The township’s Road Committee has looked at the quality of the local road network within the township for over a year and a half. The Road Committee is represented by Jason Gatlin, Randy Bartholomew, Deb Brockway, Ben Fritz and Mike Finley. A public informational meeting was held Aug. 6 to discuss the matter and hear questions and concerns from residents. At the meeting, the Road Committee noted, “We cannot even afford to turn our local roads back to gravel based on the township’s budget. There are so many poor-quality roads now.” The Road Committee presented the option of a dedicated local road millage which proposes 3 mills, $3 per $1,000 taxable valuation, for 10 years, 2018 through 2027, for local road repairs, upgrades, construction, improvement and maintenance purposes only.
Wakeshma Township had not proposed a local road funding initiative in the past and has the lowest rating of local roads among the 15 townships in Kalamazoo County. The millage would be a huge step toward a self‐sufficient local road fund. At the August 6th Board meeting, the Board voted unanimously to put the millage on the Nov. 6 ballot. Additional public informational meetings will be held at the Wakeshma Township Hall. Wakeshma Township invites residents to attend these meetings and learn more about this important investment in the local road network.