The St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) voted Wednesday to pay half the total amount to replace sprinklers damaged by road work equipment in White Pigeon Township earlier this year. Residents in the Wahbememe subdivision had sprinklers installed outside their own property lines and within the property of adjacent, county-owned thoroughfares when road work required use of a grader, which uses a long, narrow, horizontal blade to scrape roadbed surfaces level.

In the case of the work at Wahbememe, SJCRC crew members were using a grader in the course of “sod cutting,” which involves releveling the shoulder adjacent to the road and is a periodic maintenance exercise.

At a SJCRC work session two weeks ago, White Pigeon Township Supervisor Don Gloy said SJCRC Managing Director John Lindsey told him the grader’s blade would go no further than “12 to 18 inches” from the road’s edge. Some homeowners in the subdivision claimed the grader went as far as 54 inches out, and while Gloy said he could not confirm that number, his own measurements indicated the grader went up to 48 inches out.

On Wednesday, Lindsey said SJCRC’s “communication was clear” that the grader could go as far out at 24 inches. He said in his own measurements, there were some deviations from the initial estimate that went out as far as 30 inches, particularly where the grader operator had to avoid obstacles like mailboxes. However, Lindsey said there were few places where the grader went more than 24 inches out from the road’s edge, and “a lot of those sprinklers are within 24 (inches).” On Wednesday, other SJCRC board members said they had also visited the subdivision and taken their own measurements, supporting Lindsey’s findings.

Allen said the roadway property in the area in question extends 30 feet to either side of the road’s center line, and Road Commissioner Vince Mifsud said anything placed within the road’s property boundaries are subject to damage when work happens. Mifsud and Commission Chair Dave Allen expressed concern about setting a precedent by compensating homeowners for damage to their personal property when it has been placed within SJCRC property lines.

However, commissioners Eric Shafer, John Bippus, and Rodney Chupp said they felt the communication between Gloy and Lindsey was also an important consideration. Bippus said, “the thing that rubs me is that somewhere in the communication process, we told them, or they heard, 12 inches, and we cut 30.” Bippus called it a “communication issue,” and said, “I don’t know who is right,” He also noted that the adjacent property owners take care of things like grass cutting within the road’s boundary, which SJCRC crews would normally have to do.

In his comments on the matter, Chupp said, “first, I want to say I am not upset with John, the grader operator, or anybody. We do a tremendous amount of good work, and my opinion should not be construed as criticism.” Chupp also said he felt Gloy “is respected and honest,” and would not come to the SJCRC without having done his due diligence.

“I do think we hold some responsibility,” whether legal or moral, Chupp said. “I think we’ve made great strides as having people trusting us and keeping our word, and this would jeopardize that.” Shafer agreed with Chupp. He said, “I don’t think (Gloy) is being disingenuous. He’s not coming to try and get something for nothing.”

Bippus said, “I can’t help but thins this way. I think we should just pay the bill. If a client calls me up and we have this discussion, I write a check and I move on in my business, and I have done that. Keep the peace and move on.”

Mifsud argued previously that it is a property rights issue, and SJCRC crews have to maintain the road and the right of way. He said, “the law is the law,” and that the precedent of paying damages is a “slippery slope.” Allen said the SJCRC has no legal obligation to provide compensation since the sprinklers were on roadway property. He said the law “says we have a right to maintain our right-of-way, period. If you’re in the right-of-way, no matter what we communicate, you are in peril.”

In its official, written request for damages, the township said a total of 59 sprinkler heads required replacement at $85 apiece, for a total cost of $5,015. Regarding the precise number of sprinklers within the estimated range that the grader was supposed to have followed, as well as the communication about that range, Bippus said, “we’re not going to know. We just need to make a decision.”

A motion to pay the full amount requested failed with Allen, Mifsud, and Shafer voting “no.” After a second motion, commissioners agreed to pay half the full amount, for a total of $2,507.50, and to communicate expressly and clearly that there is no precedent to be set and that that any objects, plantings, and other personal property left within county road rights-of-way and property boundaries could be subject at any time to damage by equipment and maintenance work without compensation. Mifsud and Allen cast “no” votes for the motion.

Health Plans Approved

Commissioners approved a range of health plans for the upcoming 2021 Fiscal Year for SJCRC employees through Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan. The plans were previously endorsed by employees, who had a choice between a hard cap contribution from SJCRC or an 80 percent contribution with 20 percent covered by the employee.

Because of industrywide increases, Lindsey said the 80/20 split means both employer and employee will pay an average of 10.4 percent more than in previous years. Despite the fact that they share these increases, most employees declined to support cheaper options through the Blue Care Network because they would have limited access to a broader geographic range of caregivers. Many of them “live too close to Indiana not to have options,” Lindsey said.

The costs from SJCRC’s end represent a total increase of $77,000. The employer cost, including that increase, will be incorporated into next year’s budget, Lindsey said, which is still under development.

Lindsey Gets Annual Performance Review

During a closed session portion of Wednesday’s SJCRC meeting, Lindsey received his annual performance review. Following the closed session, Allen issued a statement saying, “The St. Joseph County Road Commission Board of Commissioners completed an annual evaluation of its managing director and is proud to announce Mr. Lindsey graded at the top of the ‘Exceeds Expectations’ range.”

Prior to entering closed session, several commissioners commended Lindsay for the amount of work that SJCRC crews have accomplished in 2020 despite the pandemic and other factors. Chupp said, “everywhere I go in the county, I hit newly surfaced roads.” Shafer said the work was “definitely noticed in the community.”

Of the work accomplished, Allen said, “it has been a challenging year, and even under difficult circumstances, we paved 41.62 miles and chip sealed 135 primary and local roads. We chip sealed seven miles of private roads and approximately two miles for the Villages of Constantine and Mendon.”

In other SJCRC business:

• In his monthly report, Lindsey said all of the season’s paving projects are completed. Shoulder work is wrapping up on Holtom and Schweitzer Roads, and is proceeding on Nottawa Road. Line striping remains to be completed on Fawn River, Holtom, Schweitzer, and Nottawa Roads. Lindsey said for anything not completed after October 31 project contract deadlines, he and staff will assess total costs and decide whether to assess liquidated damages to contractors.
• Lindsey is in the midst of negotiations with local townships to determine road project priorities for next year that involve cost shares between SJCRC and the townships.
• Concurrently, Lindsey is also in conversation with the St. Joseph County Roads Committee, which is different from the Road Commission in that it represents a coalition of municipalities, townships, county commissioners, and other agencies who help prioritize road project funding contributions from the county’s general fund.
• Several SJCRC members expressed interest in sitting in on township and Road Committee conversations to learn more about those processes. Lindsey said he would work with those boards to find a way to permit such participation in a way that does not suggest an attempt to sway negotiations.
• Bippus’s term as a road commissioner is expiring at the end of 2020. Reappointing his seat is up to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, and several SJCRC members said they would express written support for his reappointment. Bippus has served for just less than 11 years to date, and Allen said he has “quite a public service” record and has been a “tremendous asset to this organization” for his willingness to facilitate work and his efforts at improving cost efficiencies.
• Commissioners approved a $150-per-acre lease of an unused, one-acre parcel of SJCRC-owned land to an adjacent farmer.

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.