Clearwater Township will likely see a substantial savings on the cost of itsmost recent road project.

At the November township meeting, Supervisor Bill Langenbacher said although the township is waiting for final bills to come in from the engineer for the 150th Street project,  estimates indicate Clearwater Township’s share will be about $172,000, which is $175,000 less than what was estimated when the township first discussed doing the project.

The project is the reconstruction and paving of approximately 9,100 feet of roadway from Grover Ave. to Ferman Ave. It is a shared project with Silver Creek Twp. 

Originally, the project was expected to be limited to reconstruction and re-graveling, but the township applied for and received a $750,000 Local Road Improvement Project (LRIP) state grant to have it paved with blacktop. 

Construction began in early July. Langenbacher said the project is complete except for some fencing, which has been put off until spring.

Variance

The board gave its approval to Matthew Zimmerman for a variance to relocate his garage. Zimmerman was requesting a variance to remove an existing 24x24 foot garage on his property at 12234 Greer Ave. and replace it with a 24x40 garage that will be 51.1 feet from the centerline of the township road. The new garage will not be any closer to the road than the existing building.

The board gave its recommendation for approval. Zimmerman will need final approval from the county.

Clean-up Day

Township Clerk Jean Just told members of the board Lynden Twp. had asked about joining with Clearwater Twp. for Clean-up day. 

In the past as part of a joint clean-up day with the City of Clearwater, they have had about 80 residents take part in the event, filling two rear-end compacting trucks. 

The board discussed the amount of traffic and the concern with vehicles lining up on Hwy. 24. They agreed they would prefer that Lynden Twp. do their own clean-up day. However, the board was open to them using Clearwater Township’s facility.

Fire Contract

The township is still looking to meet with the City of Clearwater regarding the fire contract. The town board is in favor of a formula based on the percentage of fire calls. The city has proposed a formula using market value as one of the variables.

The city and both townships are working on finding dates to meet for further discussion.

The current contract expires at the end of the year.

Meetings

The board set a budget meeting for 9 a.m. on Dec. 16, and the organizational meeting for Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.