Residents gather to hear plans to upgrade all streets in Belleville

On June 15 about 60 residents of the city of Belleville gathered at the Belleville High School cafeteria to hear information on plans to upgrade all the streets in the city.
The crowd was skeptical of the plan which included a possible 20-year bond for $12 million that would cost a home valued at $100,000, with a state equalized value of $53,600, about $552 in additional taxes a year.
The bond issue would be paid by a millage of 10.25 mills.
There are 9.84 miles of two-laned streets in the city, which had a population of 3,991 in the 2010 census.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said the next step is to discuss the issue at a council meeting in July when the council will look at whether to propose the issuing of bonds or, perhaps, a Special Assessment District.
She said they will decide which method makes the most sense, but either would need voter approval. She said the council didn’t want to start the process and find the residents didn’t support it, thus that evening’s meeting was set.
Engineers John Hennessey and Ryan Kerr gave a presentation on the PASER study done on all the streets in the city. He said the state evaluation – Paver Surface Evaluating Rating – makes sure all evaluations throughout the state were the same.
Their study showed 37.7% of the streets in the city are good (3.7 miles), but need preventive maintenance; 51% are fair (5.08 miles), and need concrete or asphalt replacements of sections of the streets; and 10.7% are poor (1.06 miles), needing complete reconstruction.
Hennessey said the “fair” streets will deteriorate to “poor” quickly without action.
Members of the audience discussed specific problems in the city, such as the sinkholes on Potter Drive and the sinking sewer hookup on High Street.
Eric Luke said the PASER study is already 18 months old, so he’s sure the state of the streets have slipped down a notch already.
“We have ratings,” Luke said. “We have to do something. What’s the next step?”
Hennessey said the city has to put together ballot language. He said Phase 1 is getting approval from the community and then the detailed engineering work can be done. He said it will be a five-year process to get all the streets into the “good” category.
He said the proposed ballot language has to go to the attorney general for approval before putting it to voters.
When asked about the changing conditions of the roads, Hennessey said the state wants an assessment every five years. It’s a fluid document because the state wants municipalities to be able to plan.
Men in the audience noted the concrete that has been used is not good and asked if the city could bypass a contractor and buy good concrete. They need core samples to make sure it won’t fall apart.
Mary Ann Bittner said that the city owns Main Street, so why doesn’t it restrict the heavy trucks that break up the roadway.
Hennessey said it’s a Class A road, but he noted that there might be something the city can do.
Bittner pointed out that the library is going to ask voters to support a millage.
Henry Kurczewski said there will be seven or eight millage proposals on ballots this year, depending on where you live.
Bittner asked if there is a miracle and everything is approved, would they be able to do the roadwork while the library is being built?
“We would work with the library construction,” Hennessey said.
A resident said he lives on East Huron River Drive and that road that was done last summer is cracking up already with half-inch cracks. He said he can hear the overloaded trucks going by because of his experience with hauling.
Hennessey said the city has rated standards of every sewer and have done slip lining and dug up and repaired others, with 90% funding by the state of Michigan. He said the last thing left is the water main. He said they did a flow test on a 12” water main on Main Street and had a 2” flow. They replaced that, he said.
Mike Renaud asked if the city does bonding can the Downtown Development Authority not capture part of it?
Mayor Conley said they could enter into a conversation with the DDA on that question.