Following a public hearing Wednesday evening, Fabius Township Trustees approved a Special Assessment District (SAD) and a loan to cover work on a private road in the township. Called Walnut Ridge, the road requires repaving, gravel, and other repairs and maintenance. Township Supervisor John Kroggel said the township can create a special assessment district to handle funds and oversight for such projects and serve as the fiscally responsible party.

Under the arrangement, residents along the road split the costs for the work. The township collects the monies, enters into contracts to have the work performed, and pays for it. Wednesday’s public hearing established which properties will fall under the SAD, and provides opportunities for objections. No objections occurred during the hearing. 

In follow-up comments to Watershed Voice, Kroggel said the residents “want to borrow some money from the township so they can get moving quicker, so we’re loaning them I think $6,000 or $7,000.” That loan was also approved Wednesday.

The contractor performing the work is also willing to pave adjacent driveways, to trustees also approved an arrangement to cover that, which will be managed separately from the main paving work. Under the arrangement, the contractor will provide costs to each resident for their driveway. The residents will submit checks to the township, which will combine the monies and pay the contractor for the driveways in a lump sum.

Zoning Language Discussed

In reviewing a case regarding an accessory outbuilding on an agricultural property, the Fabius Township Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) returned the case to the township’s Planning Commission because of unclear language. Planning Commission members felt the Zoning Ordinance could be interpreted to allow an accessory building on an agricultural parcel without a residence also being present. Traditionally, Kroggel said, “we’ve always said you can’t build an accessory building without a principal residence there.”

The Planning Commission, in attempting to settle the case, had gone to the ZBA for an interpretation of what the township’s code language said with regard to permitting outbuildings on a property where no primary residential structure is present. The ZBA said the language was too vague to make a clear interpretation, and said it is up to the Planning Commission to rewrite the Zoning Ordinance so its intent is clearer.

Kroggel said other townships have moved in the direction of allowing outbuildings specifically on larger pieces of agricultural land rather than smaller parcels, and said he feels Fabius Township is headed in the same direction. Planning Commission Chair Ken Linn said he and fellow commissioners have been reviewing new, draft language, which Trustees reviewed and discussed. No action was taken at Wednesday’s Trustees’ meeting. In follow-up comments to Watershed Voice, Kroggel said, “It’s basically in the Planning Commission’s court to do something with it.”

Townships to Cover Pagers

A 2018 millage passed at the county level for the purpose of buying new dispatch and communications equipment does not include funds for the pagers, according to county officials. 

Fabius Township Trustee Dan Wilkins said township officials around the county believed the costs were included in the millage at the time it passed. A necessary part of the new system, the pagers are designed to communicate with other new equipment and maximize communication between firefighters and dispatchers. 

Rather than fight the county on the issue, Wilkins said the FPFD board would like to move ahead with purchasing the equipment from its own funds. FPFD has received a $9,000 grant to help with the pagers. Initially, Wilkins said, they would be estimated to cost around $18,000, but pricing now appears to fall around $15,000. Fabius Trustees on Wednesday approved a measure under which Park and Fabius Townships will split equally the balance that the grant does not cover. In a separate vote that also took place Wednesday evening, Park Trustees approved the measure as well.

In other Fabius Township news:

• Trustees discussed a section of Hoffman Road where posted speed limits are not readily visible. They also discussed lowering the speed limit in the section. Kroggel said he would look into what process would need to take place for that to happen.
• FPFD received $9,097 in Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds for payroll reimbursement and another $22,000 grant to cover a hazard pay bonus for firefighters. Wilkins said each firefighter received a $1,000 bonus, although the township still had to cover “a few thousand dollars” in employee overhead costs.
• Assessor Dale Hutson clarified that, by way of a “425” annexation agreement, a parcel of land just west of the Three Rivers Meijer is now on the city’s tax roll and not that of the township. The property’s owners plan to construct a senior residence facilty there.
• Hutson also clarified the status of a property on Corey Lake that is being divided and sold off. One property division passes through a house, which Hutson said is not permissible. He is working with the sellers, buyers, and other officials to settle the issue.
• Trustees appointed Hutson to the position of Designated Assessor.
• Due to ongoing construction on U.S. Highway 131, Kroggel said the township held off on major work on Coon Hollow road, focusing its road work efforts on smaller roads and subdivisions instead for the last and current fiscal years. With the work on 131 nearing completion, Coon Hollow work is expected to resume next year. Wilkins said that work will be spread in phases over two or three years due to the project’s size.
• Former Building Inspector Randy Schmelling was appointed to one of two open seats on the Fabius Township Planning Commission. Kroggel said he would assign him to the seat with the longest remaining time left in its term.
• St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Deputy Devantae Jennings and Fabius Township Constable Don Falborski said there was a drastic increase in breaking-and-entering incidents over the summer. Kroggel said residents should let the Sheriff’s Department know if something happens.

Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.