MINUTES
SCIO TOWNSHIP LOCAL ROADS COMMITTEE
MARCH 11, 2009
Called to order by vice-chair Schimmel at 3:02 p.m.
Present: Members: Wier, Hedberg (Scott), Holland, Maxton, Kidder. Scio Township Supervisor Clark, Township Manager Fecho, Township Clerk Hedberg (Nancy). Townsend and McCulloch from the Washtenaw County Road Commission (WCRC).
Upon motion of Hedberg (Scott) and second of Wier, minutes of the February meeting were approved without amendment.
Wier updated the committee on the Wing SAD. The petition was approved by nearly 75% of property owners by front footage on the two streets: Wing Drive and Harold Circle. The WCRC has submitted the petitions to the township for verification of signatures and tax status. Note: The statute requires signatures be obtained from all owners of any particular piece of property and additionally provides signatures are valid if and only if the real property taxes on the parcel are not in arrears. If the signatures of 51% or more of property owners are found to be valid, the WCRC will schedule the public hearings provided in the statute.
Townsend presented highlights of the WCRC annual meeting with Scio Township, held March 10, 2009. The report included a summary of WCRC's 2008 activities in Scio Township, a list of proposed local road projects for 2009, the 2009 dust control program, the 2009 Township Matching Funds program, a general outline of the WCRC's preventive maintenance plan, and a table listing the planned capital investments by township over the next five years. Outside of the Jackson Road Corridor project, scheduled for completion in the summer of 2009, no projects have been scheduled for Scio Township during that time frame. By contrast Pittsfield is targeted with $3,000,000 in four separate projects during that period, Superior with $2,700,000 in four projects, and Ypsilanti nearly $7,000,000 in six projects.
Hedberg (Scott) presented a proposal with two primary goals. First, to implement a program dealing with road maintenance issues over the long term. This in turn would have three main features: (1) a requirement that all new real estate developments have a road maintenance association with mandatory annual fees, (2) a model road maintenance fee association program that could be voluntarily adopted by existing neighborhoods, and (3) a requirement that neighborhoods using one of the SAD statutes for road improvements be required at the same time to adopt the model road maintenance fee association. Secondly, Hedberg's proposal included an innovative idea for development of a sustainable fund to finance future road improvements; this fund would involve use of the WCRC Matching Funds Program, heretofore not maximized by the township.
Kidder presented a separate proposal to more fully use the annual WCRC Matching Funds Program. In essence, it would have the township provide financial incentives for neighborhoods which might be considering the use of an SAD for road improvements. The formula proposed by Kidder would involve 6% of total project cost being paid by the township, an identical 6% being paid by the WCRC from its matching funds program, and the balance of 88% being paid by private property owners through an approved SAD. Kidder's proposal demonstrated that under such a program, a township expenditure of $36,000 - matched by an equivalent amount from the WCRC - would produce $528,000 in payments from private parties under the SAD and end up leveraging a total of $600,000 in improvements on township local roads.
The committee discussed the pressing need for public education on the state of township roads. The township newsletter is a good place to start. The publication is a quarterly; David Reed is the editor, with March 16, 2009 the copy deadline for the next edition.
Meeting adjourned at 4:24 p.m. upon motion of Kidder and second of Wier.
