MASONVILLE — During the monthly meeting of Masonville Township officials in Rapid River, the board reviewed a draft of a new policy regarding use of parks and other properties owned by the township, heard an announcement about repairing the fencing around the ball fields in the Masonville Township Recreation Area, and handled other regular business.

Township Supervisor Douglas Curry led the Tuesday meeting and made sure the other board members had copies of the proposed park policy, which is not yet public. A few changes were suggested, and the board agreed to accept the policy with those adjustments, which included rental fees of $100 per day or $1,200 per season for repeated group use. Township functions organized internally are not subject to a fee, “so the township doesn’t have to pay itself,” Curry said.

An addition was a rule against fireworks on the properties, as recommended by the insurance company.

The revised policy will go into effect when it is approved at next month’s meeting on Aug. 20.

As a public comment, Bobbi Ryan — co-owner of Jack’s Restaurant — announced on behalf of an association made up of of business owners in Rapid River that they had been looking into repairing the ball field fence and dugout, because “there are hazards down there right now that need to get taken care of right away.”

Ryan noted they were only just beginning to look at the cost and did not expect things to get fixed this year, but she suggested a collaboration between the township and local businesses to decide how to pay for the work.

Additional topics discussed at the meeting included:

– The purchase of a new fire truck, which is expected to arrive in Masonville in late August or early September.

– A request from a Brampton Township resident interested in connecting to Masonville’s sewer. He wanted to know if they would offer a bundled rate for hooking up three homes on his street, rather than charging each site the set price of $10,000. The board debated options but did not take action as it was not pressing; the sites are not ready for such work yet.

– Requests for the fire department to fill up resident’s pools. The agreement was that fire trucks would not be used for that; though they used to provide the service in the past, it created several potential liability issues. There was the danger of trucks not being available in the event of an emergency and problems caused by driving over septic fields, not to mention the unnecessary wear and tear and use of fuel.