“It was a very pleasant surprise,” Wilkens said of the bids. “Somebody was really aggressive. We got out early enough and they got aggressive. So it’s to our benefit.”
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Wilkens said he is looking into the possibility of adding more roads to the paving program. Hanover and Oxford townships are considering switching from chip sealing to resurfacing because of the good paving price.
Chip sealing involves a stone and tar mixture, as opposed to asphalt.
“There has been a big movement afoot to go to that, because it’s less expensive and does a decent job in reference to maintaining the roads,” Wilkens said. “But it is not pleasant to drive on.”
Wilkens will be asking the commissioners next week to reject the only chip seal bid he received — a cost of $199,874 — because it is higher than 10 percent of the estimate.
Hanover Twp. Administrator Bruce Henry said the township has some special circumstances with several roads slated for chip seal repairs, so it will be up to the trustees to decide at their Wednesday meeting.
Last week when Wilkens presented his $38.1 million road and bridge fix list, he told the commissioners he will likely ask them for a $5 license plate fee hike, because keeping streets properly maintained is key to economic development.
“We’re getting to a critical point to continue to maintain this system, that’s what I’m going to drive at,” Wilkens said to the commissioners. “When you maintain this system, this is one of our big economic development tools as you well know. If these roads go, economic development goes with it a little bit, there’s no doubt about it.”
He hasn’t asked for the fee increase yet, and the commissioners said they will have determine the impact of the 10.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase the state approved last week.
Commissioner T.C. Rogers said he loathes to raise fees because the commissioners have committed to keeping taxes low, but he hadn’t made up his mind.
“He has been able to fund $38 million of projects this year,” Rogers said, noting the transportation funding talks in Columbus last week. “I want to see what monies are involved there and then we’ll make a decision on it. But I don’t think we have to make a decision anytime soon on it.”
Wilkens hasn’t had an opportunity to estimate the impact of the gas tax increase that takes effect in July.
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