By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - So far, so good. That was the word from Sgt. Tim Ganus of the Berrien County Sheriff's Dept. concerning his force and the job they have done covering Niles Township since the begining of the new year.
Ganus said the department has not experienced any problems but did mention some patrols were still getting used to the area and street names.
Ganus also said his department has been using the Niles Law Enforcement Complex to detain people as opposed to driving back to the Berrien County Jail.
The unfinished business covered Tuesday night at Niles Township Hall related to the pension board. Gene Baker was reappointed to the pension board through January 2009.
Permission to begin work on the second section of the Victorian Farms subdivision came to vote as well. The board approved the request for the development on Welton Rd., which will contain 63 new lots.
Resolution number 05-18 also came to vote Tuesday night, which moved the water project along M-51 forward. More details about the project, the board said, would be known once bids for the project had been completed in March.
Effective Feb. 1, building permit fees from the safety department will be increased for the township. It had been seven years since the cost has been raised, the board said, and the fees would remain considerably less than those charged in the surrounding communities.
Information from the board concluded around 85 percent of the permits in the township are for residential projects with 15 percent used for commercial buildings.
Clerk Marge Durm-Hiatt said those numbers may change this year due to projects on M-51.
The board also approved an increase of sewer rates. The raise is due to the increased cost to the township in 2004 and 2005. Prices rose 15 percent last year and over 9 percent in the previous year.
Effective Feb. 1, sewer rates will be increased by $1 per month to offset the charge.
Final business included authorizing the township's building department to obtain bids for a new vehicle, recognizing newly certified firefighters and discussing new voting equipment that had previously been rejected.