One by one, representatives of the St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) have been meeting with townships around the county to discuss next year’s road work priorities. Each year, SJCRC accomplishes a variety of paving, pavement sealing, reconstruction, and bridge work projects around the county. Some of those projects are funded entirely by SJCRC’s own funds, some are partially covered by outside grants, and some are shared in equal parts by the SJCRC and the townships.

For Park Township’s 2021 potential projects, Township Supervisor Ed English met earlier this week with SJCRC Managing Director John Lindsey to talk about what roads need work and how to prioritize them. At the regular Township Board meeting on Wednesday evening, English updated other township officials and citizens in attendance on that conversation.

Among roads that SJCRC plans to fund entirely on its own next year, English said those in Park Township include a section of Heimbach Road running to its end from Frank Jones Road. SJCRC will chip seal the road’s surface, which involves covering the road with an oil emulsion and tiny stones and extends its life by approximately seven years. Buckhorn Road between Edgerton and Moorepark Roads will get the same treatment, as will Floating Bridge Road from the township line to Wilbur Road.

For road projects being split with the township through SJCRC’s matching Allocation Fund, English said there are potentially three roads to consider. The worst, he said, is Lang Road, which connects Marcellus Road and Hampton Road, running on a north-south axis parallel to Parkville Road. The road’s condition is severe enough that it is at risk for reversion back to a dirt road and requires removal and replacement of the existing asphalt. That work would cost $32,000.

SJCRC also suggested possible chip sealing of Marcellus Road between North Fisher Lake Road and the township line, which would cost $85,000. The third proposed area includes Lowe Road and a stretch of Hutchison Road from Lowe Road to Michigan Avenue. The area needs $185,000 worth of reconstruction work. English said SJCRC officials expect to be able to get another year’s worth of service from that section if necessary.

However, English said the township cannot afford to fund all three projects. He said it has spent more than $300,000 in the last two years on road projects, which is gradually depleting its fund balance. The work is necessary, English said, but “we’re probably trying to do more than we should be doing.”

Township Trustee Tom Springer said the Marcellus Road chip-seal work is an important, seven-year treatment for a high-traffic, east-west connector road. He said the propose work is comparable to replacing a vehicle’s brake pads, in that it prevents or forestalls more significant work. “You let it go too long and all of a sudden you need new rotors and drums,” Springer said. Lang Road, he said, is an example of how a road can become without routine chip sealing and other preventative maintenance.

Township Clerk Pat Henderson cautioned other board members to be cautious about spending money from the general fund. English said the condition of Lang Road makes it “a must,” but for other potential road projects, he said mimicking a millage that passed successfully in White Pigeon township could present a solution to funding additional projects without depleting Park Township’s general fund balance.

English said he suggests taking on the Lang and Marcellus projects for 2021 and make the Lowe and Hutchinson project a priority for 2022. He said the township will further discuss road funding priorities with SJCRC and amongst its own officials before it makes any decisions on priorities or commitments to road projects.

Designated Assessor Approved

In keeping with other townships in the county, Park Township board members voted Wednesday to approve St. Joseph County Equalization Director Josh Simmons as the county’s new Designated Assessor. The appointment must be approved by each township as well as the County Commission. Several townships have already voted to make the approval, as has the County Commission, and English said the remaining townships have indicated they will do so.

The appointment is a requirement stemming from a 2018 law in which the State of Michigan changed the way it will deal with township property assessors who fail over a period of two years to perform their assessment and reporting duties according to state requirements. Previously, in such cases, the state appointed an assessor to take over a township’s assessment duties for five years. Now, a majority of townships must approve the appointment of a Designated Assessor who would take over for any township’s assessor in the event that the state requires it.

Dale Hutson, who serves as the assessor for Park and several other townships in the county, attended Wednesday’s meeting to provide additional details on the arrangement. Under the previous arrangement, he said, the state billed the townships for its appointed designated assessor’s services. Now, Hutson said, townships will know the Designated Assessor costs in advance because of Simmons’ standing appointment and associated contracts.

In previous discussions with other townships and the County Commission, Hutson said he felt most townships assessment services are well-managed, and that it therefore would be unlikely for any of them to ever get to the point of a takeover. In addition, he said, the process of warnings lasts two years, and a township would likely be at a point of firing its assessor and mitigating concerns long before a takeover would take effect.

Nottawa Gas Rezoning Issue Discussed

Several public commenters discussed an ongoing rezoning request for a property on Highway M-60 northwest of North Fisher Lake Road, which the Nottawa Gas Company proposes to purchase and use for the development of a propane gas storage, retail, and distribution facility. Comments and discussion Wednesday lasted approximately 38 minutes and provided some additional information on how the process should play out.

Watershed Voice will provide coverage on the details of that conversation in a follow-up article to this one. A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for November 19 at 7 p.m. with the township’s Planning Commission.

In other Park Township business:

• Hutson said the Board of Review responsible for finalizing the township’s assessments will meet on December 15 at 2 p.m. Hutson said the meeting is not for contesting assessment values, but it will be the last opportunity to obtain exemptions for veterans and others for this year’s assessments.
• English thanked the township’s election workers for carrying out their duties on Election Day last week. He said the day was “smooth” and that there were “no hangups.”
• English said the Fabius-Park Township Fire Department (FPFD) now has on hand 25 new pagers that it purchased as part of a broader, countywide emergency dispatch equipment upgrade. This summer, many township officials protested when they learned the county did not intend to pay for the pagers. The equipment purchase was funded by a recently passed millage, and many township leaders believed the pagers were to be included. Instead, FPFD has purchased the pagers with its own funds, and English said the department stands to be the first in the county to put theirs into service.
• English said FPFD did not hold its usual annual awards event this year, but has named Steve Houts, a longtime FPFD veteran, as its Firefighter of the Year.
• One citizen asked if there has been any update on a rural broadband internet initiative being pursued by Springer and others. Springer said there is no significant news for Park Township this month. However, in discussion that followed, township resident Jack Coleman, who is a member of the township’s Planning Commission and recently ran for the 59^th District State Representative seat, said the village of Mendon has reached an agreement with Midwest Energy Cooperative (MEC) to provide service in the town. Under the agreement, Coleman said, the Village will pay 25 percent of installation costs from its general fund and 25 percent from Downtown Development Authority Funds. Coleman said MEC will cover the remainder by amortizing costs into future users’ bills.
• English said he and other township officials met with officials from the Three Rivers Public Library earlier this week regarding an ongoing dispute over the township’s contributions to the library’s operations. He said no settlement has yet been reached, but negotiations are continuing.

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.