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March 1, 2006Five council members recalledTorch Lake Township boots its supervisorELK RAPIDS - Voters decided it was time for a change.All five Elk Rapids village council members who faced recall for approving a controversial housing development were ousted Tuesday. Change also occurred in another Antrim County community - Torch Lake Township - but not to the same degree. About a third of Elk Rapids' 1,320 registered voters cast votes. Recalled were village president Joseph Yuchasz and council members Myrna Howse, Margaret Reilly and Bob and Jan Bassett. Yuchasz's margin was the closest, 241 to 225. The five were targeted after approving a housing development known as the Elk Rapids Preserve. It had prior village approval, but the council voted in June to allow developer Bill Clous to change from single-family to duplex housing without having to go back before the planning commission. Village officials maintained the change was minor, but those behind the recall, including organizer Richard Sharkey, thought otherwise. "All five of them are gone and naturally I'm pleased," Sharkey said. "People will step in. We've got good people who want to run. We're going to have better government in this village." The recall leaves the village without a quorum of council members. By state law, the county's elections board - the county clerk, probate judge and treasurer - can appoint enough replacement members to provide a majority so the council can function. The appointments will be temporary until the state's next election date in May. In Torch Lake Township, voters split, showing the township supervisor the door but narrowly letting two other officials off the hook over a building proposal deemed too expensive by critics. Treasurer Sharon Shultz, clerk Doris Leech and supervisor Kim Schmidt faced recall over a proposal to build new township, EMS and fire department offices. Critics thought the $2 million price tag too excessive. Voters affirmed Schultz and Leech, by 32 and 13 votes respectively. But Schmidt, township supervisor since 1992, was yanked, 401 to 220. "I've always had a core group of enemies," he said. "The people have spoken and that's the way it goes." See related stories:
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