Township News Bulletins

January 30, 2023

Livingston County Community Connect 2023 - February 4th

The Livingston County Homeless Continuum of Care is excited to announce the Community Connect 2023 event which will be held on Saturday, February 4th at 2|42 Church in Brighton. Community Connect 2023 will be bringing our residents a day of connection with services, free resources, and plenty of helpful information. This is a free one-day event with 50+ public service and agency exhibitors who provide residents with helpful basic need information, free personal care items, and services like health screenings and haircuts.

There are plenty of volunteer opportunities available from guest guides/helpers at the event, event set-up and tear down, traffic directors, and more. Head over to Volunteer Livingston at https://www.volunteerlivingston.org/ to sign up.

For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/LivCountyCommunityConnect/

January 30, 2023

Radon Test Kits available to residents - courtesy of the Livingston County Health Department

Genoa Township is giving out free radon testing kits this month, which is designated as National Radon Action Month.  The testing kit and instructions are available at Township Hall. 

The naturally-occurring, tasteless, odorless and colorless gas comes from the natural, radioactive breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets into the air. It enters buildings through openings in  foundation floors or walls such as sump openings, crawlspaces, floor or wall joints and cracks. 

In Livingston County, approximately 40% of homes have elevated radon levels, according to information on the county's website from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. 

For more information on this program and on radon in general, please visit the Livingston County Health Department Radon page.

January 26, 2023

MASTER PLAN PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE OF MASTER PLAN PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given that Genoa Township Planning Commission will hold a final public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on February 13, 2023 at the Genoa Township Hall, located at 2911 Dorr Road, Brighton, MI 48116. The purpose of the hearing is to receive public comments on the proposed Genoa Township Master Plan.

The Master Plan includes text, illustrations, charts, and maps that describe the Planning Commission’s proposal for the long-range future development of the township. It includes a Future Land Use Plan, Complete Streets Plan and specific focus area plans.  The Master Plan has been prepared under the authority vested in the Planning Commission by the Michigan Planning Enabling Act, Michigan Public Act 33 of 2008.

A Master Plan is a long-range policy plan for land use that helps guide township officials when making land use and development decisions.  The Master Plan is not a zoning map and does not change the zoning of individual properties.

A complete draft of the proposed Master Plan is provided at the link below or it may be inspected prior to the hearing at the Township Hall.

Written comments may be sent to the Township prior to the hearing at 2911 Dorr Road, Brighton, MI 48116 or emailed to: kelly@genoa.org.  Oral comments will be taken during the public hearing.

This notice is published pursuant to the requirements of Michigan Public Act 33 of 2008.

January 26, 2023

2nd Annual Rosa Parks Transit Equity Day Pancake Breakfast

The Livingston County Transportation Coalition, LETS, Church & Society Committee of First UMC Brighton and Torch 180 have collaborated to promote transit equity in Livingston County. They will be having a pancake breakfast, with coffee and juice, featuring Rosa Parks’ recipe. The breakfast is being held from 8am until 9:30am on Friday February 3 at the Torch 180, 131 Mill St, Fowlerville, MI 48836.

Alongside breakfast there will be a short presentation that includes a community recognition of locations around Livingston County that actively work toward achieving increased transportation access for transit dependent people in their respective communities.

Donations are encouraged for breakfast. For more information please contact Mark Hymes at markhymes@gmail.com. RSVP by clicking this link:  https://forms.office.com/r/hMcUhCfe6j

January 23, 2023

Winter Sledding at the Township Park

Snow is in the forecast so come enjoy the fresh snowfall at the Genoa Township sled hill!

The sled hill has a vertical drop of approximately 40-feet and a run length of over 200 feet and is fun for all ages.

Benches have been installed at the top for parents and those waiting to sled. There are heated bathrooms and a warming area at the Township Park Pavilion. There is a parking lot across the Township driveway from the sled hill where parents can sit and watch their sledders in the comfort of their vehicles. Last but not least, a light pole has been installed at the hill allows night time sledding.

All are welcome to enjoy the winter fun for free at the Township sledding hill.

January 20, 2023

Howell Parks and Recreation 2023 Winter/Spring Program now available

Howell Parks and Recreation Authority has released its 2023 Winter/Spring Programming Guide. The Guide contains all of the programs scheduled for January-May 2023 and features information on:

Winter Sports
Sweetheart Dances
Summer Day Camps
50 & Beyond Programming
2023/2024 Preschool Registration

And Much More!

