Some differences 
of opinion have been made very public lately by Hopkins Township Supervisor Mark Evans and Clerk Lisa Battjes.
The two local officials continued their mild words feud Monday evening over several issues that were brought up in March.
One was Evans’ insistence a month ago that board meeting minutes be published on line within eight days of the meeting, which he asserted was required by state law. Battjes countered that the minutes only have to be made available to the public.
Resolution was provided Monday night when the board unanimously agreed to have unapproved minutes sent first to board members for corrections and then have the final approved minutes published after the meeting.
Another issue surfaced as an outgrowth from Evans asking the board to change the Internet network service provider for the township office. Evans moved last month that the township switch to another provider and remove the fax line. He explained that it would save money and eliminate junk fax problems.
Battjes noted the supervisor ordered the change without first getting approval from the rest of the board. Battjes and Treasurer Sandy Morris said as a result their passwords were changed, unbeknownst to them, so they were unable to gain access to the network from their home computers.
Evans explained he decided on the change while a technician was present at the township office. This technician apparently had failed to notify township officials about passwords.
The disagreements even came forward in a routine matter such as approval of the previous meeting’s minutes. Evans noted that on March 9 he moved to “hire Gambridge & Co. to take corrective action to resolve lack of internal controls between the clerk and treasurer, as identified in the 2014 audit” at a cost of between $750 and $1,500.
Battjes objected, saying the motion “makes it sound like we got a letter (some kind of reprimand), but there was none.”
Evans replied, “The problems were identified in the audit.”
The motion was approved 4-1 with Battjes dissenting.
The Penasee Globe last month also reported Evans “expressed disapproval of a statement Battjes made at the Feb. 9 board meeting, in which she said she had ‘only heard complaints’ about the township dust control program, and didn’t know anyone personally who wanted it.”
He suggested that Battjes knew some township residents approved of the dust control program.
The Globe said Battjes explained her statement: “What I meant was, the people that I personally know are against it.”
PHOTO: Clerk Lisa Battjes writes something down while Supervisor Mark Evans attempts to explain a point. Relations between the two lately have been testy.
