By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich- On Monday night the village council voted 3-2 to approve $44,190 for the engineering costs of a proposed road paving project in the Goodrich Meadows Estates subdivision. The funds will come from the $60,000 allocated each year for village roads. The additional road fund millage was established by council in 2019.
Council members McAbee, Walmorth and Schluentz voted yes. Moore and Ciaramitaro voted no.
On Dec. 14, the village council voted 5-0 to direct the village administrator to prepare plans and costs estimates for the Goodrich Meadows Estates subdivision to create a special assessment district for road improvements. Petitions were submitted, reviewed and inspected by the township assessor and more than 51 percent of the residents (in Goodrich Meadows) signed the petitions requesting the streets be paved. Since then Flint-based Wade Trim group who serve as the roads and bridge engineers for the village, along with Village DPW walked through the Goodrich Meadows Estates subdivision and will now create bid specifications to complete the road projects. If approved this spring, the project should be completed by the end of October 2021.
The Genesee County Road Commission estimated the proposed road project cost $486,000. Three sealed bids will now be obtained by the village. Once the bids are received by the village, they will be publicly announced.

The bids go then to Wade Trim for review and recommendations, before returning to the village council for final approval. At that point any additional funding concerns will be discussed by the village council. The owners of the 83 parcels in Goodrich Meadows Estates will then share the cost over 10 years if needed.The village will secure the bonding for the project.
Prior to the regular village council meeting, a public hearing, regarding objections to the creation of a special assessment road improvement district for the Goodrich Meadows Estates subdivision was conducted.
Tim Barraco, a former council member who lives in the Goodrich Meadows Estates responded on the Zoom meeting.
“The subdivision was developed 21 years ago,” said Barraco. “The village did not properly retain a bond (from the contractor), which they are required to have when someone develops a sub. Then the builder went bankrupt around the time of the Great Recession about 2008..”
The residents of Goodrich Meadows were then left and the roads were never capped, he said.
“We understand there’s still 31 houses (in the subdivision) that need to be built,” he said. “The GCRC stated, their estimate (of $486,000) would go to $1 million if we wait any longer (to start the project), based on deterioration of the current roads. So we are going to pay double in a few years (if we don’t act).”
Only  four of 57 residents said no to the project when it was voted on by residents, he said.
The residents of Goodrich Meadows Estates are asking for 20 percent of the cost of the project from the village, not to exceed $100,000.