View the guide directly online at: https://en.calameo.com/read/005069246254fd4e0ee53 or visit https://www.howellrecreation.org/

January 13, 2023

Township Holiday Hours

The Township Offices will be closed on Monday January 16th for the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

January 13, 2023

Holiday Refuse Collection

Martin Luther King Jr Holiday

There is NO DELAY in garbage and recycling.

December 29, 2022

Christmas Tree Disposal

Waste Management's Christmas tree collection begins the week of January 1 and concludes the week of January 15. Trees should be placed curbside, cut into segments of six feet or less, free of decorations and unbagged.

For other questions regarding trash and recycling, please see our Refuse and Recycling page.

December 14, 2022

2023 Township Meeting Dates and Holiday Schedule

Click the links below for the 2023 Meeting Schedule and Township Holidays.  

December 1, 2022

2022 Winter Tax Information

The 2022 Winter Tax Bills were mailed to all Genoa Township property owners on Wednesday, 11/30/22.  Winter taxes are payable, without penalty, through Tuesday, 2/28/23.

The 2022 Summer taxes were billed 7/1/22 and payable, without penalty, through 9/14/22.  Summer tax payments can be paid, plus penalty, at Genoa Township until 2/28/23.  Please contact the Township, or check our website, for your current amount due. 

Tax amounts are available on our website.  Payments can be made online by credit card or electronic check, at the township offices by cash or check or by mail to Genoa Township, 2911 Dorr Rd., Brighton, MI 48116. 

Please contact the Treasurer's Office at (810) 227-5225 if you do not receive your bill.

September 23, 2022

The Abilities Alliance announces the release of their report regarding the Disability Needs in Livingston County.

The Abilities Alliance is a workgroup of the Livingston Human Services Collaborative Body, a coalition of disability service organizations that strive to provide the most effective services for ALL ABILITIES in our community. The Abilities Alliance sends out a survey every other year to understand needs, identify service gaps and gather information from Livingston County community members who identify as having a disability.  The survey was open to any Livingston County community member with a disability. Support persons, caregivers, parents, or providers were encouraged to help the individual(s) complete the survey.

Livingston County residents with disabilities were surveyed in early 2022 in order to gather data for this need’s assessment.  “Difficulty finding in home and personal care assistants, not having adequate supports and resources to live independently and a lack of social and recreational activities were among the most reported unmet needs,” said Katie Oswald of Full Spectrum Agency for Autistic Adults and Chair of the workgroup. Information regarding utilization of local services and supports, barriers and additional unmet needs was also gathered.

The Abilities Alliance workgroup continues to raise awareness about inclusion and accessibility for people of all abilities in Livingston County. The needs survey is an important part of understanding what services people need most in our community. We will continue to learn from our community members and encourage others to take steps toward greater inclusion.

To learn more about the Abilities Alliance workgroup for the Livingston County Human Services Collaborative Body, visit: https://www.livgov.com/hscb/Pages/Abilities-Alliance.aspx or check out https://www.facebook.com/livingstonabilitiesalliance. To obtain more information, contact Amy Johnston at 810.772.4827 or at ajohnston@cmhliv.org.

March 21, 2022

Approved Budget for Fiscal Year 2022/2023

The Township Board approved the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Township Budgets at their meeting on March 21, 2022.  The budget is for the next fiscal year beginning April 1, 2022 and ending on March 31, 2023.   The approved budget is provided below.  Any comments or questions in regard to the budget can be directed to Township Supervisor, Bill Rogers at bill@genoa.org.

March 1, 2022

Genoa Township Capital Improvements Plan - 2022-2027

The Township’s fiscal year begins April 1st.  Every year the Township Board identifies projects to improve the community.   The projects fall into the categories of: Parks and Paths, Roads, Buildings and Grounds and General Fund Capital Outlay.  This year’s CIP identifies $3.8M in projects, mostly on roads, with the paving and repaving of Crooked Lake Road from Dorr to Latson the largest single expenditure. 

The documents below are in draft form subject to the approval of the Township Board.  If you have any questions regarding the plan or individual projects please feel free to contact the Township Manager, Kelly VanMarter at kelly@genoa.org.

February 10, 2022

Livingston County Planning Department releases High-Quality Natural Areas Assessment

The 2022 Livingston County High-Quality Natural Areas Assessment provides an extensive update to the County Planning Department’s initial 2004 assessment. Computing technology, data availability, and mapping products and processes have improved tremendously since 2004, which has allowed the County to do much more in depth analysis then was previously available.

