Ray Road could be paved if property owners along the gravel road are willing to pay for it.
The Oxford Township Roads Committee sent a letter dated July 23 to five property owners asking if they’re willing to participate in a special assessment district to pay for paving an approximately 3,822-foot stretch of Ray Road between M-24 and North Oxford Road.
The property owners include Meijer, OXI Golf, LLC. (the new owner of Boulder Pointe), Oxford Area Community Schools, Angelo Iafrate Construction Company and Burroughs Materials Corp.
“We want to gauge their interest,” said Roads Committee Member and township Treasurer Joe Ferrari. “I’m hoping they have an interest.”
The letter requested the property owners respond to the township in writing by Sept. 1.
Ferrari said so far only Burroughs has responded by indicating it would like to “further investigate” the issue. “That’s promising,” the treasurer said.
In order to initiate a special assessment district, Ferrari said property owners possessing at least 51 percent of the road frontage must agree to participate.
If a special assessment district is established, the amount each property owner would pay would be based on how much frontage they own.
Here are the amounts of road frontage each property owner possesses according to the township:
n Meijer – 994.05 feet
n OXI Golf, LLC. – 1,275.89 feet
n Oxford Schools – 1,552.05 feet
n Angelo Iafrate Construction Co. – 3,415.99 feet
n Burroughs Materials Corp. – 406 feet
Because an approximately 0.2-mile stretch of Ray Road between Meijer and Angela Iafrate Construction is already paved, Ferrari said “depending on how the parcels are shaped, they might not have to pay” for that portion
The roads committee does not yet have an estimate on how much the entire paving project will cost, Ferrari said.
Ferrari said the “driving force” behind the road committee’s desire to pave Ray Road is the new high school currently being constructed on the site of the present middle school on North Oxford Road.
The building is scheduled to become Oxford’s new high school beginning with the 2004-05 school year.
Ferrari said the road committee wants to pave the gravel road in order to “make it a safer environment” for the increased the traffic generated by school buses and high school students with vehicles.
The treasurer noted this is the first time the township has attempted to initiate a special assessment district for a road paving project.
“In the past, residents have done it, but never the township,” he said.