Nursing staff interacting with residents of Grace Haven
(Photo by Stephen Ingber)

By Stephen Ingber Staff Reporter

Clinton County, MI- With the baby boomer generation receiving more advanced health care than ever before, many people are living past their life expectancies.

As more and more people make decisions about their aging parents, care for the elderly becomes an increasing priority. The choice to put a family member in an assisted living or a nursing home is a tough choice said Todd Thelen, a resident of DeWitt.

Thelen is middle aged and works an office job everyday. In the last few years aside from saving money for college for his children, he has had to chip in to pay for his mother’s assisted living home bills.

“Having two young daughters at home can already make a budget tight but wanting to support my mother as she supported me for so long can make any family tighten the buckle even more”, said Thelen.

The U.S. Census data shows the population of Clinton County is composed of 13.3 percent of people over the age of 65, almost a whole percentage point lower than Michigan’s average of 14 percent.

Looking at past data from the U.S. Census, the evidence shows a steady increase in people living over the age of 65.

Prestige Pines, an assisted living facility located in DeWitt opened in 2003 and serves the older citizens of the community. It provides services to make life comfortable for the elderly.

Works preparing food for Meals on Wheels
(Photo by Stephen Ingber)

The facility offers different levels of care, from assisted living to independent living. Assisted living provides the elderly with in-home help to complete many of their everyday tasks. Independent living is a community that offers independence for the elderly but has a built-in support system for residents. Many of such facilities are in Clinton County. Insurance Companies offer very little to no assistance at all for residents of the community, said Thelen.

But Medicare offers some supplemental assistance. Currently the Tri-County Office on Aging for Clinton County offers minimal assistance for families facing financial predicaments. The tri-county covers Ingham, Clinton and Eaton counties.

The agency offers alternative solutions as well in-home solutions like nurses or caregivers. Options like these can provide peace of mind to families of the elderly.

Programs like Meals-on-Wheels provide area senior residents with discounted or free food brought straight to their places of residence.  Subsidized by the county, the program relies heavily on volunteers to package and distribute the food.  To qualify for the service, Senior citizens need referral by their physicians, family members, neighbors, or individuals.

Dr. Norman Isaacson, a physician who specializes in geriatrics care for the elderly said families should take a team approach in the care of their elderly.

“There are so many options out there depending on dependency, health, and what a family’s financial situation is,” says Isaacson.

Access to medical care and transportation are key challenges for elderly residents in rural places like Clinton County.

Facilities like Prestige Pines offer transportation to offsite doctor’s appointments for residents.  In-home caregivers sometimes offer transportation to appointments as well.

Another facility, the Project Choices program offers oversight in care management. Most of this service is covered by state and federal funding.  Some services they cover are in-home nursing, mental health counseling, and chore services.

Clinton County Transit is the area’s publicly funded bus system.  Offering rides throughout the county, the transit provides rides to area seniors at discounted rates.

To receive services, clients call a telephone number and a short bus service will be made available to pick them up and deliver them to where they choose to go within Clinton County. Rides for seniors (60+) range from .50 cents up to a dollar.

Also, the Tri- County Office on Aging offers seniors recreational activities. These include free exercise classes like chair exercise and enhanced fitness.

“Having resources like this in the community is what has contributed to our increased life expectancy,” said Isaacson.

Prestige Pines in DeWitt
(Photo by Stephen Ingber)

Residents in elderly communities pay anywhere from $700 a month to $7000 a month, depending on level of care and service needed.

Services provided in the communities include nursing home care, medication management, nutrition, exercise classes, senior trips, and medical consulting with geriatric specialists.

Bobbie Price, administrator of the Grace Haven Assisted Living facility said her outfit is one of the most comprehensive in the mid-Michigan area. She said it its range of services should provide families with peace of mind.

One resident, Julia Fouche, 94 years old, suffers from late stage dementia and is cared for primarily by her son, Alvin. Her son is working with the state to obtain additional services for her care through the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program.

“For a longtime, I re-arranged my schedule and worked weird hours and odd jobs, just so that I can take care of my mother,” said Julia’s son, Alvin.

He said there are days when his mother cannot even remember his name or remember moments of his childhood.  He said he eventually turned to an assisted care facility with funding help from the Medicaid Waiver program.  He has since been able to return to work full-time, as his mother enjoys the activities at her new home.

