8/6/13 - A road millage will likely be put before voters in Genoa Township this fall. Board members met Monday night and reached consensus to move forward with the millage request, which would appear on the November ballot. The township does not currently have any road millage in place and spends between $500,000 and $600,000 every year out of the general fund for road improvements. The township has grown but the road system canât handle it and between it's contributions and what the Road Commission is able to do, Manager Mike Archinal says itâs not enough to keep roads in an acceptable condition. He says residents also expect better roads and a survey showed 67% of respondents would approve increased taxes to support them. From that survey, Archinal says a plan of proposed projects was developed that are spread out geographically and would be completed between 2014 and 2016. Archinal says it would result in a dramatic improvement on a large number of well-traveled roads, although some of the proposed work is related to upgrades underway at the Mount Brighton resort and the eventual completion of the Latson Road/I-96 interchange project. Once the interchange opens, he says it will dramatically impact traffic patterns and how people get to work, especially since many are commuters so they will have to address roads in that area. Archinal says the others in the proposed plan are gravel roads and their capacity has far exceeded what theyâre able to handle due to continued development over the years. He says conceptual estimates call for around a one-and-a-half mill proposal that would generate roughly $22.6 (m) million for the three years of construction work. For the average homeowner, that would mean a tax of around $150 a year. The ballot proposal, financing term and schedule of projects will be reviewed at the boardâs August 19th meeting. If approved, the language must be submitted August 27th. (JM)
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