Steve Duckworth and Ron Sturm live on 1125 East in Carmi, towards the Sewer Plant. The road isn’t owned by either the County or the Township. Instead, the road was divided by the five houses surrounding it, giving each household a sliver of the road as part of their property. Duckworth discussed that he has been taking care of his part of the road with rock for the last seven or eight years, but he and Sturm attended the Township meeting to see what it would take for the Township to take ownership.
Township Attorney Greg Stewart was on hand to provide them with an answer, with Highway Commissioner Chris McEwing adding,
Stewart: “The short answer is, can it be done? Yes. The problem with it is the road has to be brought up to a certain standard before the Township will accept it. The road’s got to be made a certain way with drainage, and then after that, if Chris determines that it’s appropriate to take over the Township, there is a process to do it.”
McEwing: “You’re probably looking about six thousand dollars to do that; it’s roughly, what do you think, 1000 feet? You’re looking at probably $6,000 to $8,000 to get the road where it needs to be. That’s oil and chip, probably going to need a little rock; there is a problem with the draining; I think it’s just replacing a culvert, basically.”
Stewart: “You would have to bring it up to specs, the landowners out there, and then once it’s brought up to specs if Brian (Ray) and Chris agreed to it, then they can say, I will accept a dedication of that road. Think about it: you would need a right of way for the roadway to the Township, which would then give them authority to be on it and take care of it.”
Ultimately, both Duckworth and Sturm agreed to talk with their neighbors and devise a plan.
Supervisor Pam Deig moved along in the Township agenda with the Treasurer’s Report and General Assistance. With 15 sign-ins, $3,098 was dispersed for February to help families within the Township. Total income was $38,044.20, with February being the last month of the property tax and interests, as well as interest from the money market and operating account interest.
McEwing stated that the Road Department’s budget would need to be $115,000 for almost 10 miles of milling on eight different roads. Oil and chipping are not included in the rough estimate, so McEwing asked about the Motor Fuel Tax Fund, which would cover the cost of oil and chipping. Oil costs $12,000 a mile.
A cemetery inspection found a violation: no permits were on all burial sites. That was quickly fixed, and everything was approved. It was noted that an inspection had not been conducted since 2021.
Lastly, the annual town meeting will be held on April 8th at 6 PM.
