we can’t drink the water,” said Paul Thompson, who just was elected to serve on the town board.
This discussion brought up the other big issue on the agenda, that of safe drinking water. The township well has high levels of naturally occurring arsenic, testing at three times the safe level. The filtration system installed a few years ago is not able to filter out the arsenic without quarterly changes to the filtration media, which would cost about $12,000 each year, reported Gilbert. He added they will be looking at other options for getting safe water, such as reverse osmosis with additional carbon filters. There was also discussion on whether the township should be providing the outside water tap for community use. Putting in a system that just services the needs of the township kitchen would be a less expensive option.
Thompson wondered if they could rely on community fundraisers to fund the kitchen project. Others noted that the stainless-steel equipment could be purchased used, helping to keep the cost down.
A motion by Carnicom to dedicate $40,000 for the kitchen project was approved on a voice vote.
“This might be enough. It might not be enough,” he said.
Roskoski told voters that the township will also need to match the IRRR grant received to resurface the walking trail, which has an estimated cost of $100,000. The township does have some money set aside in the walking trail fund, but this will only cover about half the township share. This project will be done in 2026.
After this extended discussion, there was broad support for once again increasing the levy. David Farley noted the township had struggled with cash flow last year. The township does have about $290,000 in investments, though some of that is dedicated to specific projects.
Gilbert floated the idea of raising the levy to $800,000, noting this would add an extra $100,000 for fire department reserves, $40,000 for the kitchen, money to refresh the reserve fund, and then an extra $34,000 for unplanned expenses in 2027, if needed. A motion to set the levy at $800,000 passed on a voice vote.

Township election date change
Residents asked the town board to consider starting the process for changing township elections from March to the even-year federal election cycle. The change would need to be on the township ballot next March, and then would go into effect in 2028. The change would lengthen supervisor terms from three to four years. The township annual meeting and setting of the levy would still occur in March.

Election results
Paul Thompson received 122 votes, and Paul Skubic received 117. Both were running unopposed.

Sprint medic
Residents heard a detailed presentation on the new sprint medic program. The Timberjay will report on that in next week’s issue. The meeting adjourned at 10:45 p.m.