By By NORMA LERNER / Niles Daily Star
CASSOPOLIS – Cass County road commissioners offered more matching funds to townships for road improvements this year but eliminated a couple of costs it previously funded.
During a meeting of the Road Commission Thursday, a new matching policy was approved.
Townships will now be matched to 40 percent of their costs they plan to spend on roads, an increase from 25 percent.
To compensate for the increase in matching funds, the cost of dust control and the chip and seal projects will be township costs, and the Road Commission will now pay to complete the paving job by including the road striping.
Previously this was a township cost and at times was not done.
New Manager Louis Csokasy explained that it's always been a 25-percent match with more than $1.1 million spent on road improvements last year.
Csokasy said, for example, with a $100,000 contract, the township will contribute $60,000, and the Road Commission will match it with $40,000.
He said a citizen is happy with new asphalt on a road, but striping is not done because it costs another $500 per mile.
"I am saying let's finish it. You will make some townships happy. You will make other townships that are not spending money on roads really upset."
Csokasy used Marcellus Township as an example that spent $4,966 last year on all dust control.
It costs about $1,000 a mile, he said. He said some townships don't have gravel roads.
It was reported by Superintendent Rick Janssen that three roads are closed because of water problems.
He said there is water over Burlington Road in Marcellus Township and White Temple Road in Penn Township.
A bridge is closed in Mason Township on Mason Street where a culvert is out. Janssen said he will report on the bridge condition as soon as he hears from the Department of Environmental Quality since there is a watershed involved.
He said the state is being very responsive and is talking of putting in a bridge structure instead of a tube.
It was noted the frost law will be lifted on Friday.
Csokasy also reported on the road stimulus plan.
He said state guidelines say road commissions can't do two adjacent projects in the same fiscal year within two miles of each other.
Because of this, some projects had to go to 2010-11.
He said next will be new title sheets for stimulus money and for rural task force money which is also federal.
He said the state has thrown several numbers around.
As it looks now, there may be $465,000 to come from stimulus, and $700,000 from federal funds.
He said there may be some dropped projects and others shifted around – some of those in Dowagiac.
Trustee Roger Bowser asked with the stimulus money if the Road Commission has enough manpower and time to do all the projects.
Chief Engineer Joseph Bellina III replied that there is the expertise to do the work.
The commission approved the 2007-08 audit by Rehmann Robson of Jackson.
The audit reported there were no deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting, and there were no instances of noncompliances.
The fund balance at the end of the year Sept. 30 was $2,631,129.
In other matters, the commission received high praise for the first summit held March 7 which was attended by 55 people from various townships.
Howard Township resident Dale Lowe, a former county commissioner, said with things resolved on Barron Lake Road, "You need to be applauded."
Others in attendance said, "Great job."