JACKSON – Township officials moved forward on road improvement work and a land purchase during a recent council meeting.
Council members unanimously passed Ordinance 18-23 which concerned various capital improvements such as roadwork in the township in the amount of $6,223,637 that included a contribution from the township’s capital improvement fund of $3 million and authorizing the issuance $3,071,030 in bonds.
Resident Elenor Hannum asked, “how does the town ascertain the roadways that will be improved or fixed?”
Business Administrator Terence Wall said that most municipalities utilize those who are on the grounds every day. “Firefighters, police, public works, the engineers that look at the properties over time and should be building a 20-year rotation typically of paving and draining improvements.”
“Taxpayers reaching out and giving input,” was another method Wall said. “We do have roads with grass growing through them and we have certain elements such as potholes that need a hot patch or cold patch.”
“Are those roads being improved?” Hannum asked.
Wall replied, “the goal is to have every road improved. Do you have a particular street?”
Hannum said she did but wouldn’t name it because she had already reached out and because “I already had some of the storm drain fixed but the road is breaking down. I will contact the engineer and discuss it with them.”
“It is also a mechanic of funding so the bond, approximately half of that is cash. We are looking at an ordinance that allows certain funds but it is also a matter of balancing the budget. Say it is a matter of 10 streets, we may not be able to do 10 streets this year, maybe it is two a year over a period of five years,” Wall responded.
Hannum also asked about a list of roads that were earmarked for work.
“There is a list and it is a matter of public record,” Wall acknowledged.
James Rapp of Johnson Lane said, “those on our street have a particular concern about flooding and I was wondering at what point does a resident of the township such as myself, come and say we need a drainage cull installed that we hope will facilitate the drainage of the water into the basin where it is supposed to go in our street.”
He noted there were improvements done “40 years ago and on the plans I reviewed down at the county some 25-odd years ago but those showed a drainage pipe coming right off of our road that would have been engineered as to slow down runoff and filter the runoff.”
“We live with a situation where it is unimproved. I just want to make the council aware that there was a situation on our street where the work was not done in the development, the bond was returned and hopefully the town council in regards to acquisition of that land will enable the township ownership of that property will allow for the council to complete that work in the cheapest most effective use of tax dollars.”
Ordinance 19-23 involved the acquisition of property within the township and appropriating $157,000 from the capital improvement fund to pay for that purchase. The ordinance had been introduced on July 11 and was also unanimously approved.
Prior to that vote, Hannum returned to the podium and asked about taxpayer money being used “to purchase back land that was actually part of a land swap, why? We swapped 43 acres for 30. Why are taxpayers on the hook to buy back land that was already swapped?”
Township Attorney Gregory McGuckin clarified that “this was not land that the township owns. This was not included in the swap. They were noted that they were not owned by the township. We are acquiring them to complete the land swap.”
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