After road millage defeated, road commission looks at options

Members of the St. Joseph County Road Commission have two weeks before they’ll regroup and take a deeper look at the lopsided defeat the agency suffered this week.
By a margin of nearly 5-to-1, a request for an additional 2.5 mills over a 10-year period was turned down Tuesday.
Agency officials said they hope to get a better understanding of what caused so many opponents to reject a plan that would have seen corrections to local routes such as Constantine Road.
The five-member board May 18 will assemble for its monthly meeting and rehash the vote.
Dave Allen, board chairman, said a bill recently signed by Gov. Rick Snyder has newfound relevance to St. Joseph County in light of Tuesday’s defeat.
He said the bill allows townships to borrow money from the county for the purpose of constructing local roads. Allen said such a measure would be one way for townships to come up with the capital required to reconstruct problem roads.
Commission manager Chris Minger said there will be plenty to discuss at the May 18 meeting, but the focus will remain centered on cutting costs.