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SILVER CREEK — Like other municipalities in the area, Silver Creek Township hosted its first regular township board meeting via teleconference this week.

Wednesday evening, Silver Creek Township board members met via Zoom Video Communications to approve procedures for paying bills and to discuss a contract with the Cass County Road Commission.

In compliance with the Open Meetings Act, public comment was offered, but no comments were made.

Two resolutions dealt with the payment of bills, including authorizing the payment of bills prior to township board meetings.

Clerk Lorri Behnke said paying bills prior to the meeting date, like utilities, is already routine business. However the township was advised to have the resolution in writing. Behnke confirmed the payment of bills prior to meetings is allowed by the Michigan Township Association.

A second resolution was passed to allow the township to pay all bills between now through May without having to get prior approval from the township board due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We will still have detailed reports of all the expenditures, and we are not going to be doing anything new,” Behnke said. “It’s just basically allowing us to pay the bills and everything we normally pay without having to wait for the board meeting.”

Behnke said this resolution would allow the city to pay the bills it needed to incase the Zoom meeting did not work out or problems occurred.

“We did a test run earlier, and it worked really well,” Behnke said. “So, we are hoping we won’t have problems with running these meetings.”

Both resolutions were unanimously approved by the board.

Lastly, township officials discussed entering a contract with the Cass County Road Commission for sealing cracks on roads within the township.

“The Cass County Road Commission sublet the crack seal,” Silver Creek Township Supervisor Bill Saunders said. “This year’s temperatures have worked really in favor of the crack seal companies, and they are starting early in Cass County and will be moving out probably in the next week.”

Saunders said there are five spots to crack seal on the roads within the township.

“The reason that we crack seal in the spring is because the temperatures are still low, and the cracks are open,” said Trustee Mike Glynn, who assisted Saunders in the contract. “The actual tar will go in the crack. If we wait until it’s later in the year, and the cracks have closed, then it doesn’t help and that’s why we do it early.”

In addition, Saunders said he and Glynn have been putting together a total package this year for road improvements.

“It looks like we are going to get most everything we wanted done,” he said.

Silver Creek Township offices are also closed to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic unless appointments have been made ahead of time.