Any decisions related to the scenic easements on the Pine Knob Golf Course remain in limbo as township board members await a formal, written opinion from township attorney Karlstrom Clooney, LLP.
At the April 5 regular board meeting, trustee Dan Travis requested that his motion from the March 15 meeting be amended in the township minutes. In the motion, Travis requested the township attorney to return to the board with an opinion on whether or not the township can share the Pine Knob golf course scenic easements.
The minutes were amended and the item was added on the agenda under old business.
Township attorney Kathryn Caruso stated in a verbal opinion during the meeting that the scenic easements are a ‘property right held by the township and the board cannot confer those.?
Caruso said sharing the easements could be seen as the township conveying their powers.
Travis, who is also a member of the North Oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy, said the conservancy has indicated sharing the easements would be ‘very appropriate.?
‘The granting of these easements are in perpetuity,? said Travis, who continued to explain that township boards do not exist with the exact same members year after year.
He emphasized that sharing the easements with the conservancy would provide more individuals with an understanding of the situation, thereby creating a wider knowledge and history base.
‘I think we take a sort of cavalier attitude if we forget and allow changes to what these easements are for,? Travis stated.
Several township trustees voiced the need for more information.
‘We need to maintain our rights in this matter: the right to hear all points, the right to discuss, the right to let it settle, the right to think about and research this and not make it a quick decision or on emotion,? said Township Treasurer Jim Wenger.
The township board voted unanimously to have Caruso return in 30 days with a written opinion.
Until that time, any action on the scenic easements is also tabled for 30 days, including that requested by Mario D’Agostini, owner of White Lake Development, and Robert Mollicone, head of sales and marketing for the Pine Knob Enclaves.