When a road worker showed up and asked if he could park trucks in the parking lot of Church of the Resurrection on Clarkston Road, church members wondered why.
‘It turns out that he was a building contractor, about to build a road widening in front of our church along that side of the road ? that was the first time we had heard of this issue,? said Bart Clark to the Independence Township Board at its Oct. 3 meeting.
Clark, township resident and junior warden at the church, wanted to know if there was a process the church should have gone through to be notified in a ‘more timely matter.? They found out about it a week before construction started.
‘We at the church are quite upset, we feel that we have been treated kind of shabbily on this thing because our property is affected, the front of our church is affected and the front of our building is affected.?
Clark met with Supervisor Dave Wagner the next day, who explained the process and put Clark in touch with the road work company.
Clark was given a copy of the road widening plans showing exactly what is going on. Road Commission for Oakland County sent a letter to the church asking if they wanted wood from trees cut down.
After reviewing the letter Clark said he did not feel it was adequate.
‘It did have the words in it, the road would be widening, but it was more focused on what we wanted with the wood that was cut down, instead of explain that the road was going to be widened,? said Clark.
The letter was signed on Sept. 25, he said.
‘That’s not a whole lot of notice ? we didn’t have time to think about it, didn’t have time to discuss it, didn’t have time to put in our proposals,? he said.
Trustee Dan Kelly said the only thing approved by the township board was ‘tri-party funds (state, county and local entities all contribute) for road work.?
‘What road work was going to happen or where it was going to happen has never come in front of our board,? he said.
Who does the work and where is determined by the road commission, said Kelly.
‘I completely agree that property owners should have been given more of a heads up then what they have,? he said.
Clark said he understands there is nothing that can be done with construction already underway, but he is relieved a little bit knowing what the exact construction plans are. He would still like to have had better notification, though.