This report documents the natural feature characteristics of the County, identifies the County’s High-Quality Natural Areas, compares and contrasts this data with the 2004 assessment, and much more. As a result of this assessment, a new GIS mapping application for high-quality natural areas will be developed and added to the Livingston County GIS Map Gallery for Livingston County municipalities to utilize when reviewing zoning amendments.

This beneficial new Potential Conservation Areas Assessment can be found on the Livingston County Planning Department website at: https://www.livgov.com/plan/Pages/County-Plans.aspx

November 4, 2021

Genoa Township approves agreement for internet access for unserved/underserved residents

Genoa Township has made an agreement with MiSignal. 

MiSignal will be building out the infrastructure and service to deliver High-speed Internet (1 gigabit Fiber Optic) service for the unserved and underserved areas of Genoa Township.

The full press release can be found here.

April 27, 2021

Weekly Recycling Begins Monday May 3, 2021

Weekly recycling will begin for all Township residents starting the week of May 3.

Residents can place their recycling bins out every week on their normal trash/recycling day beginning that week. Residents can confirm their trash/recycling pickup days at the My Schedule search box located on the Township Refuse and Recyling page found here.

Please remember to break down cardboard boxes. Do not put anything on top of the cart or outside of the cart. For a list of items that can be recycled, please visit the Waste Wizard search box on the Township Refuse and Recycling page found here.

April 13, 2020

Township Clerk releases statement regarding Honey Bees

Save the Bees

Township resident Jim DelCamp recently addressed the Genoa Township Board asking the board to develop policies to conserve the natural habitat of bees in the township.  He provided the following information for our residents:  There are 460 wild species of bees in the Michigan and 16,000 species worldwide.  Honey Bees have been declining at a rate of 40% each year according to Michigan State University and the loss will have devastating effects on life in general since bees pollinate our crops and flowers. 

Pesticides are a big problem since they damage bees and harm their ability to forage.  In recent tests 100% of ground-nesting bees were killed as a result of pesticides. Please limit the use of pesticides where bees are present even though they are a nuisance.  Bees help more than they hurt.

Planting wildflowers will support bees. Many wild bees are solitary as well as ground nesting and they need suitable habitat. Leaving small plots of ground in their natural state such as deadwood, brush piles or fungi will help where ground nesting bees can flourish.  Others could use bee hotels to safeguard them during the winter. Bees are important for pollination since 1/3 of all plants and flowers depend on them for life.

A bee feeder, using sugar water with a drop of mycelial extract, will enhance their health and allow them to live longer.  Mycelium has been called natures ‘world wide web’ under our feet.  Of an estimated 10 million multi-cell life forms, half are fungi and they have been evolving to combat viruses.  Bees don’t just pollinate they spread mycelium as they forage. They dig into the soil where mushrooms grow getting mycelium all over their fuzzy bodies and spread it every other place they touch.

Livingston County can become a refuge where bees, mycelium, birds, butterflies, helping all of nature to thrive. So save that natural site, feed those bees, plant wildflowers and minimize your use of pesticides. With proper understanding and education we can improve our health and enhance the ecosystems of this earth.

Polly Skolarus, Clerk
Genoa Charter Township

October 23, 2017

2017 Video Tour of Livingston County

Livingston County government is pleased to present the 2017 Video Tour of Livingston County that showcases the advantages of living, working and playing in our County Community!

The 2017 video tour includes comments by community leaders as well as a well-rounded visual depiction of our County, presented in nine (9) chapters:

• Welcome
• Education
• Parks and Recreation
• Healthcare – NEW
• Real Estate and Relocation
• Downtown, Business & Industry
• Quality of Life
• Economic Development – NEW
• Community Organizations - NEW

Select any chapter of this product to view the Livingston County video on that subject. You can also view the
videos of various local businesses that participated in this promotional program by clicking on their logo in the
frame surrounding each chapter of the Video Tour.

Please visit the Livingston County home page at: https://www.livgov.com/ to view the new Video Tour of Livingston County

November 22, 2016

Genoa Township Board adopts Principles of Governance

At the November 21, 2016 Township Board meeting, the Board approved the adoption of the following Principles of Governance:

To maintain the high standards and traditions of Michigan Townships, we embrace these principles of governance to guide our stewardship, deliberations, constituent services and commitment to safeguard our community’s health, safety and general welfare.

