Brady Township has secured a two-acre site for its new fire station. At the Board’s December 3 meeting, Township Supervisor Randy Smith said all the papers had been signed to obtain the property.
He updated the board at its January 7 meeting: A sales agreement has been signed by the Township and John and Anne Boers, who have donated the site in exchange for $1. The site is large enough to accommodate a new township hall at a future date.
The property is located on 28th Street just south of V Avenue, making it centrally located in the Township.
Smith also signed and approved an agreement with Prein&Newhof, a west Michigan engineering firm, to do the needed surveys and inspections.
The Township is building its own fire station because as of April 1, 2026, it is withdrawing from the South Kalamazoo County Fire Authority and contracting with Pavilion Township for fire and emergency services.
Smith said he had recently met with Pavilion’s fire chief about what is needed in the new building, but noted that construction cannot begin until the Road Commission lifts the frost laws.
As explained in previous meetings, the Township expects to pay for the new station with $400,000 in savings due to COVID funds which had been spent in areas that normally would have come from its own funds.
Smith is currently consulting with the architect about plans for what is expected to be a 60-by-60 foot building with three bays. It will also include bathrooms, a shower, and a day room.
In other business, the Board approved the salaries for the supervisor, $60,000; treasurer, $50,000; and the clerk, $52,000.
“These base salaries are higher since we lowered the amount paid out for health care (50% of salary to 30% of salary),” Smith explained in an email. “We made this adjustment as it reflects more like the formulas used by other townships of our size in the County.”
The Board evaluated both the statutory and non-statutory duties of these three positions so that the salaries were more in line with the duties of each officer.
During the workshop session prior to the regular meeting, the Board discussed the need to have records digitized. While this has been discussed before, it became more of an issue recently after a pipe burst in a room where paper records are kept. The damage ruined 16 boxes of records, including some that were to be kept permanently.
Treasurer Elise Stephens has researched and received quotes for digitizing records which could cost about $30,000. She said Applied Innovations has some advantages that other companies do not, such as the fact that it is local.
“I don’t think it’s cost prohibitive,” said Smith. “We can reallocate some money for it. We can find ways to come up with the money. We just need to decide to do it.”
Regarding the documents that were destroyed which were to have been kept forever, Smith said they were such things as tax documents and building permits.
“In the 15 years I’ve been here, I’ve never had anyone ask for these documents,” he said.
He also noted that he had checked with Craig Rolfe, township attorney, who indicated the township could just make a note of what happened and when the documents were destroyed.
During the workshop session, the issue of salaries was also discussed where Smith advocated setting up a starting salary. Currently, if an inexperienced person is elected to be supervisor, clerk, or treasurer, that person would be paid the same as the previous person who may have years and years of experience.
“All hiring is done at the ballot box,” Smith said. “All compensation is done here by the Board.”
A newly elected person with no experience should start at a base salary while an incumbent’s salary would stay the same, he said.
“We’re trying to get it more like the private sector within our limitations,” he said.
Having consulted with a lawyer from the Michigan Townships Association, Smith was advised that the Board must avoid any sense that salary is being determined based on a person’s political party or beliefs.
In its last piece of business at the January meeting, the Board repealed a 15-page ordinance regarding massage parlors which had been in effect for many years. Massage parlors are now regulated by the State of Michigan, Smith noted. This will clear the way for someone who wants to open a massage parlor in the Township.
