2007 County Road Work Reviewed
Board Ponders Idea To Add Worker to 'Top Heavy' Staff
By Amy Polk

As the road work season winds down, the Mackinac County Road Commission reviewed the status of 2007 priority list roads during its Tuesday, October 30, meeting.

Of the 20 priority road projects scheduled for 2007, five are complete and 12 are underway in some form or another.

Another 15 projects have also been completed throughout the county in 2007, clerk Theresa McPherson reported.

Three priority projects originally listed for 2007 actually have until 2009 to be completed, Engineer/ Manager Karrie Abbitt reported to commissioners.

They include three Clark Township projects that will be partially funded by a Department of Environmental Quality grant available through 2009.

The grant was awarded for a Les Cheneaux Watershed Project to improve the road where streams cross at State Avenue, Meridian Road, and Nordquist Road, all in Cedarville.

The five road projects completed as of October 30 include shoulder work and paving of 1,600 feet of H-40 in Hudson Township; a gravel lift on Black Point Road in Brevort Township; intersection improvements on Carlson Road in Portage Township; engineering for road improvements on Mackinac Island, and a half-mile lift and gravel on Sandtown Road in Portage Township.

Projects underway or awaiting approval include pavement markings on roads throughout the county.

Paving 1.05 miles of Belonga Road in St. Ignace Township started October 30.

Workers are improving failed culverts along East Lake Road in Brevort Township before surface work can begin there.

Pointe LaBarbe Road in Moran Township is paved, and shoulder work was expected to be finished last week.

School sign improvements for Portage Road in Moran Township are underway.

Mrs. Abbitt is awaiting state approval of permits for work on Swede Road in Clark Township, Simmons Road in Marquette Township, and Krause Road in Garfield Township.

If the permits come in time, residents may still see work on Swede and Simmons roads this year, Mrs. Abbitt said.

Krause Road work will probably be postponed until next year.

Four other projects are awaiting information and permits, and will probably be scheduled next year.

They include Mackinac.

Trail improvement in St. Ignace Township, Hog Island Road safety improvement in Hendricks Township, H-40 improvements over Three-Mile Creek in Garfield Township, and Island View Drive improvements in Hessel in Clark Township.

In addition to the 20 projects reviewed at the October 30 meeting, the other 15 road projects include the following jobs, listed by township:

Brevort Township - culvert work on Black Point Road, street improvements in the village of Moran, and improvements to Dukes Road, Charles Moran from M-123 to Black Point, and Knowles Road.

Clark Township - Blind Line Road lift and drainage, improvements to Chard Road.

Marquette Township - Simmons Road curve improvement, St. Martins Road improvements.

Moran Township - improvements to Koski Road, Pointe Aux Chenes, and 28-Mile Road;

Portage Township - McConnel Road improvements.

St. Ignace Township - Mackinac Trail improvements.

Commission Chair Frank Luepnitz announced Mackinac County Road Commission is slated to lose approximately $37,611 in federal road funding next year amid concerns about a "top-heavy budget."

Mr. Luepnitz moved to deny Mrs. Abbitt's request to return one laid-off seasonal laborer to service in the East End Garage, citing concerns about overspending on staff.

Mrs. Abbitt assessed the needs of the garage, and said there is plenty of work for another laborer, including sand and brine loading, replacing signs and mailboxes, cleaning the garage, making salt and sand reports, and serving as a replacement driver for emergency situations.

"I've seen overkill on a lot of projects," Mr. Luepnitz said, citing a job where 10 people were working on one culvert as an example. "I think the staff is topheavy as it is, and something needs to be done."

Commissioner Paul Amacher agreed that there are too many workers, and voted to support Mr. Luepnitz's motion.

Commissioner Lester Livermore voted against the motion because he said he doesn't know whether an additional worker is needed on the East End.

"I think that should be Karrie's call," he said.

There are now 10 full-time workers and one foreman working on the East End, which is responsible for road work and maintenance in Brevort, Clark, Moran, Marquette, and St. Ignace townships.

There are eight full-time workers and one foreman working on the West End, which is responsible for work in Garfield, Hendricks, Hudson, Newton, and Portage townships.

The next road commission meeting will be Tuesday, November 27, at 1:30 p.m.

Commissioners scheduled the annual budget hearing for Tuesday, December 11, at 7 p.m.