Road Commission accused of placing ‘unfair’ burden on Clinton

By CRISTINA TRAPANI-SCOTT

CLINTON — Discussion quickly boiled into argument during Friday’s regular meeting of the Lenawee County Road Commission, when Village of Clinton Manager Kevin Cornish asked that language be removed from a maintenance agreement that will redraw jurisdictional lines on Tecumseh-Clinton Road.

The agreement was created after Cornish requested that the two government bodies redraw the jurisdictions, giving each maintenance authority over whole portions of the road within the village limits. Based on a 1982 agreement, the village and road commission split the road in half from the Clinton-Macon Road to the south village limits.

Cornish objects to language in the agreement that stipulates that all future improvements on Tecumseh-Clinton Road must be done to Class A standards and that the village return $685,000 in federal stimulus money that was allocated by the Rural Task Force earlier this year. Both Cornish and Lenawee County Road Commission Managing Director Orrin Gregg sit on the three-member Rural Task Force board.

“What gives you the authority to require us to build the road to Class A standards and to require us to return money awarded by another governmental body?” Cornish said.
He told road commissioners that the Tecumseh-Clinton Road must be built to Class A standards, according to requirements outlined by the federal grants funding much of the project. “You talked about how we are going to build the road to an inferior standard. You all know, Orrin [Gregg] knows that the federal grants hold us to a Class A standard,” said Cornish.

Cornish said the language will put on an unfair future financial burden Clinton residents. He outlined a proposed maintenance schedule that shows a possible 35 years of life for the road after improvements. “This agreement will be in place for an eternity,” said Cornish.

“If the village is broke in 2065, they have no choice in the matter,” he added. “They have to build a Class A road. What if there are no grants available? What if it’s not a main truck route?”

Lenawee County Road Commission Chairman Robert Emery said Cornish’s assumptions about the future were out of place in the discussion. “I will not be a party to having a road built that is substandard so you can put that sign up again,” he said, referring to a move the village made several years ago to put weight restrictions on the road. Cornish corrected Emery saying a sign was never put up.

Cornish also questioned the legality of the road commission requiring the Rural Task Force stimulus money be returned should the village not complete the Tecumseh-Clinton Road improvements and said that the road commission was holding the village to a double standard when it would use the funds to renovate only a portion of Rogers Highway. Operations Manager Robert Lewis rebutted Cornish’s comment, stating the road commission fully intended to renovate all of Rogers Highway.

Cornish said he was disturbed by comments made at an earlier meeting that suggested the he had used his position to get the Rural Task money. Cornish listed the factors that were considered in the Task Force’s decision. “It’s a higher class road, we had preliminary engineering done and we had a local match for the project,” he said.

Emery told Cornish he objected to the accusations being made and called them “slanderous statements.” He remained firm that the road commission would keep the language. “We have difference of opinion on what the maintenance agreement reads,” Emery said.

Cornish asked the commissioners if they would be receptive to discussion after the village attorney reviews the language. Emery denied the request before the road commission’s attorney Jeffrey Juby retracted the comment and stated that there would be no comment by the commissioners until the documents were reviewed.

Later Cornish said that if an agreement is not reached between the two governing bodies, the village may have to consider shutting down the road.