“It was one of the hardest decisions I ever made but in the end I think we are both happy now and I know she is receiving the care she needs around the clock,” said Fouche.

Another St. Johns facility, The Clinton County Senior Center offers a multi-event center that caters to residents of the county over 50 years of age. Serving lunch four days a week, and offering affordable activities like bingo and day trips, the center is funded mostly by donations. .

The Lansing Area Financial Credit Union or LAFCU offers seminars geared to the elderly members. Every month, LAFCU which is headquartered in Lansing, offers speakers and workshops on topics like Medicare, Medicaid and senior care.

Kelli Ellsworth, Vice President of Community Relations for LAFCU said having an elderly mother has inspired her to use LAFCU to provide help for the elderly citizens of the community.

Capling, a former bus driver, formed her business, the New Freedom Care-A-Van, in June 2011 in order to provide transportation to frail, disabled, and elderly citizens of Clinton County.

She took it upon herself to start selling jewelry to raise money so that she could jump start her business.

“I wanted to create a system that cared for aging people,” Capling said.  “When I saw the frail and disabled trying to navigate to a bus, I thought: ‘There’s got to be a better way,’ she said.  “I thought it was a poor way for America to treat aging people; expecting them to navigate by themselves is a travesty.”

New Freedom Care-A-Vans (Photo by the New Freedom Care-A-Van)

The Care-A-Van service has about seven vans that are used daily.  All of the vans are driven by volunteer drivers.

“Volunteers are people with the best heart,” Capling said.

The clerk for the Care-A-Van office, Joan Rudate, said: “Most of the drivers are retired.  They’re all healthy and active, and just want something to do.”

The Care-A-Van riders must apply for the Care-A-Van service to ensure that they are qualified to utilize it.  In order to qualify for the service, applicants have to be Clinton County residents, and have some type of handicap. Once the application is filled out, the applicant takes the form to his or her physician for revision.  The application is then sent to the Care-A-Van office, where it is viewed for approval.

The Clinton Transit garage (Photo by Evann Webb)

Once approved, the resident is able to begin making appointments to use the service.  Passengers must call in to make their Care-A-Van appointment two weeks prior to when their doctor’s visit is.

The Care-A-Van service is a part of the Clinton County Transit System.  It transports its passengers to their medical appointments, and uses what a “door-through-door” system, in which the drivers will go inside the passengers’ homes to help them gather all of the things that they’ll need for their appointments.

In addition to picking up passengers from their homes and transporting them to their medical appointments, the Care-A-Van’s drivers accompany passengers to the doctor’s office, takes passengers to the grocery store and to the pharmacy to pick up food and medicine, and will also take them out to a restaurant so that they can get a chance to socialize with others.

One-on-one transportation is offered to the passengers as well.  With one-on-one transportation, there is only one passenger in the van at a time.  This way, the passenger is able to be taken home as soon as he or she is finished with their appointment.

The service has been such a benefit to the elderly community.  Current passengers have been known to spread the word about the Care-A-Van through word-of-mouth.  Hence the increase in passengers the business has seen since it first began.

During the first month of business, the service only made 11 trips (a trip is considered as one full-round of service: picking the passenger up from home, taking them to their appointment, and dropping them back off at home).  In a few months time, that number quadrupled.

In 2012, the Care-A-Van was making around 80 trips per month.  Now, the service is approaching the 200 mark, and also receives about three to seven new applications a week.

Rudate also commented on the increase in the number of passengers.

“We [initially] had 104 appointments scheduled in April,” she said.  “That increased up to 125.  The number gets bigger every month.”

“We see about a 20 to 30 increase each quarter,” Capling said.

Capling said that she is pleased with the way the business is running, but she and her team are always tweaking the system to ensure that they accommodate everyone.

“The basic core is the same core,” she said.  “It’s just growing.”

Capling said that she would like to one day replicate the service in every county and every state of the union.

Even with the success of the New Freedom Care-A-Van, transportation still serves as a problem for the elderly community.

Because Clinton County is a more rural area, doctor’s offices, grocery stores, and pharmacies are farther away from elderly residents’ homes, which ultimately makes things harder for them.

Dawn Benson, general manager of the Clinton Transit System, said: “Some seniors live far away from their resources.  Some have to make 10 mile trips to the grocery store and medical services.  As a result, they can’t stay in their homes because they are so far away from what they need.”

