If Oxford Schools wants a safety path along Ray Road, the township’s willing to help pay the design/engineering cost, but the district will have to foot the construction bill on its own.
‘If the school wants to pay for it, I’m in favor of it,? said Supervisor Bill Dunn.
In a 6-1 vote last week, township officials agreed they would contribute $15,000 toward the path’s engineering, but made it very clear they have no desire to pay for construction.
Officials were responding to a June 29 letter from Superintendent Dr. William Skilling stating the district is willing to pay up to 50 percent (not to exceed $15,000) towards the engineering and design of a safety path on the south side of Ray Road between Meijer and North Oxford Road.
‘We believe a safety path will enhance pedestrian traffic to the high school and provide more opportunities for students to either walk or ride bikes to school from the Waterstone development,? Skilling wrote in a June 29 letter.
Supervisor Bill Dunn noted he can see no need for a safety path that along that section of Ray Road.
‘I know when I was in high school everybody was driving cars,? he said. ‘Not a lot of high schoolers were taking bikes. I cannot see that safety path being used that much.?
Talk of building a safety path there was spurred by plans to pave that gravel-covered stretch of Ray Road with asphalt next spring using up to $1.5 million in federal stimulus funds.
Skilling indicated if they could ‘get a good price? on the safety path’s construction while the road is being finished, the school district ‘may be able to pay for it.?
The township’s engineering firm estimated the path’s cost to be around $300,000.
‘Having a partnership to move forward on the engineering and design of the safety path could create an opportunity for us to get the safety path done, or at least a portion of it, at an affordable cost,? Skilling wrote.
‘Now is the time to leverage the resources to get it done because if we have an engineering plan ready to go, whomever the successful bidder is (on the road paving), we may be able to get an alternative bid from them to see what this would cost,? Skilling explained. ‘Because they’re there with the equipment, doing all the other work, that cost may come down significantly.?
If the district waits until after the road’s paved to get a safety path engineered and built, Skilling said, ‘It’s going to be a lot more costly.?
‘This would be our best opportunity to get it in at a reasonable cost,? the superintendent noted.
When asked how much the district could afford in terms of financing the path’s construction ? i.e. what would be considered a ‘good price? ? Skilling could not give at exact figure at this point because there are too many variables.
‘It’s somewhat hypothetical today because that could change tomorrow, depending on the financial climate,? he said. ‘I don’t know what our position will be at that time. It may all be for naught.?
‘But without having this engineered and designed, we have no means by which to get pricing to see if it’s even feasible,? Skilling added.
The district plans to pursue a safety path grant for Ray Road such as the one it received for Clear Lake Elementary.
‘We cannot pursue the grant until we have an engineering drawing,? Skilling said.
The township’s position of wanting the district to pay for the path’s construction was no surprise to Skilling.
‘We knew that going into this,? he said. ‘I knew that before I sent the letter.?
Constructing a path on Ray Road is listed as eighth on the township’s safety path priority list.
Dunn said he can see increased vehicle traffic on Ray Road once it’s paved, but he doesn’t see where having a safety path will increase foot traffic. ‘Where are they going to go?? he asked.
Planning Commissioner Jack Curtis, who also sits on the safety path committee, agreed there’s no point to the path.
‘The amount of traffic that you would get on a safety path there is nothing,? he said. ‘That safety path on Ray Road is a path to nowhere.?
Trustee Sue Bellairs was not in favor of funding the path because she would like to see the township start spending money on other priorities such as either renovating the old township hall or finishing the new township hall’s lower level.
She’d like to see either location used as the new substation for the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department, so the township can stop paying rent for the privately-owned space currently being leased from Express Mini Storage.