In early summer. Columbia Township mailed residents received a survey that dealt with the condition of the roads and cannabis. Below is the question about roads.
Supervisor Barry Marsh said the response to this question was “no” or negative in some other way. Informal conversations at Clark Lake tended to confirm a similar sentiment. That idea has been dropped, nor has any interest emerged for a new road SAD at Clark Lake.
Because the topic of roads at Lake Columbia has dominated meetings recently, here’s a look at what’s happening.
Lake Columbia is addressing the problem of bad roads by neighborhoods. The Township received Special Assessment District (SAD) petitions from three neighborhoods where 51% of the residents said yes to a paving plan. At last night’s meeting (Mon 9/18), the board passed a resolution advancing SAD’s to the next step for Bayview Shores, Hill-n-Shore, and Holiday Shores II. Chris Losey coordinating the project, and says a total of 14 neighborhoods at Lake Columbia are working to establish SADs.
The board approved selecting Miller-Canfield as the bond council. The maximum length of bond to pay for the work is 15 years.
In other Township news, the board approved the hiring of Josh Watson as a parttime police officer. He attended Columbia School District Schools, has a bachelor’s degree from Defiance College and currently resides in the Woodstock Township area. Josh Watson is self-employed as a realtor and works part-time for another police agency.
The board approved the purchase of 20 sewer system grinder can packages. The cans will be used to replace damaged units, new connections, or relocations. The current supply had been depleted to less than 10 units. Out of three brands, Rick Church recommended the Kennedy Industries Barnes Basin package at $4450 each. The $89,000 total cost reflects a 10% discount for ordering 20 units.
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As a resident of Clarklake we have received the letter regarding the special assessment. Has anyone given any thought to doing a audit of the county road commission? The last two or three years have been noticeably worse as far as road conditions and getting the road commission to make repairs is nearly impossible. Where are the tax dollars going? Has there been an audit? Where is the accountability?
County taxes do not pay for replacing local roads. They patch them, plow them, but they dont replace them. They will pick up 30% of the cost (maximum allowed) of the Lake Columbia SAD project, the residents have to pay for the remaining 70%. This is the ONLY way the county will share in the cost of road replacement.
It is quite concerning that residents that already pay exceptionally high taxes would receive a special assessment for roads. The opportunity is to find out why the tax dollars already designated for roads is not managed efficiently and with due care.
So I did a little research via internet as road conditions across Michigan have always baffled me.
I believe there’s other ways to figure out how best to fix and maintain roads. I’m not an advocate that 70% of cost needs to be absorbed by residents that live along a public roadway – that just doesn’t make sense. I believe it takes some innovation and looking at what other states and jurisdictions have used to overcome.
We have an abundance of water and power in this area – ripe for some balanced development to bring in relevant and substantial tax dollars to address situation, but still able to maintain a small community/country feel. It’s takes some creativity, involvement and refuse to maintain status quo – but balance everyone’s interest. It can be accomplished together.
Here are some facts I believe I found:
Michigan’s gas tax on roadways is currently 28.6 cents per gallon and raised annually at the greater of 5% or the rate of inflation.
Michigan’s gas tax rate is presently the sixth highest rate in states across the nation.
To build a road and maintain it over 50 years, if it’s a non-federal road it’s $570,000. To maintain and build a federal road it’s $4.3 million.
Michigan is currently ranked the 11th highest cost in the nation to construct and or repair roadways.
Current estimates are annual spending of about $3.9bn to construct and maintain roadways in Michigan, yet sources of revenue (vehicle sales tax, gas tax, registration fees) to fund such comes in at roughly $2bn – representing nearly a 50% shortfall.
State Law – Public Act 51 – specifically states that cities, villages, County Road Commissions and the Michigan Department of Transportation have jurisdiction over roads. That means those government agencies are responsible for building and maintaining the roads within their jurisdictions.
County road commissions have jurisdiction over all public roads, except state highways, in all townships in the state (according to Michigan law, townships cannot have jurisdiction over roads).
Michigan road construction is funded by a patchwork of federal, state, and local taxpayer dollars. Funds are raised through the federal fuel tax, state fuel tax, license and registration fees