Liberty Township trustees debate which roads to resurface in 2016

August 6, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

By SARAH LEHR

LIBERTY

Township trustees Wednesday agreed to apply for state Issue 1 funding for the township’s 2016 resurfacing program.

If the application is approved, the state will pay for 39 percent of the project’s cost and the township will pay for 61 percent using money from a recently passed levy.

The township has yet to decide what streets it will apply to resurface. Trustees plan to resolve that matter at a meeting next week.

Gino Bidinotto, a senior road department foreman, warned trustees that Will-O-Wood Drive is in dire condition, especially since much of it is in the shade, which creates problems when the sun cannot dry water build-up.

“If we don’t fix that road soon, it will be gone,” Bidinotto said.

The estimated cost to resurface all of Will-O-Wood is $183,118.

Trustee Jodi Stoyak stated she didn’t agree that Will-O-Wood should be prioritized for resurfacing, however.

Stoyak said she would favor resurfacing streets in areas where more residents voted for the levy, such as Yvonne, Royal Arms or Academy drives.

It would take an estimated $99,880 to resurface Yvonne, $102,652 for Royal Arms, and $58,631 for Academy.

“I just don’t agree with the list of streets proposed here,” she said. “I think people who voted for the levy deserve to see some return. These other areas didn’t help us pass the levy.”

Going forward, the township will look into the cost of stripping and tarring Will-o-wood, which would be a cheaper, temporary solution to resurfacing, trustees said.

“I think we all agree these streets are all terrible,” Trustee Jason Rubin said. “The problem is a lack of money. Money makes the world go ’round.”