We pledge to: 

•       Insist on the highest standards of ethical conduct by all who act on behalf of this township; 

•       Bring credit, honor and dignity to our public offices through collegial board deliberations and through diligent,    appropriate responses to constituent concerns; 

•       Actively pursue education and knowledge, and to embrace best practices;

•       Treat all persons with dignity, respect and impartiality; without prejudice or discrimination;

•       Practice openness and transparency in our decisions and actions;

•        Cooperate in all reasonable ways with other government entities and to consider the impact our decisions may have outside our Township’s borders;

•       Communicate to the public Township issues, challenges and successes, and welcome the active involvement of stakeholders to further the Township’s well-being;

•       Strive for compliance with state and federal statutory requirements;

•       Recuse a board member from participating in any decision where there was personal financial gain either expected or implied;

•       Further the understanding of the obligations and responsibilities of American citizenship, democratic government and freedom.

These principles we pledge to our citizens, our state, and to our country.

December 17, 2015

New video showing Genoa Township Hall and facilities

Recently a high definition video was taken by drone over the Township Hall and surrounding area.

You can find the video here: https://youtu.be/w1JaFnu5KvU

Thanks and credit go to Brian Jonckheere, the Livingston County Drain commissioner.

July 21, 2015

Oak Wilt Information

Michigan has lost millions of trees due to Dutch Elm disease and the Emerald Ash Borer. Now our oak trees are in jeopardy. Red oak wilt is identified by the rapid wilting of an infected tree that is dead in two to six weeks. White oaks die slowly one branch at a time over the course of several years. Oak wilt is caused by the fungus that is spread by improper tree trimming and removal practices. It is spread in two ways - from tree to tree through connected roots and/or from spores being moved by insects.

To prevent the spread of oak wilt diseases please consider the following:

• Oak trees should not be pruned or trimmed between April 1 and October 15.
• Oak trees that are inadvertently injured or pruned between April 1 and October 15 should be promptly sealed with a tree pruning sealer or latex paint. The repair should take place within hours of the injury.
• Any developer, contractor and/or owner(s) of property preparing a site for construction during April 1st through October 15th should adhere to the above oak wilt prevention practices.
• Members of the white oak family diseased with oak wilt may be saved with tree injections of the fungicide Alamo by a registered company.
• Dead oak trees should be removed along with the stump and properly disposed of by chipping to less than 3 inches or removed to a disposal site for debarking, burning or burial.
• Oak wood retained as firewood should be sealed with a tarp.

January 21, 2015

Reflective Address signs now available for purchase at the Township Hall

Reflective address signs courtesy of the Brighton Area Fire Department are now available for purchase from the Township Hall. The signs are dark green with white numbers. The signs are double-sided with your address number and there are holes to allow for either horizontal or vertical mounting. Each sign is $15.00.

All proceeds from signs sold go to help fund the Brighton Area Fire Fighters Association, a non profit organization.

You may also order these reflective address signs through the Brighton Area Fire Department using the form below.

August 7, 2013

Information on Invasive Plants: Purple loosestrife and Russian olive.

Invasive plants are posing a real threat to Michigan's natural habitats. Purple loosestrife and Russian olive are two of the more aggressive plants that are crowding out native species. According to information from Michigan State University's Midwest Invasive Species Information Network (http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/invasive-species/factsheets.cfm), "Early detection and eradication of these species is critical in preventing further damage to Michigan's natural areas."

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a beautiful plant with purple, pink or white flowers blooming in July through October. It will spread quickly in moist soil conditions, crowding out native plants such as cattails, which are needed for nesting and food sources. Some experts (http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/downloads/ais/fs-97-501_purple_loosestrife.pdf) blame purple loosestrife for declining waterfowl populations. While deer forage on new purple loosestrife shoots in the spring, other animals avoid it. Experts on the MSU site recommend hand pulling seedlings; and removing all flowers seed heads.

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is a thorny shrub or small tree that grows up to 30 feet high. The leaves are light green and covered with silvery hairs. It blooms in June and July with yellowish flowers, eventually bearing hard yellow-red olive-shaped fruits. Russian olive grows in such a way that it fills in open areas, crowding out native plants. Experts on the MSU site recommend hand pulling seedlings. They caution that "burning, mowing, cutting, and girding can stimulate resprouting in larger plants without herbicide treatment; treat cut stumps with an herbicide."

For more information about purple loosestrife, Russian olive and other invasive plants threatening the state's natural habitats, visit http://www.misin.msu.edu/.

August 2, 2009

Livingston County Pet Adoption

Livingston County Animal Control

Pets available for adoption at the County Animal control can be found here

Livingston County Humane Society

Pets available for adoption at the Humane Society can be found here

January 16, 2009

Ash Tree Information

Detroit Edison has released an important announcement regarding ash trees.