Capling said: “No one wants to go to a nursing homes today.  If we can help [the elderly] stay in their homes for as long as they can, then they will be healthier.  It’s called the quality of life.”

Services like the New Freedom Care-A-Van and the Clinton Transit System allow elders to live in their own homes, be independent, and help them to live longer, healthier lives.  These services also allow the elders to feel more secure and welcome in the community.

The new Freedom Care-A-Van and other services within the Clinton Transit System make it their mission to provide sufficient transportation for the elderly and disabled. (Photo by Evann Webb)

“We’re a community that loves the people that are sometimes forgotten,” Capling said.

Bingo game in progress at the Bath Township Senior Center. (Photo: Monica Reida)

By Monica Reida, Staff Writer

Dana Conley is presiding over a bingo game in the Bath Township Senior Center. The round tables in the hall have filled seats, each person eagerly awaiting the next letter and number to be called out.

According to Conley, Food Service Manager for the Senior Center, only two seniors who use the center utilize the Clinton Transit bus. Conley said she is looking to see if there’s a demand for more seniors to take the bus from senior citizen communities in the Bath Township area.

But Dawn Benson, General Manager for Clinton Transit, said that if anything there are people who don’t know the bus service will pick up adults and able-bodied individuals.

As the population of southern Clinton County ages, Clinton Transit has to know if the bus can continue to attract the senior residents while struggling to attract the general population of Clinton County.

Clinton Transit, also known as “The Blue Bus,” started in 2001 to serve all residents of Clinton County. The bus travels anywhere in Clinton County, including the Capital Region International Airport, as long as residents schedule a time and place for the bus to pick them up and drop them off. Unlike the Capital Area Transit Authority, there are no fixed bus stops for a person to board and embark.

Conley said there are two people who come to the senior center on the bus. One of them arrives at 10 a.m. and helps set up events that occur that day and then leaves at 1 p.m. Both of the senior center patrons who take the bus live in two different senior citizen communities in Bath Township.

Conley said she wants to work with Clinton Transit to have the bus go to communities in Bath Township where senior citizens live. These communities include Dutch Hills, Hawk’s Ridge, Somerset Park and King Arthur’s Court.

In a six county area of Michigan, Clinton Transit has the second lowest percent of seniors riding the bus. CATA has the lowest percentage of senior citizens riding the bus system, but CATA also serves a larger population and ridership.

“Seniors generally like public transportation because of its affordability,” said Steve Schlickman, Executive Director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“My professional judgement is that senior citizens as they become retired and their income becomes limited [they] become more dependent on transit,” Schlickman said.

Empty seats on a Clinton Transit bus. 5.7 percent of Clinton Transit riders are seniors. (Photo: Monica Reida)

“They’re a targeted population for all of public transit,” said Benson.

Schlickman said there is a problem with the availability of transit in rural areas.

Clinton Transit operates buses on certain routes and times. For example, if a rider arrives at the Bath Township Senior Center at 1 p.m., the earliest they can leave is at 4 p.m.. The weekly Friday bingo game ends at 3 p.m., meaning a rider would have to wait one hour.

Fares for riding Clinton Transit are also higher than riding CATA. The standard CATA bus fare is $1.25, $0.60 for senior citizens and students for any one-way trip. For Clinton Transit, a trip that is less than 11 miles in length is $3 one-way, $1.50 for senior citizens and those with disabilities. The cost of fares increases for a longer trip.

“If you compare our fares to other rural services, we’re more comparable to more rural systems with no fixed route,” Benson said.

The Eaton County transit system, Eatran, charges $2 for a one-way trip regardless of length, $1 for senior citizens and those with disabilities. Eatran does not have a fixed route.

Benson said Clinton Transit offers a program where if the bus picks up more than one person at any location and drops them off together, only one person pays the full fare and all subsequent passengers pay 50 cents.

Conley said she is looking into “subsidizing” the fare for the first person so everyone only has to pay 50 cents. She said if this happens it would be paid for through funds raised by the senior center rather than taxpayer money.

In neighboring Shiawassee County the Shiawassee Area Transit Agency allows all seniors to take the bus for free from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Lawrence Alpert, Executive Director for SATA, said this occurs through the fare for senior citizens being subsidized by Shiawassee Council on Aging.

