FORWARD TWP — The township board made a final $9,336 payment Tuesday, April 11, to the Municipal Code Association in its ongoing effort to sever ties.

According to chairman Mel Musulin, the township joined the association sometime in the late 1980s to manage building inspections and sewage enforcement in the area.

“Then, over a period of time, we pulled out of the sewage enforcement portion of it and began to do sewage enforcement on our own because we had numerous complaints from residents,” Musulin said. “And I can tell you today, we don’t have those complaints because we actually have our own enforcement officer.”

In time, the township also began to receive complaints about the association’s building inspections, according to Musulin.

“So, we made the decision to pull out of the (Municipal Code Association) last year,” Musulin said. “And it wasn’t an easy decision, we had numerous discussions.”

However, as part of their contract with the association, the township was unable to leave until the end of the calendar year.

“And one of the other things is that as part of that agreement, the township agreed to cover any shortages in their budget,” Musulin said. “We never had to pay the shortages until this year.”

At one time, the association managed 30 townships, according to vice chairman Mark Wilson. That number, he said, has fallen to 12.

“Basically, we were their last remaining customer,” Wilson said. “37.41% of all the permits issued in 2022 by them were here in Forward Township.”

Wilson said the association had shortfall of $24,953.79 last year, requiring the township to pay $9,336.45 to aid in covering it.

“I wish them well, but I will tell you that, basically, the township has outgrown them,” Wilson said, “and they can no longer efficiently serve the residents of the township in regards to building permits and occupancy permits.”

The board approved paying their portion of the association’s shortfall.

“This has been a long task of shedding the township of the (Municipal Code Association),” Musulin said. “I call it the ‘sins of the fathers’ — things that were made well before any of us were here.”

The board also recognized resident Connor McGee, a seventh-grade student, for his effort in correcting road signs on “Reibold” Road in the township.

“He sent us, a month ago or so, a very nice, well-written, intelligent letter with a concern for the township in regard that, up in his neighborhood, he noticed that Reibold Road — which is one of the main roads here up in the township — he noticed that the road signs had two different spellings,” Wilson said.

One sign read “Reibold Road,” he said, and one sign read “Riebold Road.”

“So, in response to his concern, we did a little research,” Wilson said.

They discovered that “Reibold” was likely a family name, and that the families spelled their name “a variety of ways.”

“And so both ‘Riebold’ and ‘Reibold’ are mentioned in the census of those times and so on,” Wilson explained. “But we finally determined that, for the most part, the most common usage was ‘Reibold.’”

In recognition of Connor’s efforts, the board replaced the “Riebold Road” sign with one reading “Reibold Road.”

“I just want to thank him and recognize him and his family — his sister’s here, his father’s here — for being an active citizen who took the time and effort to write a very, very nice letter of concern to the township,” Wilson said. “And I’m going to applaud him for his enthusiasm.”

The board and the public joined Wilson in his applause.

“Thank you, and we wish more young people would be involved in their communities as well,” he said.