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Vote Heat

CHASSELL – The Chassell Township Board and more than 60 residents met in a heated discussion Wednesday about the Portage Lake District Library referendum in a meeting that lasted more than three hours.

In August, township voters approved a millage to remain in the library district, but in considering the number of registered voters in the township, it was a small margin, according to some. Of just over 1,400 registered voters, some 649 voted in the primary election and of those, 620 voted on the library issue. The proposal won by 51 votes. After the election, the board reconsidered the issue and decided, though not unanimously, to put the issue on the ballot again in the November election.

June Michaelson-Haatia did not agree with her fellow board members.

“I just could not vote to put it on the ballot again after the matter had been decided,” she said. “I couldn’t do it with a clear conscience.”

In addressing the issue, Supervisor Dave Mattson said there were several factors involved in the board’s decision to run the proposal again in November, one of which was that the August voter turnout was too small for a matter of such magnitude to be decided for an entire township.

“The proposal won by 51 votes,” Mattson said. “That’s less than 8 percent of the total of registered voters.”

An audience member responded that library signs were posted all over the township, the voters knew the issue was on the August ballot, and those that voted had exercised their right to vote, while those who did not vote had that right, too.

Another issue Mattson addressed was that while the proposal was placed on the ballot in August, it would not be known for some time after the November election what the millage would be, and he expressed concern over the ability of some township residents to pay the tax.

There were too many unknowns, Mattson said, and placing the issue on the November ballot would give people time to study to the issue more in-depth.

Several members of the audience agreed to confusion over the wording of the ballot proposal.

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