Alpert said the agency was started in 2000 and the reason to create SATA was to help those who have no options or few options for getting around, including seniors.

Ridership of public transit buses in six Michigan counties. (Graphic: Monica Reida)

SATA served 87,231 riders in 2011 and had $945,358 in expenses. Clinton Transit had $1.3 million in expenses during the 2011 fiscal year and served 55,259.

The Michigan Department of Transportation provides funds through its Five-Year Program to help keep current transit systems operating. MDOT’s Five-Year Plan says, “Through this assistance, over 80 percent of Michigan’s population is provided some form of local transit service.”

Barbara Hicks of MDOT said Eatran has received funding from the Five-Year Plan. Hicks said MDOT also has state operating funds and capital funds the state and federal government gives to transportation agencies every year after those agencies have applied for the funds.

The 2013 Fiscal Year application for these funds from MDOT has a program where funds from the federal government helps supplement operating expenses for non-urban transit systems, but recipients of the funds must replace buses with the funds.

Benson did not return phone calls to answer questions on whether Clinton Transit has considered applying for these funds to reduce the cost of senior citizen rides. It is also unknown if Clinton Transit has any methods of advertising the bus directly to senior citizens.

The U.S. Census Bureau shows that 10 percent of DeWitt’s population is between 50 and 54-years old, creating the largest percentage of residents in an age group in the city. Although they are not yet senior citizens, the population will age to a point where public transit might seem more appealing.

The DeWitt District Library (Photo by Evann Webb)

The current state of the DeWitt District Library is “insufficient” for the community, according to some residents.

The library, which currently occupies 6,000 square feet is said to be too small and ill-equipped for its visitors.  A major shortcoming is the inadequacy of books and other resources because of space limitations.

Watertown Township trustee, George Weitzel, said, “[The library] is too small of a structure to handle the volume of people that visit the library.”

Community residents and visitors of the library say expanding the size of the establishment would serve as an advantage to the community because more resources, such as a larger variety of books ans DVDs, would be available to the public.  They also say expansion will allow for more computer classes and after school programs for students.

Size expansion would allow the library to have a larger book collection. (Photo by Evann Webb)

Amanda Hoerauf, a visitor of the library, said: “I think expanding is a good idea. Expanding would give more resources to the community, and every community needs a functioning library.”

Weitzel said, “More space would mean more books and an invitation of more people.”

A larger library would bring a more expanded study area for visitors. (Photo by Evann Webb)

“I’d like to see more people reading,” Weitzel said.  ”The library is good for the community.  It’s an area where youth and adults can hang out without any problems.”

The library attracts 85,000 visitors annually.  Visitors check out about 181,000 items each year.

Plans for expansion are already in the works.  The DeWitt Library Board has plans to construct a new and improved 31,000 square foot library over the course of 25 years.  The cost of the building will not exceed $13,650,000.

In addition to a larger book collection, the size expansion will provide a larger parking lot, more restrooms, and more handicap-accessible shelves and resources.

The Village at Chandler Crossings (image by capitolcityelectric.com)

Police officer Kip Harmon responded to a call at 7:45 a.m. from an individual reporting a vehicle break-in in the parking lot of the complex.  Harmon said he was able to spot the culprit, who had broken into three other cars in the lot, and arrested him.

Harmon said that the suspect was very resistant to the arrest, and tried to run away from him.  ”We got into a foot pursuit,” Harmon said.  ”Once I caught him, I found a stolen cell phone and iPod in his pockets.”

Harmon said that he was impressed with how quickly the residents called to report the break-ins.

The suspect was taken to jail, and was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Thursday, April 11.  If convicted, the suspect will face up to 10 years in jail.  Harmon said that vehicle larceny typically receives a four year sentence, and police resistance receives one to three years.

Miranda Roy, a resident of the complex, said that she thinks the security at the Village could be better.

“The security is lacking because our doors to the building are never locked,” she said.  ”Security could definitely be improved, like locking the doors to the building, and actually making use of our key fobs to gain access.”

The distance from MSU’s campus to the Village at Chandler Crossings.

Roy, a sophomore at Michigan State University, said that she believes that a lot of the incidents that take place at the complex deal with residents that don’t attend MSU.

