White Pigeon Township Supervisor Don Gloy appeared at a St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) work session Wednesday to ask commissioners to consider compensating some of the township’s residents for recent damage that occurred during a subdivision paving project. Some residents had irrigation sprinklers installed inside roadway rights-of-way that were damaged by the blade of a road grader. A grader is a machine that uses a long, straight blade to skim soil surfaces, leaving a flat, even roadbed surface behind.

Gloy said when the project was first under consideration, he asked Managing Director John Lindsey not to use a road grader on the project. According to Gloy, Lindsey said the grader was necessary for the work, but the grader would not need to scrape more than 12 to 18 inches from the edge of the existing roadway. Homeowners checked the locations of their sprinkler heads found they were typically 30 inches or more from the roadway edge. The project then proceeded.

However, a number of homeowners subsequently lost their sprinkler heads. One homeowner claimed the grader went as far as 54 inches beyond the roadway edge. Gloy said he could not confirm that number, but based on his measurements, he said the grader at times went anywhere from 32 to 48 inches out.

Lindsey said in his observations the grader went about two feet out for the most part in places where it went beyond the initial, projected area, which he said was “still more than we wanted to do.” He attributed the excess to the likelihood that the grader operator may have gone wider in trying to avoid obstacles like mailboxes.

Gloy asked commissioners Wednesday to consider compensating the homeowners for some or all of the damage. The township, he said, could gather damage repair totals from each resident, receive funds from the Road Commission, and then disburse payment accordingly.

Several commissioners were sympathetic. Vice Chair Eric Shafer and Commissioner Rodney Chupp both said they were inclined to sympathize with the property owners specifically because they had been told to expect one thing and then had another thing happen when the work took place. Commissioner John Bippus said he felt it was important to take into consideration that adjacent homeowners have been maintaining grass and other right-of-way features, saving Road Commission staff from having to do that work.

Commissioner Vince Mifsud, on the other hand, said, “I’m a property lines guy,” and said that the risk of damage is inherent when private homeowners locate fixtures outside their own property boundaries. Mifsud, Shafer, Chupp, and Road Commission Chair Dave Allen all said they were concerned about the precedent that could be set by compensating for damages to items destroyed within roadway boundaries.

Chupp suggested that SJCRC staff could have a more precise communication protocol going forward in which they could describe what a typical grading boundary measurement might be, with the caveat that there were no guarantees that graders might not exceed that measurement. Lindsey, Allen, and Shafer agreed that such a solution might be advisable.

Without a clear dollar figure to work with for the damaged sprinklers, Mifsud said commissioners would be unable to hold a realistic discussion on whether to provide any compensation or how much. Gloy said he did not know how much the damages amounted to but could get a figure or figures back to the commission. Commissioners therefore took no action beyond discussion on the matter at Wednesday’s work session, but Shafer said, “we will take it under consideration.”

Covered Bridge May Need Some Alternate Funding

At a regular SJCRC meeting on October 7, Lindsey and Assistant Manager and Engineer Garrett Myland informed commissioners the SJCRC is expected to receive a total of $1.5 million toward the $2 million renovation of the Langley Covered Bridge through appropriations from the Michigan Legislature and the Southwest Region Bridge Council of Michigan. Lindsey said he expected to be able to provide another $300,000 in matching funds from the SJCRC’s own coffers and hoped the remaining $200,000 would come from the Critical Road Bridge Fund, which is managed by the St. Joseph County Commission.

However, in a recent conversation with County Commission Chair Dennis Allen, Lindsey said Allen told him that because the county is using measures like hours reductions, retirement buyouts, and a hiring freeze to offset insufficient revenues, it is likely that the county would not be in a position to contribute the remaining $200,000. As a result, Lindsey said SJCRC will have to be creative about finding other ways to close the remaining gap. The work on the bridge is anticipated to take place in 2023.

SJCRC to be Involved in Park Township Zoning Discussion

Lindsey said SJCRC will likely be called upon to provide expertise and guidance in the pending evaluation of a rezoning permit application under consideration in Park Township. Nottawa Gas Company is considering purchase of a land parcel along M-60 near Fisher Lake in order to build a new propane distribution and retail facility and would like to install entrances on M-60 and Darr Road.

Lindsey said SJCRC will be asked to weigh in on planning for driveways and other issues. The commission, he said, rarely turns down driveway permit applications, but instead asks applicants to make adjustments to plans until they meet requirements. However, Lindsey said Darr Road is currently not suitable for heavy, year-round truck traffic. He will therefore have to provide input on whether and under what circumstances Nottawa Gas would be allowed to operate trucks there, and whether it would have to pay for any upgrades if any were to become necessary.

Also in Road Commission business:

• SJCRC approved a bid from R. Smith and Sons for native stone at $24 a ton. The stone is used as aggregate filler in road pavement. The bid won over several other companies bidding a variety of types of stone at prices ranging between $24.50 and $40 per ton.
• Operations Director Mike Harris said work to replace a bridge on Coon Hollow Road has nearly wrapped up. Workers removed the bridge’s concrete deck, repaired its headwalls, and installed a new timber structure for the bridge. The bridge awaits a state inspection, but Harris said he expects no weight restrictions to be placed on the bridge. Its previous weight limit was six tons.
• Other, ongoing road projects for the 2020 season are also wrapping up around the county. Road Commissioners, County Commissioners, and others will begin meeting with officials of the county’s townships in November to discuss and prioritize next year’s projects.

Dave Vago is a 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.