By Lisa Carolin
More than three dozen people filled Lima Township Hall Feb. 13, mostly to air their concerns about a proposed bike path in the township.
The comments came during the township board meeting, and Supervisor Craig Maier told them “(Trustee) Duane Luick and I have a meeting tomorrow (Feb. 14) with the Washtenaw County Road Commission. The township board will support the residents by all means.”
Residents’ concerns about the potential bike path include that it could detract from the farming community, create negative property values, make them feel less secure in their homes, cause a nuisance, create litter, and destroy trees.
Surveyors have visited some properties along Dexter-Chelsea Road, and Maier described three separate projects the surveyors are investigating — the proposed bike path, moving ahead with the Rover Pipeline, which received approval, and DTE replacing one of the mains that comes into the pump station at Dancer and Dexter-Chelsea Roads.
David Hardcastle, one of the residents who lives on Dexter-Chelsea Road, and whose father Jeff Hardcastle is the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative Chair, also spoke at the meeting.
“Huron Waterloo Pathways is pursuing the Border to Border Trail with the goal to have it go across the county,” said David Hardcastle. “Bicycling is something I do for recreation. If I can, I would move bikers 10-15 feet onto my property to make the roads safer.”
Hardcastle said that he and his father would like to have a spot on the board meeting agenda in March.
Chelsea Area Fire Authority’s new Fire Chief Rob Arbini introduced himself and his wife, Brenda. He starts the post Monday, Feb. 20.
In other business, the board unanimously approved the appointment of Ron Howdyshell as the alternate representative to the Chelsea Area Fire Authority and approved sending a change request to the township’s sign ordinance to the planning commission.
The board also learned about a grant that the Chelsea District Library is applying for that would help pay for a modern bookmobile that would offer technical equipment as well as other materials to area townships at no cost to the townships.