“I think most of the crime comes from students that don’t actually attend MSU,” she said.  Roy also said that the parties that take place in people’s apartments can be a cause of the crime and trouble as well.

“I think a lot of the violence and trouble comes from parties that security lets get way too out of control,” she said.  ”I’ve seen multiple fights outside of my building as a result of parties that are way out of hand.”

Harmon said vehicle break-ins, as well as other crimes, are not uncommon in the apartment complex.

“They have a lot of trouble in the apartments,” he said. “Our night shift is always there.”  Harmon said that the apartments are mostly occupied by college students, so the number of crimes that happen there typically doesn’t surprise him.

Police advise that residents lock their apartment doors and set their car alarms to prevent home and vehicle larcenies.

To report an incident or make inquirires, contact the Bath Township Police Department at (517) 641-6271.

Rising gas prices have some DeWitt residents going green by purchasing new, fuel-efficient cars. Meanwhile, their neighbors are going green in the face with jealousy.

A sporadic oil industry and an even more sporadic American economy have sent gas prices to heights they haven’t gone before. The ever-increasing cost of getting around has caused a change in how some DeWitt residents commute to their jobs.

Resident Sean Bengston who fills up his tank at the Speedway gas station at 13155 Old US 27 in DeWitt. Bengston said he recently decided to sell the car he’d owned for years – a 1974 Dodge Dart – and start a lease on a Chevrolet Volt to take advantage of its fuel efficiency.

Bengston’s new Volt

“Gas was really starting to kill me,” he said. “I was filling up my Dart three times a week and as soon as it started cutting into my savings, I knew it was time to give up my baby and switch over.”

As for his neighbor, Sarah Slomkowski, a fuel-efficient vehicle isn’t in the cards right now.

“I wish I had some money saved up somewhere – I just won’t get enough to buy anything new if I trade in my mini van,” Slomkowski said. “For now, I’ll just have to sit and be jealous of Sean’s new toy.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, there was a nearly 10 percent increase in the price of gas between January and February of 2013 – the largest seen since the early 2000s.

Kent Bower, professor of industrial organization and transportation economics at Michigan State University, said the factors affecting gasoline prices are as sporadic as how much we spend at the pump.

“Gas prices fluctuate for a number of different reasons,” he said. “Some of them have to do with production capacity, and some have to do with politics or even random events,” he said. “Look at Hurricane Katrina and the refineries affected by it – that left a huge shortage of gasoline, and prices rose as a result.”

He said any number of unfortunate episodes could impact oil prices overnight.

“If anything happens in the Middle East or anywhere we get our oil from, the price of oil could really go through the roof,” he said. “Let’s say a decent sized oil-tanker is overtaken by pirates – we, as consumers, are definitely going to be paying for that.”

However, Bower said the largest factor contributing to rising gas prices has to do with macroeconomics.

“When investors believe the economy is gaining momentum, they think gas prices are going to go up,” he said.  “In their minds, he’s thinking that the supply of petroleum is fixed and therefore harder to ramp up in production capacity. So, prices are going to go up if economic growth is [predicted] to pick up.”

Bethany Slomkowski said the cost of gasoline is hurting her family in a few different ways.

“We had to sell our son’s car just to make end’s meet,” she said. “It’s just awful – he needs to be able to get around and gas prices just don’t allow that.”

Bower said he’s even switched from a gasoline-based car engine to an electric vehicle.

“It was tough to choose one of the new models, but I ended up trying out the Nissan Leaf,” he said. “I love it – the ability to leave your car plugged in overnight is amazing; reminds me of the little remote-controlled cars I used to play with – and it’s almost as cheap, too.”

Bower’s new Leaf

DeWitt resident Matthew Holmes takes a different approach, and tries to leave his car in his garage as often as he can.

“It’s about two miles to work and back,” he said. “But, I’d rather get a good workout and bike it than pay whatever they’re charging at the pump any day.”

Holmes said he has more important things to spend his money on.

“My daughter’s getting ready to go off to college pretty soon here,” he said. “There’s no way I can deal with gas when I’m going to have to start paying for her tuition and books and everything else.”

Bower said complaints about gasoline prices are nothing new to him.

“We hear complaining and moaning about the price of gasoline so often,” said Bower. “I think it’s just a subject of conversation at this point – almost like Michigan’s weather.

