Board seeking support for road grants

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — Seeking to bring in money for road projects, the Harrison Township Board of Trustees approved a plan to apply for 2024 Macomb County subdivision reconstruction grants at the board’s Sept. 11 meeting.

Distributed by the Macomb County Department of Roads to townships, up to three subdivision road projects will be selected for 50% county funding up to $500,000 per project. The township voted to work with infrastructure consultant Wade Trim to complete the grant applications while township officials seek signatures for road projects.

“Part of the Department of Roads’ new requirements is that we have signatures upfront prior to granting these projects,” said Harrison Township Clerk Adam Wit. “We’ve met with three different (subdivisions) about that. One of them has signatures in circulation, one’s already done and the third one at this point has not picked up petitions, so we’re not sure if that one is going to go.”

Each project is tied to a special assessment district, which requires a majority of the affected residents to sign on. The third road project, which Township Supervisor Ken Verkest does not believe will reach its signature threshold in time, is unique due to the mix of residential and commercial properties on the street.

The contract with Wade Trim has a maximum cost per project of $1,500, meaning the maximum cost to apply for three streets is $4,500. Applications are due to the township by Sept. 29.

 

Concrete repairs
Premier Concrete of New Baltimore won a contract to replace sidewalks and concrete patches damaged by water main break repairs for $17,000, undercutting the other bidder by $500.

While Premier has performed work for the township in the past, Trustee Brian Batkins raised concerns about the lack of a guarantee for flakes, cracks or chips.

“Depending on the concrete mix, that’s the three things it does if it’s poured incorrectly,” Batkins said.

Batkins’ concerns stem from a pump station’s concrete pad flaking due to incorrect pouring, which required the bad concrete to be replaced.

Verkest expressed support for using Premier due to its work over the past decade, though Batkins stated he would like to require contractors to agree to certain standards going forward.