On the November 5, 2013 ballot, there will be a millage for residents of Genoa Township, MI in Livingston County. This millage, if passed, will raise property taxes 1.5 mills over a period of at least 15 years. The projects this will fund will be at the discretion of the Genoa Township Board of Trustees, however there is a master plan regarding road projects and a map covering the projects.
The master plan describing the project is here.
Here's a map of all the projects planned. The map can be clicked on for a better view.
Here's a reprint of the FAQ's.
Q. How much will taxes increase if this is passed?
1.5 Mills over 15 years. A house valued at $200,000 will pay $150 a year for 15 years. Assessments will probably increase as well on newly paved roads.
Q. Do the roads need to be fixed?
Generally, this is the jurisdiction of Lansing or the Livingston County Road Commission. Even so, the proposed master plan only covers two major roads. Latson Road and Hughes Road. Most of the other roads affected are rural country roads that are not in bad shape. Many residents do not want the rural country roads paved. This does not affect Brighton Rd, Coon Lake, Chilson, or Dorr Road.
Q. What projects are likely if this passes?
The expected projects and their estimated costs are as follows.
- Crooked Lake - 2.8 Million (2014) - New Paving from Chilson to Door
- Latson - 1.85 Million (2014) - Widening - That is a project I agree with
- Beck Road - 2.95 Million (2015) - New widening and paving from the new Latson Interchange to Chilson
- Conrad/Challis - 1.925 Million (2014) - New widening and paving from Clifford to Dorr
- Challis/Bauer Intersection - 2.1 Million (2015) - Roundabout
- Herbst Road - 3.9 Million (2016) - New widening and paving from Grand River to Sylvan Glen
- Cunningham Lake and Bauer 3.65 Million (2016) - New widening and paving from Stonegate Subdivision to Bauer, and on Bauer from Cunningham Lake to first Pine Creek Entrance.
- Bauer Rd - 1.25 Million (2016) - From Cunningham Lake to Hamburg Township Line (around Murray Lake)
- Hughes Road - 2.55 Million (2016) - Repaving. That is another project I agree with.
Total estimated costs - $22.975 Million
Q. Is there a Roundabout planned?
Yes, at the Challis and Bauer Road intersection. It is expected to cost $2.1 million.
Q. Why is there such strong opposition from the Cunningham Lake Road neighborhood?
It raises their taxes to widen and pave a road the residents do not want paved. It is a rural country road with a large number of local pedestrians, dog walkers, hunters, deer, and cranes. This road measures across about 19 1/2 ft. The project calls for two 11 ft lanes plus shoulders as they see fit. (Bauer is two 3ft shoulders on each side - 12 ft) With hills, curves, and storm sewers, Expect at least 10-15ft wider road, with all the trees clear-cut and property loss at taxpayer expense.
In addition, two subdivisions affected (Cunningham Lake is a township border) are in Hamburg Township so they don't have to pay a dime if this passes.
Q. Are other roads scheduled to be paved rural country roads?
Don't take my word for it. Drive by there yourself.
Q. How is this millage fiscally irresponsible?
- It spends over 2 Million on a roundabout instead of a traffic light.
- It spends $16 million widening and paving rural country roads instead of fixing main roads.
- It only spends 4.4 million fixing main roads (Hughes and Latson).
- It creates further maintenance costs on the newly paved roads.
- It costs owners of $200,000 homes $3000 over 15 years.
- Affected subdivisions in Hamburg do not pay anything.
Q. Why is a Green Oak Resident and Chair of the local Republican Party fighting this millage?
I grew up and lived in Genoa Township for the first 23 years of my life outside my time at Michigan State before moving to Howell and now Green Oak Township. I grew up in one of the neighborhoods due to be paved and am not happy about it. This neighborhood and its character has changed little in the past 35 years.
My parent still live there and strongly oppose this millage because of what it will do to their neighborhood. I have many friends still in that neighborhood of all political persuasions, most of whom I have known for at least 20+ if not 30+ years. This is a stable neighborhood with rare turnover and they all want to protect their neighborhood. I still have a lot of ties there and am lending my support.
As far as the Republican Party is concerned, I'm not doing this as Chair of the Livingston County Republican Party. This is something I'm supporting on my own. The LCRP has taken no official position (and I have not asked them to do so) and each member makes their own decision on this issue. That aside, this is a bipartisan effort. There are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all opposed to this.
Q. Is the committee opposing this filed with proper authorities?
Yes, "Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods" is a ballot question committee filed with and regulated by the Livingston County Clerk's office.
Q. I want this millage defeated. How can I help?
The most important thing is to vote November 5th if you are a Genoa Township resident. The other thing is to get the word out to potential voters. This will be a low turnout election. With enough donations, our committee can engage in direct mailing to likely voters to spread the word. Please make checks payable to "Protect Genoa Township Neighborhoods" PO Box 1182. Brighton MI 48116.
Q. How much money raised will go towards defeating this millage?
All donations will go directly to the effort. Nobody is getting salaries or contracts as administrative costs. I'm working on this pro bono as this affects family and friends directly.
I'm in one of the Hamburg neighborhoods that's essentially orphaned from the township. If we want to go anywhere, we have to go through Genoa Township. So my perspective is different. I don't think Hamburg is terribly interested in us - for instance, when we vote, we have to go all the way to 36 near the township offices.
ReplyDeleteThere are more pressing matters than Cunningham Lake Road, which, unless it's completely redesigned, shouldn't be paved. And I don't think it's fair to the residents to turn it into something completely different. I'm normally a pro-road person, and it would be nice to have faster access to Bauer/Brighton, but this is not the right project.
I am in favor of the roundabout at Bauer/Chilson as long as the circle is made big enough so that westbound traffic on Chilson can get into the circle. If it's like that half-hearted roundabout downtown, it will cause more problems than it solves. People do need to learn how to use roundabouts (traffic inside the circle always has right of way).
I don't think millages should be used to fund infrastructure improvement. It's not like we get to vote on administrator salaries or how much sand we buy each winter.
If I were running the show here, I'd have a different ranking of priority projects:
1. The Bauer/Challis intersection. I don't trust the commission to know how to build a roundabout properly, so I'd add a traffic light. Like most lights, it should be flashing yellow most of the day.
2. The Bauer/Brighton intersection. Sightlines and, well, stupidity makes this one of the all-time most poorly designed intersections for something that shouldn't be all that complicated. It needs a left-turn light from eastbound Brighton onto Bauer. Bauer needs to be engineered a little to improve sightlines, which will eliminate the need for separate north and south cycles.
By the way, paving Cunningham Lake Road will put more pressure on Brighton/Bauer, further illuminating the brain-dead design of this intersection (I'm sure it was fine when most people used horses and carts).
3. Sundance needs to be repaved. You have a dangerous combination of no sidewalks and pavement that is in such bad condition that drivers have to watch the road for potholes instead of watching for pedestrians. Add to that a hill that increases speeds dangerously and it's just a matter of time before there's a serious incident. Repaving and lines marking the sides for walking will improve safety. I would consider removing the second Washakie/Sundance intersection (turn it into a dead end for the residents living on the end of Washakie) to eliminate the racetrack feel. This, in turn, would allow the township to remove the speed bumps. Whenever you're using speed bumps to fix a bad design issue, you're only making the problem worse.
4. Challis needs to be repaved. You see too many people crossing the yellow line to avoid potholes.
I wrote Chilson in the first paragraph above instead of Challis. An edit button would help.
Delete