Bengston said he’s sad that today’s price for a gallon of Speedway gas, $3.48, is considered “reasonable.”

Rising gas prices at Speedway

“I know that I’ve been getting screwed on these prices for years,” he said. “I accepted it until just recently, but I realize that someone’s up in their corporate office making loads off of what we have to pay.”

Bower said oil companies often receive tax credits in their business.

“Congress has taken action in attempting to minimize profits of oil companies,” Bower said. “It never works because it’s just a quick reaction to the unanticipated profits they get when oil prices rise.”

Bower also said he believes gasoline and oil are economic need to be treated with extra caution, especially in the near future.

“It not only affects hundreds of thousands of people, but also the entire economy,” he said.

CASE Cares Miracle Field

Special needs children of all ages are welcome to join Mid-Michigan Miracle League’s opening day of the season and play ball at Valley Farms Park on May 13.

“My son hasn’t been this excited in a while,” said DeWitt resident Hugh Guthrie. “I think we have an MVP in the making here.”

Guthrie signed up his son, Jack, as soon as registration opened on April 1.

“I wanna hit a home run this time,” said Jack. “I’ve been practicing.”

Guthrie and his son attended last year’s games and both said they had a blast.

“Holidays – Christmas, Halloween and everything else – they didn’t come close to getting [Jack] as excited as he is for opening day,” said Guthrie.

Jack will be just one of over a hundred participants attending opening day, according to Miracle League of Michigan organizer David McLouth.

“The Miracle League is not just about baseball,” said McLouth. “It’s about dedicated athletes, parents, coaches, buddies, volunteers, and sponsors coming together to support, encourage and inspire each other in an inclusive environment that embraces diversity.”

The games begin at 6 p.m. on CASE Cares Miracle Field, which had its grand opening last May, at 1080 E. Wieland Rd. Special guests joining opening day include the MSU baseball team and Coach Jake Boss, Jr.

Miracle League Baseball’s guidelines ensure each athlete hits and scores a run each inning (with games lasting two innings), athletes are matched with a “buddy” to help hit and round the bases and parents get to watch their children’s’ success on the field.

Any special needs child 5-20 years old is eligible to participate in Mid-Michigan Miracle League’s opening day and registration information can be found at dewittrecreation.org.

Miracle League Opening Day Information

Registration is free and comes with a participant t-shirt. The deadline to register is May 6.

DeWitt Golf Center Range

The DeWitt Golf Center is enjoying a boost in business, and it correlates with the national trend.

According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), admission to driving ranges, virtual golf rental and golf ball bucket sales went up 2.1 percent between February 2012 and February 2013.

However, the CPI showed a slight dip of 0.4 percent in the first three months of 2013.

This trend is also consistent across similar expenditure categories like admission to sporting events and group exercise classes. All of these categories experienced an increase between 1.9 and 2.4 percent between February 2012 and February 2013.

DeWitt Golf Center features a driving range as well as year-round virtual golf simulators with over 40 courses to choose from. Assistant Manager David Harmon said the center hasn’t raised any prices over the past year. The center even shelled out some funds for new services this year.

“We raised some rental prices a few years back, but we haven’t changed anything since,” said Harmon.

The center recently added a couple of new virtual golf simulators because of their high demand throughout the year. These high-tech machines were an added cost to the center, but Harmon said patrons shouldn’t have to pay more than $30 for simulated, indoor golf.

DeWitt Golf Center’s virtual golf rooms

“We always do our best to keep costs low for our customers,” he said.

Mitchell Kokx said he’s been coming to the center with his friends for years.

“They have competitive prices, so it’s a good deal,” he said. “Not only do they have the best greens by far, but I can come here in the winter to practice.”

Small, medium and large buckets sell for $5, $7 and $10, respectively, and an hour of virtual golf costs $30.

The DeWitt Golf Center is located at 11890 S. Old US 27 in DeWitt.

DeWitt Township has allotted about $400,000 for road maintenance this year, and it still isn’t nearly enough.

The board of trustees adopted their 22^nd capital improvement plan earlier this year. It outlines township projects costing over $15,000, and its first priority in recent years has been resolving maintenance of local road systems.

The DeWitt Township budget shows that $350,000, or 6.5 percent of funds, was adopted for road maintenance and repair. Other items on the budget include police and police equipment, 33.75 percent of funds, and community center services, one percent of funds.

