Johnson picked as noxious weed officer

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — The Ironwood Township Board of Trustees approved naming Zoning Administrator Leroy Johnson as the township’s noxious weed officer at Monday’s meeting, pending Johnson’s acceptance of the position.

Several board members brought up the logic in selecting Johnson for the position as there is likely a lot of overlap with his current responsibility of enforcing township regulations against blight.

“Would (appointing Johnson) be a logical thing to do. A lot of times, the same nuisance things he would be checking, many times those would involve (noxious weeds),” said Trustee Steve Boyd. “... otherwise we would just be duplicating work.”

The township’s former zoning administrator, Butch Saari, previously served in the position, which according to township ordinances has a 2-year term.

The township usually gets less than 10 weed complaints a summer, according to Treasurer Jyl Olson-DeRosso.

In other board action:

— The board tabled the request for tax relief from the owners of the Milltrace Apartments until the board is provided with the potential ordinance language necessary for the board to approve the tax break.

— The board set a public hearing regarding Tom Hampston’s request to rezone his Junet Road property. The hearing will be at 6 p.m., during the board’s regular meeting on Sept. 14. Previously, the township’s planning commission voted against the rezoning request, however, the board of trustees is the only body with the power to make the actual decision.

— The board voted against a request from Copper Peak Adventure Ride to have the township cover a third of the costs of repairs to a road on the property. After a discussion, the board agreed that because the road was on private property and hadn’t been budgeted for as part of the township’s road repair plan, they couldn’t justify diverting money to the project.

— The board authorized the township fire department to use a fire truck as part of its Labor Day “fill the boot” campaign to raise money to fight muscular dystrophy.