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Sugarcreek Twp. officials: Rough road ahead if road levy fails Nov. 8

Cost of road repair, maintenance reportedly tripled since 1996

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By Katherine Ullmer, Staff Writer 11:33 AM Thursday, October 13, 2011

SUGARCREEK TWP. — The township is falling behind in its road improvement schedule and unless voters pass a 5-year, 1.4-mill levy on the Nov. 8 ballot, problem roads could become worse and cost much more to fix, said Tracey Messer, director of roads and services.

Roads in the River Ridge II subdivision in the east part of the township are in need of repairs, Messer said. They are scheduled to have preventative maintenance this year at a cost of $241,000, but will not get the chip seal and overlay needed because of a lack of funds, Messer said.

More heavily traveled roads, such as Little Sugarcreek, Conference and Carpenter roads, need improvements to increase their safety, he said.

Bonding material placed between layers of asphalt on Carpenter Road have been de-bonding, he said, allowing water to get in and crack the asphalt. If water gets to the base, there could be costly repairs to avoid a road collapse, he said.

The widening of Carpenter Road so school buses have room to pass one another, and the realignment of South Alpha-Bellbrook Road at Carpenter Road also needS funding, he said.

“There just isn’t money to do paving projects like in past years,” said township resident Donna Hellmann, who lives on a cul-de-sac in the Eagle Rise subdivision east of Little Sugarcreek Road, just south of Feedwire Road.

“I don’t know what will happen if the levy doesn’t pass,” she said.

Messer prioritizes the repair of the township’s 50 miles of roadway based on a rating system that looks at each road’s specific condition. Hellmann’s road was paved several years ago, but if cutbacks are made in salting, her small cul-de-sac would probably fall far down on that priority list, she said.

“We need some road and curb repairs in our Browns Run neighborhood for sure,” said resident Betsy Siefert.

“The curb in front of our house and the road by our driveway has been patched twice. I don’t know if the curb will be replaced and the road repaired without the levy. Also, before it was repaired this spring, the Wilmington Pike/Ohio 725 intersection was awful. I was so happy when it was resurfaced.”

More money is needed due to rising petroleum/asphalt costs, Messer said. Asphalt costs are $62 a ton today compared with $25.50 a ton in 1996. Road salt is now $64.66 a ton compared with $24 a ton in 1996.

The levy replaces a 0.8-mill levy that expires this year and includes an increase of 0.6 mills. The current 0.8-mill levy brings in an estimated $188,000 a year. If the 1.4-mill levy passes, it would bring in $454,000 a year, Messer said.

The current levy costs $16.52 annually for the owner of a home appraised at $100,000. The new levy would cost the same home owner $42.88 a year.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDaily News.com.

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