The Clinton County Road Commission is adding about $50,000 to township road maintenance, bringing the total to almost $400,000 this year. However, DeWitt Township manager Rodney Taylor said this is not enough.

“We should be putting in $650,000 to make sure that preventative maintenance projects are fully utilized,” he said. “Even then, that doesn’t include making enhancements like bike lanes or turn lanes or other changes to traffic improvement.”

This year’s total budget for road maintenance is a big increase  from the $175,000 budgeted in 2009. Although Taylor said roads have definitely improved since 2009, the overall quality is still very poor.

The “pacer” scale used by many states ranks roads on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the best it can be.

“In the township’s case, 60 percent of roads are at four or worse,” said Michael Weinstein of the Clinton County Road Commission.

DeWitt road in need of resurfacing

However, resident Roy Hansen said it doesn’t take a rating scale to convey how much road repairs are needed.

“I’ve had to pay for too many vehicle repairs to count because of these roads,” Hansen said. “I’d be surprised if they’re really rated as high as four – I would have guessed one or two.”

Taylor said he doesn’t solely blame the state of Michigan, but he sees its representatives as the source of the problem.

“They’ve been unwilling to fix this,” he said. “They’re basically putting more and more burden on backs of local taxpayers.”

Without funding to motivate its representatives, DeWitt Township has not yet identified which roads need resurfacing, paving, or other improvements.

This year, DeWitt Township, Bath Township and the Clinton County Road Commission have partnered to create a road management asset plan which will provide an assessment of when and which roads should be taken more care of.

Taylor said he hopes to have the plan completed this summer. “Our priority right now is to continue and expand long term planning.”

“Aside from what our budget is supposed to cover, there’s a whole other grouping called ‘local roads’ which the township has decided to take preventative maintenance on or to do paving on them,” said Taylor. “For paving jobs, we tentatively have North Crest, Brook Rd, Chetwyn and Sherbrook.”

The city blocks in need of improvement

He said roads in need of general maintenance include Webb, Dill and Howe, and the Clinton County Road Commission doesn’t have the means to maintain them.

“The township tries to make up for the bulk of funding for those roads,” said Weinstein.

“According to our budget, it costs about $110,000 each mile to pave a standard road – that’s with no curb or gutter,” said Taylor. “With 56 miles of local roads that last about 15 years, the Township should be investing about $410,000 each year into repaving alone.”

Clinton County Road Commission estimates that subdivision road upkeep costs about $208,000 each mile.

“It’s becoming more acceptable – when I came on board the township basically looked at worst roads and paved those, but its not the most efficient way to utilize limited dollars,” said Taylor. “The idea is to extend the life of a road so you don’t have to pave them as often.”

Chandlers Crossing “The Club”.
(Photo by Stephen Ingber)

By Stephen Ingber Staff Reporter

Bath Twp.- In the early weeks of April multiple phone calls where made to the Bath Township Police Department concerning noise in the Chandler Crossings Apartment Complex.

The calls were mostly made Thursday through Saturday. The police said the call have increased since MSU’s semester began. Officers of the departments have issued multiple citations.  

Chandlers is located on Chandler Road just three miles from Michigan State Universities campus is an apartment complex with three separate developments.

Bath Police on average respond to around five incidents per week at Chandlers to the high amount of students.  For example, the weekend of April 6^th two minors, age 20, were arrested for alcohol use, after noise complaints led police to their apartment.

“The officers of Bath are known to be cooperative as long as students work with the officers” said Lapham.

One of the Chandlers Buildings.
(Photo by Stephen Ingber)

Chandler’s management said they have increased security measures by using their own on-site security.

“Sometimes residents ignore the warnings of security and their neighbors and that is when police are having to be sent” said Lapham. The Clinton County 29^th Judicial Court website, fines for noise citations can range from $500-$800.

Garrett Balint a resident of The Village (Chandler’s property) said since he has moved in during the Fall of 2012 there was almost a loud party in the complex buildings every weekend.

Picture of Bath Police squad car.
(Photo by Stephen Ingber)

Records from the Bath Police Department show the number of citations is relatively low and non-existent during holiday periods and during the summer. Officer Lapham says that during weekends when Michigan State is in session there is a steady inflow of calls being made from area residents.