CRYSTAL LAKE TOWNSHIP IN BENZIE COUNTY MICHIGAN

NEWS - EVENTS - UPDATES

Current as of Saturday, 5.27.23 - 8 a.m.

COUNTY HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE & ELECTRONICS COLLECTION Saturday June 3, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. WITH APPOINTMENTS NECCESSARY TO PARTICIPATE at 534 11th Street in Frankfort. Click here for how to make an appointment, for a list of acceptable/unacceptable items, and more information on other recycling & disposal events in 2023.

NEXT REGULAR BOARD MEETING: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, 2023 at the township hall. Check back as the date gets closer for an agenda and other readable/downloadable (underlined) documents, that will be used by the board to help conduct business.

PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW MEETING OPTIONS: Attend in person OR check out our new YouTube Channel (*) which allows you to watch proceedings in real time from a remote location such as the comfort of your own home, as well as at a more convenient time of your choosing. *NOTE: Our first attempt was not so successful. As you will see, the sound is almost non-existent. We will hopefully have wrinkled ironed out by the June Board Meeting.

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE goes to the Interact Club and Frankfort Elberta High Schoolers with their chaperones, Kristin Pensyl, Dale Townsend and Marda Chahbazi, along with Jane Purkis and Brian Halliday of the Benzie Historical Museum, all of whom recently volunteered to help tidy up North Cemetery. They transported fallen sticks and branches down to the roadways for pick up by our maintenance crews, cleaned off lichen-covered gravestones, and removed litter as well as a myriad of unauthorized decorations, including withered Christmas greenery and plastic pots. Thank you, thank you!

MICHIGAN INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEY: Constituents are urged to click here (associated with fata@micounties.org) and fill out a survey of their priorities to share with elected officials about perceived infrastructure needs. Your government representatives need to hear what you think is most important.

STATE URGING COMMUNITIES AND RESIDENTS TO CHALLENGE THE FCC’s BROADBAND MAP: Because high-speed internet is not available to nearly a half-million homes in Michigan, the state is urging every Michigander to check their home and business address on the preliminary broadband map to ensure it accurately reflects their level of internet access. The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office is also working to challenge the map, but it’s important for everyone across the state to know how to view and challenge the map. Please share the following information and links with your residents and community members. To access the FCC broadband map:

1. Visit broadbandmap.fcc.gov/homebroadbandmap, then type in an address and see if the reported coverage is accurate. You can access the
site from a computer or a mobile device.
2. Residents can submit a challenge by clicking "Location Challenge" if the location of their home or business is missing or incorrect,
OR by clicking "Availability Challenge" if the internet service information is incorrect.
3. Residents should visit the website of any internet service provider that claims to serve their location and us the website's "Check Availability"
similar tool to determine if the provider can service their location. If they can't, a screenshot of their website can be submitted to the FCC as
evidence for an availability challenge.
Follow the instructions on how to file an availability challenge using the new map. A how-to video is also available.

VOLUNTEERS and WORKERS NEEDED:

Cemetery Committee: If you're interested in the historical aspects of our two cemeteries, we are looking for someone to work on an historical compendium documenting some of the more interesting gravesites. Are you a photographer and have working knowledge of spreadsheets? We need the file of gravestone photos updated. We are also looking for a committee member who has family in East Cemetery and would would advocate for issues in that particular cemetery. See Supervisor Ferris.
Budget & Finance Committee: This "sub" committee is a new idea and never been formed before. Pending approval of the board, it will serve as another layer to our government's system of checks-as-balances and help steer the township's formation of a budget. Details as to the scope of the work will be forthcoming. Contact Supervisor Ferris.