By Lisa Carolin
After officially accepting the resignation of Sylvan Township Supervisor David Brooks at the May 4 Sylvan Township Board meeting, Township Clerk Kathleen Kennedy was unanimously approved as the new supervisor.
Kennedy has been the township clerk for seven years and said she was interested in the supervisor position after Tom McKernan resigned last year.
She will not officially become Sylvan Township Supervisor until she takes the oath of office at a swearing in ceremony by Judge Patrick Conlin at a date yet to be determined.
There was a positive outpouring of comments about the choice of Kennedy as supervisor from some of those attending the Zoom meeting as well as members of the township board, summed up by Trustee Sandie Schulze, “I consider Kathy to be the epicenter of the township,” she said.
The township is now looking for a clerk to replace Kennedy. Both the supervisor and clerk positions will be on the August 2022 ballot.
The board approved hiring Kimberly Haines, owner of Haines Accounting in Chelsea, as a township accountant at a rate of $30 per hour, not to exceed 10 hours a week.
Also approved was a request to engage an attorney for the township’s broadband group.
The board agreed on the following salary increases: Supervisor-$30,000; Clerk-$35,000, Treasurer-$30,000; Trustees-$5,000. Members of the Sylvan Township Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals will now receive $120 per meeting, and the secretaries and chairpersons will receive $130 per meeting.
A proposed budget of $98,818 was approved for 2021 Washtenaw County Road Commission projects; $554 was approved for Airserve to perform maintenance on the township’s heating and cooling system; and a discussion about allowing marijuana micro-businesses was tabled until further research could be done.
