Springfield Township residents tired of coffee-covered dashboards and bumpy rides along dirt roads are getting some help ? in June.
While the Springfield Township board voted not to allocate tri-party funds to road graveling for the time being, they did set a priority list to receive gravel until the money budgeted for 2006 graveling is gone. The graveling, however, will most likely not be started by the Road Commission for Oakland County until June, said Township Supervisor Collin Walls.
The tri-party Funds, which could be used for the roads, total $115,382. According to Walls, tri-party funds are created by equal contributions from the road commission, general county government and the township.
‘Everyone is understandably always complaining about the roads, but there’s only so much money to go around,? said Township Clerk Nancy Strole.
According to a memo from Supervisor Collin Walls to the board, the 2006 budget provided for $50,000 to cover 4-6 miles of graveling depending on rates. Walls said $18,000 of that money is to come from Community Development Block Grants funds and $32,000 from the township general fund.
Of the $32,000 from the general fund, $10,000 will be available for roads if a cost share plan is submitted. The cost share plans would require residents on a road to pay 50 percent, to be matched by the township on a first come first serve basis.
Cost-sharing was thrust into the discussion when the board received a letter from the Bridge Lake Bluffs Home Owners Association requesting the board to use budget funds to apply a layer of crushed gravel on part of Bridge Lake Road. The letter stated that if the money from the township was not available, the Homeowners Association would allocate $3,000 of their annual dues to the project.
‘I think the people of Bridge Lake Bluffs who stepped up and made the commitment should be commended,? said Walls. ‘It gives us a chance to get more bang for our buck.?
Trustee Dennis Vallad also liked the idea, saying graveling is usually done to roads that have enough through traffic to provide a collective benefit to the township, not just the residents who live on the road.
‘We can’t justify (some roads) because there’s no clear benefit to the balance of the township,? said Vallad.
The following roads will receive gravel in the following priority as long as the money from the general fund lasts: .99 miles of Ridgewood (Big Lake to Clark), last graveled in 2000; 1.39 miles of Farley (Big Lake to Andersonville), last graveled in 2000; 1.1 miles of Foster Road (Farley to Township line), last graveled in 2001; and Big Lake in spot locations (Ormond to Hillsboro), last graveled in 2000.
Roads to receive graveling from the CDBG funds were Bigelow, West Ellis and spot locations on Rattalee Lake Road between Bigelow and Sherwood. According to Walls? memo, these roads were last graveled in 1998.
The board voted 5-1 to keep those funds for a future major project. Only Vallad voted no (Treasurer Jamie Dubre was not present).
‘I think we already had a budget for gravel and to spend tri-party funds for regular maintenance where there are general fund allocations, based on the past, would be a mistake,? said Walls.
‘I wanted to dedicate some of that money to graveling,? said Vallad, who noted he wanted only part of the money, not the entire sum.
Using a project along Dixie Highway in recent years which added a left turn lane, drainage improvements, acceleration and deacceleration lanes as an example, Walls said the tri-party funds help support projects that otherwise may not be completed.
Walls noted in the memo to the board that combining the 2006 tri-party allocation with the one coming in 2007 would give the board over $200,000 to contribute to a major project.
‘If we spend all the 2006 tri-party for gravel, it will reduce our options for a major project significantly. Since we asked the Road Commission to look at realigning Big Lake Road at Dixie Highway, I think we should be prepared to contribute,? wrote Walls in the memo.