Residents question impending road project

by Dan Holland

Oct. 3 township trustees meeting

A number of residents at the Richfield Township Trustees meeting raised questions regarding resurfacing and culvert work planned for Farnham and Stubbins roads and Hecker Drive.

Township Administrator Mindy Lott noted at an Aug. 1 trustees’ meeting that the project, 90% of which would be paid for through a grant from the Ohio Small Government Capital Improvements Program, would include regrading and reshaping the existing roadways, removing flow obstructions and faulty culverts and constructing new culverts, establishing a consistent ditch grade, and resurfacing the streets with a chip seal finish.

“Chip seal is not going to get the road back to where it’s been,” said Jim Vocaire of Hecker Drive during the citizens’ forum. “The asphalt needs to be ground up and chuckholes filled, which are all over the place, especially on Hecker. The cul-de-sac is coming apart at the seams, although [service department foreman] Jerry Schall has tried to pack down some of the asphalt. But it just doesn’t get it done.”

“We have a bid out to clear out the culverts, because there’s a lot of standing water,” replied Trustee Chair Don Laubacher. “My understanding is that there’s a lot of work that needs to be done for water flow purposes. A contractor is going to do the work, which is being paid for by a grant, and it’s all about water flow and digging out the culverts to make sure the water flows better. One of the reasons the roads may be bad is because of the standing water; that has a lot to with the degrading of the roads.”

Vocaire said the same streets received a chip seal finish ten years ago and began degrading within two years.

Don Faulhaber, of Hecker Drive, said chip seal resurfacing would not solve the underlying foundational problems in the roads. “In my opinion, tar and chip is just a resurfacing that doesn’t do anything for the base of the road,” he said. “I believe a lot of it is the garbage trucks going down close to the edge of the road on its weak points, and when they back up to make their turns, they’re getting right to the edge of that asphalt. That’s creating the problem, along with the moisture in that area that contributes to it.”

“I’m concerned that if we just throw a Band-Aid on top of it again, that it’s not going to last,” he continued. “I know you don’t want to waste money, but sometimes you have to spend a little bit more to get a quality product as opposed to just making it look nice.”

Daniel Paul, of Hecker Drive, presented photos of the deteriorated road surfaces.

“You can see the sub-base, and there are spots where it dips down six inches or more; there are spots all over the place,” Paul said as he shared the photos. “If the intent of the bid package is only to chip and seal over that base, you guys are wasting your money. There needs to be some serious work done to that road to build it back up.”

The township is expected to go out for bids for the project in December, with work to begin in spring or summer 2025. Laubacher noted that the projected work is based on recommendations from the Summit County Engineer’s office. “The county did spend time there and came up with a plan,” he said. “For us, the county always does the initial work to tell us what they think, and then we use those county plans to go out for bids,” he said.

Announcements

Laubacher noted that Summit County would not mow along county roads next year. “If you live on a county road like I do, it’s hard to mow your culvert, and it doesn’t feel very safe to be out there mowing along the roads,” he said. “So, I wrote a letter on behalf of all nine townships in Summit County asking [Summit County Engineer] Alan Brubaker to reconsider that decision and meet and try to reach a compromise.”

In other business, trustees approved:

• Hiring David Cheney as a full-time service department laborer at a rate of $27 per hour with a start date of Nov. 4.
• Adding $6,341 in the payment of $15,074 to the Village of Richfield per the JEDD property tax share agreement for inside millage.
• Appointing Randy Hook as an alternate to the board of zoning appeals with a term ending Dec. 31, 2024.