The Bennington Township Special Board Meeting was called to order by Supervisor Lee Ash on August 25, 2009, 7:05pm at the Township Hall.
Present:
Jim Forsythe, Cindy Garber, Nancy Zdunic, Lee Ash.
Donna Ash not present.
Others in attendance: Tony Newman - Shiawassee County Drain Commissioner, Nancy Lynn, Mike Ryan, Clarence Ruess, Delane Ruess.
Agenda: Yerkes Drain
Supervisor Ash opened the meeting and provided the background for the discussion. The issue is that there is insufficient drainage in the area of Bennington and Ruess roads and that the local residents have requested the Township and the County Drain Commissioner’s to provide recommendations on what can be done to address the problem.
Tony Newman reviewed the details of the recommendations, the engineering estimates of flow rates using various sized pipes, and provided his recommendation to the Board and residents. The recommendation is to install an 18” dual wall drain with two 4” drains covered with sock material running in parallel with the 18” drain. The 4” drain can be plowed in and will be installed two weeks in advance of digging the 18” drain to allow the 4” pipes to dry the area where the 18” will be installed.
The funding for the project was then discussed. There are two options that were considered:
Option 1: The residents of that area would sign a petition and present the petition to the County Drain Commissioner to proceed with the work. This option would require no input or action on the part of the Township Board.
Option 2: The Bennington Township Board would pass a resolution that would allow the Drain Commissioner to assess more than the statutory $5,000 per mile to fund the project.
The effective difference between the two options is that Option 1 requires a complete Engineering Study to be completed and on record, which was estimated at a cost of $8,000 to $12,000, and that the residents would pay all the costs directly. The engineering /surveying costs for Option 2 would be about $1,000 and the Township would need to pay for the difference between the current tile size and the upgrade to an 18” tile which is estimated to be between $4,000 to $5,500.
The Township’s Drain At-Large financial responsibility would be roughly the same for either option.
There will need to be a second activity funded next year (Grant Street Project) to complete the Yerkes Drain project which would be installing a 15” tile and two additional catch basins in the area.
All the people in attendance were given the opportunity to discuss the project and their support or opposition to it. All expressed their support for the project.
Jim Forsythe made the following motion, Cindy Garber seconded, roll call vote to approve the motion:
“Whereas Section 280.196 of the Michigan Drain Code of 1956 limits the County Drain Commissioner to assess $5,000 per mile for drain maintenance activity, and whereas the residents of Bennington Township have indicated their support for this project by collecting signatures and attending township meetings on this issue, and whereas funding this project by a Resolution would substantially reduce the cost to the township residents by at least $15,000, now be it resolved to authorize the Shiawassee County Drain Commissioner to assess more than the statutory $5,000 per mile for the purposes of funding the project to upgrade the Yerkes Drain (#511) to an 18” tile and installing dual 4” tiles per the recommendation provided by the Shiawassee County Drain Commissioner.”
Jim Forsythe -- yes
Cindy Garber -- yes
Lee Ash -- yes
Nancy Zdunic -- yes
The estimated financial impact to a typical resident in the Yerkes Drain watershed for Option 2 will be about $47.00 per year for 5 years. This assessment will be refined after all the project costs are solidified.
J. Forsythe moved to adjourn. Second by N. Zdunic. Motion carried.
Adjournment at 8:15pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jim Forsythe, Trustee
http://bennington-township.org