Commerce Township trustees clash over pre-millage pathway design spending

The Commerce Township Board spent a significant portion of its June 9 meeting debating whether to spend township pathway funds on design work ahead of a proposed November bond millage.

Engineer Jason Mayer of Giffels Webster told trustees the work could begin with survey crews and geotechnical borings and that some preliminary tasks could be completed before the election. "It is going to take our survey crews time to obtain and process the data, and, for a geotechnical engineer to acquire soil borings," Mayer said, adding the budgeted preliminary-design figure was chosen based on what could be accomplished before November.

Trustee George Weber initially moved to approve up to $270,000 for top projects to make them shovel ready if the bond passed, listing South Commerce (South Ethel to North Helmsford), Commerce Road (Huron Valley Hospital to South Commerce) and Benstein Road (Glengary to Maple). Trustees pushed back about spending before voters weigh in. "I still have issues spending money before the public votes on it," Trustee Robert Berkheiser said, arguing the Pathway Fund was intended for maintenance rather than new construction.

An amendment was proposed to limit work to up to $95,000 for preliminary design only, intended to fund topo surveys and initial design steps. Trustees then considered a second amendment that would have added $20,000 tied to the Village of Wolverine Lake project, contingent on the village providing written agreement to reimburse that $20,000 if the millage failed. That second amendment was defeated (AYES: Weber, Creech, Gray; NAYS: Savel, Phillips, Berkheiser, Long). A separate motion to table the Pathway Plan Design died for lack of support.

The transcript of the meeting shows extensive debate about grant opportunities and fund purpose; Emily England, Parks and Recreation/Senior Director, pointed to grants from Ralph C. Wilson, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Oakland County Transportation as possible cost-sharing sources for projects. The record in the provided minutes does not include a clear final roll call resolving the original $95,000 amendment within the excerpt, so the immediate outcome on the limited-preliminary-design motion is not recorded in these segments.

Trustees raised practical concerns about proceeding without written commitments from the Village of Wolverine Lake and about the fiscal and political implications if the millage fails. The board moved on to other business; several pathway items remain scheduled for future discussion and possible action.