Beaver Island Michigan

On March 28th I distributed a memorandum to Peaine Township board which discussed the cost of paving approximately 7 miles of roads. That memorandum is available at http://www.charlevoixcounty.org/peainetwp.asp

The township board would appreciate your input on road paving and asks that you complete a survey which is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PeaineRoadPaving

You may address any questions relating to the survey to peainetownship@gmail.com

Thanks for your valuable input.

Bill Kohls

To date, we have received 63 responses to the survey. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey and share your thoughts with the Peaine Township board. Note that we will continue to accept your responses through June 15th.

To a person, when this topic comes up, they normally say, "I don't want to pay anymore taxes, we pay fuel tax, they should be able to pave the roads with that!" I always say, our volume on fuel tax is a drop in the bucket. Then I ask, "Would you spend a 1000. dollars a year to guarantee your cars would last longer and have better roads?" To a person they always say....YES!

I don't understand why if Island roads fall under the Charlevoix County Road Commission why would property owners be subject to additional taxes to make our roads the same as every other in Charlevoix County? Perhaps someone could explain that to me. It seems to me that they have a duty to ensure all townships they serve are getting the same services and dollars are spread appropriately? If more roadway was paved on the Island wouldn't that save a lot of money in maintenance costs? It must cost a lot of money to constantly run heavy equipment to grade and maintain the dirt roads. It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the annual costs for road maintenance. I assume the costs in fuel, vehicle maintenance, equipment, pay, benefits etc is pretty steep. That possible savings could and should be calculated into the equation.

I have always thought that having a paved loop all the way around the Island would be a great thing. Starting at East Side drive from 4 Corners to South End road. Along Iron Ore Bay then up West Side Drive to Donnel Mors Lane. Then right on Sloptown to Kings Highway. Keeping the rest of the roads dirt would make a nice balance and keep in tact a lot of road experience many people enjoy. It could help attract Motorcyclists and Bicyclists perhaps and make a good Marathon course.

Just my thoughts.

Just a reminder that Peaine Township will accept survey responses through June 15th. Please take the time to review the March 28th memorandum and complete the survey. See my initial post for details.

Thanks for your consideration!

Bill Kohls