Improvement plans for the Sashabaw Road corridor are back on track, although cut by more than half.
In a second special meeting May 10 to decide the fate of the Sashabaw Corridor Improvement Authority plan, an abbreviated Township Board voted 3-1 in favor of the amended project and financing plan.
The comprehensive plan proposed in November included 11 projects totalling more than $37 million. To overcome opposition from trustees and Oakland County partners, planning consultants whittled the plan to three:
Sashabaw Road and bridge widening over I-75, $20 million estimated; burying power lines, $4 million; and landscaping, $670,000.
The original financing plan would have collected, or ‘captured,? increased township and county tax revenues resulting from rising property values, expected to have been almost $30 million over 20 years. The amended plan captures half of them over 14 years.
‘I’m comfortable with this plan,? said Trustee Charles Dunn, who voted for the plan with Supervisor David Wagner and Trustee Daniel Kelly. ‘This is a very positive step for the township.?
Treasurer James Wenger, who voted against it, said designating funds for Sashabaw projects over other issues, such as the senior center, may not be the best choice.
‘We need to balance wishes and needs,? Wenger said.
The plan is set for second reading and final approval at a special meeting 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 17, at Independence Township Library, 6495 Clarkston Road.
If approved, it would be sent to Oakland County and Oakland Community College, also stakeholders in the plan.
They would then have 60 days to reject it. If approved, they would designate some or all of their tax-revenue increases to the projects.
If the county votes to opt out of the plan, that should not be seen as a rejection, but as a counter offer, said Oakland County Commissioner Tom Middleton.
‘We’ve been working pretty closely with planners, so we shouldn’t have to opt out, but it’s always an option,? he said. ‘If that happens, don’t panic ? things could still work out.?
Issue with the county included development of property south of Maybee Road ? it would not fit with the county’s job-creation priority.
Boundaries of the amended plan exclude property south of Maybee.