Comments on: July 7, 2014: City Council Meeting Preview

By: John Q.

John Q. — Sat, 12 Jul 2014 03:13:52 +0000

The existence of township properties shouldn’t impact the city’s road designs. What really drives those designs are right-of-way considerations and whether easements need to be acquired to allow for more lanes or sidewalks, etc. Those issues exist whether the property is in the city or the township. Even if the properties remain in the township, the city can still acquire easements as needed.

By: Eric Boyd

Eric Boyd — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:01:33 +0000

@2: I agree several parcels seem to come in every month. However, I’ve yet to read about one that isn’t “demand driven”, as in the owner of the parcel requested it. (I could well have missed it.)

I’m particularly curious about islands that border streets that are about to be reconstructed and the subsequent impact on non-motorized infrastructure. For example, i believe Scio Church west of Main Street is in the CIP within the next year or two. There are several islands of Pittsfield Township on the south side of Scio Church (the area where the road is narrowed from 3 to 2 lanes). It would seem logical to annex them before designing the road reconstruction, to make sure the road wideth, sidewalks, and bike lanes match what would be done if they were city properties.

A longer term thought: If the city annexed a large number of parcels in the next few years, perhaps that additional revenue could be earmarked towards filling sidewalk caps and completing the PROS plan for non-motorized paths?

By: Jeff Hayner

Jeff Hayner — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 13:01:04 +0000

I cannot believe that the cost for the Barton sidewalk construction has exceeded $80,000! That is over $40/square foot. Even with complicated grading and base work, this should cost less than $24/ square foot. Typical replacement costs are $6-$12/ square foot for 4″ flatwork like sidewalks. Who is in charge of bidding this job?

By: Edward Vielmetti

Edward Vielmetti — Mon, 07 Jul 2014 03:36:29 +0000

Arborwiki has links: [link] especially this: [link] which is the 2011 "Annexation of Township Parcels" memo.

By: sabra briere

sabra briere — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 22:39:22 +0000

As near as I can tell, there is only one parcel on the east side of Stone School that remains in the township.

I believe the City is cautiously annexing – several new parcels seem to come into the City every month or so. I have a report around here somewhere (Dave Askins most likely also has it) with the plan for annexation – but since I cannot lay my hands on it right now, I don’t know that it postdates that resolution.

I’ll find out and post an update.

By: Eric Boyd

Eric Boyd — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 19:19:39 +0000

Why is the city only adding a sidewalk on the west side of Stone School road? I suspect it is because it's still Pittsfield Township on the east side of the road. However, I thought the city was supposed to be systematically annexing township islands, and this would seem like an obvious time to do so. Did the staff ever report back to the city council by or after January 2013? [link]