News

Computer envisions twp. roads

By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
Friday, March 4, 2005 11:22 AM EST

CASSOPOLIS - A computer-based program used by the Cass County Road Commission helps interested townships analyze what funding level will yield desired results.

"Based on the amount of funding they select to spend and the type of reconstruction they do," townships can chart where that will position them over, say, 10 years, Road Commission Engineer-Manager Joseph Bellina said in a presentation Thursday to the Board of Commissioners.

"It's a way for them to get a general feel on whether or not they're spending enough money," Bellina said.

Compared to health, education and welfare, Michigan has done a "relatively poor job" funding roads.

The state ranked 44th in 2000 - and that represented an increase from 49th in 1992 per-capita spending, Bellina said.

Maintaining the county's primary road system is the responsibility of the Road Commission."Any reconstruction that must occur on those roads is the responsibility of the townships, whether they are gravel or paved roads," Bellina said. "We have a policy whereby we distribute a certain amount of funds to the townships each year."

The Road Commission recommends roads in its judgment townships should address, but it's not a mandate. "They can apply the 50-percent matching funds to our suggestions. We have several townships that, after they expend all of their match money, if they have other roads they want to do, they pay 100 percent."

"Probably four or five" townships already submitted requests for estimates and Wayne and Silver Creek returned information about their plans so that contracts can be drawn up.

Critical bridge funds

requested from state

Bellina said the bridge closed on Northrop Street in Calvin Township last week "is right around the corner from the bridge on Chain Lake Street closed last fall." Both cross Christiana Creek.

"We have a request in for emergency funding for reconstruction," Bellina said. "The Chain Lake bridge has had money requested for some time. Last year we were third among bridges that didn't get funded. Hopefully, we'll be high enough to get funded this year."

Constituents urged

to contact road panel

Though lots of constituents contact county commissioners directly, Bellina suggested those calls be redirected to the Road Commission.

"We have a very formal policy on how we deal with service requests in our office. It's best, for our purposes, it's better if they contact us directly."

Service calls are routed to a district foreman initially. If a problem proves beyond his ability to solve, he consults with the superintendent or Bellina because each request generates a formal response. "

Sometimes it's not what they hoped for," Bellina said, "We're limited in what we can do sometimes.

"For example," he continued, "someone might want a tree taken down when it hangs outside of the right-of-way, there's absolutely nothing we can do. We're limited by state law where we can work, and we can't work off that right-of-way."

Two major wind storms thrashed Cass County in May and June 2004, Bellina recalled. "We spent a good deal of time just cleaning that up countywide. We spent somewhere between $350,000 and $500,000 just removing trees from those two storms, and it ate up a good deal of time. There were a lot of places we didn't get to. Just in February we had 17 days without snow, so if they weren't patching holes, they were taking down trees."

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