By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Goodrich – Fairview Hills subdivision pavement was completed last year, but part of the bill is still being disputed.
Goodrich village attorney Tom McKenney will soon file suit against developer Fairview Builders of Rochester Hills, Mich. for payment of nearly $10,000 in fees incurred when portions of the road were re-engineered last year.
‘The base layer was deteriorating so badly we had to work with them to put a top layer on,? said village administrator Jakki Sidge.
Development of the 45-lot subdivision began about five years ago, said Fairview Builders owner Beverly Furnari, who planned to finish the road when Fairview Hills was approximately 90-percent complete.
Currently, 21 lots in the subdivision–about 47 percent–are developed. Prices of homes in the development begin at approximately $250,000.
Sales haven’t proceeded at a typical pace, says Furnari, who feels the development escaped the attention of prospective homeowners due to previous M-15 and Hegel Road construction which the developer wasn’t aware of before starting the project.
Fairview Hills residents Kimberly and Dave Barber were ‘very happy? with the developer regarding the design and placement of their home.
After moving into the subdivision two years ago, the Barbers had growing concerns about the streets, which flooded with rain and melting snow accumulations. Water conditions also weakened an opening near a curb grate, said Kimberly.
‘It got bigger and bigger to the point where I was concerned a child would fall through,? she said. ‘It was like that for months.?
Furnari disagrees.
‘The hole could not have been more than eight inches and it was corrected,? she said.
Although the road wasn’t finished until 2004, it was maintained, with the company paying the cost of applying another top layer ‘out of a spirit of cooperation,? says Furnari, who feels village officials unreasonably ‘jumped the gun? in charging Fairview Builders for re-engineering the road, as well as for legal fees.
The developer has a reputation for being pro-active in community involvement and development in other Michigan municipalities, she says, and has ‘never had a situation where a city sent a litany of legal bills?.
Sidge maintains the village had to force the developer to finish subdivision streets.
‘The subdivision took longer to develop than the roads lasted,? she said.