If things go according to plan, a public hearing will be scheduled for Sept. 16 to discuss the possibility of paving Gardner Street in Sterling Heights. Residents on the dirt road are almost equally divided on the issue, with a slight majority in favor of paving the road. Source photo by Deanna Rose

“The dust is so horrible you can’t even stand out there,” Roelandt said.

She’s concerned with the health effects of living on a dirt road.

The street Roelandt lives on, north of 17 Mile Road on the east side of Ryan Road, is one of the last unpaved roads in the city - but it won’t be for long, if some residents get their way.

At the next city council meeting Sept. 2, council members will vote on whether or not to proceed with setting up a public hearing on the issue. If things stay on track, the public hearing would be scheduled for Sept. 16 and residents would be able to voice their concerns over whether or not paving Gardner Street is necessary.

“At the end of the day, we still may be a number of people who do not want it paved,” City Manager Mark Vanderpool said. “This is not something we initiated.

Individuals have to come to us and expressed an interest in improving the street.”

At the urging of some Gardner Street residents, the city sent out a survey earlier this year to gauge interest in permanently paving the dirt road. Of the street’s 29 homeowners, 15 responded in favor of covering the dirt street with asphalt, while 12 residents indicated they would not like the road paved and two homeowners didn’t respond.

As a result of the majority approval, City Engineer Sal Conigliaro set about creating a Special Assessment District that would determine each homeowner’s share of the approximately $278,000 paving project.

Originally, the assessment roll was proposed to be billed out over a 10-year period, but the revised terms indicate residents would have 15 years to pay off the terms of the loan.

“Also, the rate of interest traditionally has been 6 percent per year on the unpaid balance,” Conigliaro said. “We’re proposing to change that to 5 percent.”

With the revised assessment roll, the cost to each household ranges from nearly $3,000 to just more than $10,000. Over the 15-year term of the roll, homeowners would have to pay between $187 and $667 per year, plus interest.

Some residents were against paving the road because of the lack of necessity and for financial reasons, especially in today’s economy. Conigliaro said the homeowners would pay their assessment once a year, around May, in a separate payment from their taxes.

During the Sept. 2 council meeting, the council can either accept or reject the roll. If the council accepts the roll, notices will be sent out to homeowners about the public hearing Sept. 16. That same night, following the public hearing, the council will have two issues to vote on - approving the final roll or annulling it, and then awarding a contract if the roll was approved.

Conigliaro said if the paving project is authorized, construction would most likely begin during the first week of October and conclude by the end of October.