• Deputy Manager Perry and Township Manager Walsh host a community discussion on the Local Street Improvement Bond Proposal.

MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Last night, Meridian Township Manager Frank L. Walsh and Deputy Township Manager/Director of Public Works Derek N. Perry met with concerned citizens in the Town Hall Room to discuss what will be on the ballot for the August 6th Election.

The topic that was covered was the Local Street Improvement Bond Proposal.

The Local Street Improvement Bond Proposal would be an increase of about 1.7 mils for 35 million dollars.

The $35 million would be spread out as $3.5 million a year over a 10 year period.

Should the proposal pass it would increase funding for the repair of local roads only as well as set money for local road maintenance.

A tax payer who has a taxable value of $100,000 would see an annual net increase of about $170.21.

The current millage is $24.79 annually.

Some timeline information regarding local road repairs was also presented.

Deputy Township Manager Perry stated that, "Okemos Road will get repaved south of Grand River Avenue. I know that that's probably the bane of everyone's existence. The reality is, we're trying to coordinate 3 projects. [One] there's a drain, an old drain, [two] the Downtown Okemos development, [three] and the bridges. So ideally we want to dig once, not three times. So 2021 is when hopefully all that will come to fruition."

The coordination of the three projects is still ongoing but construction is beginning in the Hamilton/Okemos area this summer.

The Township plans to release a map of the local roads with a schedule for when repairs would be made to an exact stretch of road.