The Leighton Township Board Thursday night took a step forward on the project to raze the old Moline Elementary School and expand the softball fields at the Moline Park.

Board voted to spend $2,200 with Nederveld to perform a survey of the properties involved.

The board earlier this year decided to spend $650,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds on the old elementary and make way for another ball field and perhaps a pickle ball court.

Nederveld and Excel Engineering both submitted bids of $2,200 to do the survey and Williams & Works entered a bid of $3,600. Williams & Works is working closely with the township on the project, but the board indicated it had to go with the lowest bid.

“Fourteen hundred dollars is a lot,” explained Treasurer Jaci Bultsma.

The board decided against Excel to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.

In other business Thursday, the board:

• Scheduled a public hearing for 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, on a 4×8 sewer sign installed at Green Lake after learning of objections from the Homeowners Association. Apparently, the sign was believed to be too big and they didn’t like the verbiage.
• Accepted the application from Around Lake Association to put on a fireworks display on Tuesday evening, July 3.
• Promised to take up an update on the local marijuana ordinance at its July 13 meeting, after the Planning Commission handles it next Wednesday, June 14. No changes in the ordinance are expected.
• Learned from Fire Chief Matt Weston that the department handled 43 calls in May and now has answered 185 for the first five months of this year, or 37 ahead of 2022 at this same time.
• Received the building inspector’s report that indicated the township approved eight building permits in May and has accepted 22 year to date, worth an average of $375,014.