Northern Mich~Mash Preserve
~ EMMET COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION ~
(Not a Department of Emmet County, Michigan)
~ PUBLICLY SPEAKING ~
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2017.
Most posted items will enlarge by "clicking" on them.
"Clicking" on some color highlighted words may access additional information.
Most posted items will enlarge by "clicking" on them.
"Clicking" on some color highlighted words may access additional information.
Please do not copy the photos on this site, many of which have been submitted by private individuals...
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
~ Early Emmet County Road Commission ~
Photo Labels Include:
ECBOC = Emmet County Board of Commissioners (Minutes~Legal Documents)
ECRC = Emmet County Road Commission (Minutes~Legal Documents)
E-mail = My personal FOIAed e-mail already made public in 2017, so now posted on "Publicly Speaking"
ECBOC = Emmet County Board of Commissioners (Minutes~Legal Documents)
ECRC = Emmet County Road Commission (Minutes~Legal Documents)
E-mail = My personal FOIAed e-mail already made public in 2017, so now posted on "Publicly Speaking"
Below Photo: 2016 ~ Letter written by Karla Buckmaster to the Emmet County Road Commission Manager/Engineer ~ "I took this photo this morning, January 13, 2016, from Cedar Valley Road heading into town. We were FIRST backed up, and stopped, from before Dr. Schuill's house, almost back to Boyer Road. We set the trip odometer on our pickup, and we were backed up 3/4 of a mile from the stop light. This cannot be blamed on the snow! We have had it backed up like this other times too without snow, but this time was next to the worst that we have witnessed it. In all of the years we have lived here we have NEVER seen backups like this until the new stop light situation was installed. The light timing is ineffective, or something… and, the situation must be addressed. It took us over 10 minutes to get from where we were first backed up, to get through the stop light which is too long, and ridiculous."
The following Public Comment was made to
the Emmet County Road Commission meeting on 26 June 2019.
the Emmet County Road Commission meeting on 26 June 2019.
On 27 June 2019 the road painting, for safety, had been done at the bottom of Pickerel Lake Hill, but not including the slash marks. The stop bar on Alcan had not been done.
On 1 July 2019 Brian Gutowski said that a different intersection crew, from the crew mentioned above which does the mainlines, will be in the area the week of 5 July 2019.
On 1 July 2019 Brian Gutowski said that a different intersection crew, from the crew mentioned above which does the mainlines, will be in the area the week of 5 July 2019.
~ Emmet County Roads Chronology ~
1941 Photos Above and Below:
The Emmet County Agriculture Extension Office was working on various properties to improve the landscaping,
so the photo above was taken PRE-landscaping and the photo below was taken POST-landscaping.
The Emmet County Agriculture Extension Office was working on various properties to improve the landscaping,
so the photo above was taken PRE-landscaping and the photo below was taken POST-landscaping.
Photo Below: By 1936 the ECRC office and equipment buildings were located on Charlevoix Avenue, Petoskey, MI, in front of Little Traverse Bay. In 2017 this property was owned by McLaren Hospital and the county road commission building had been razed in preparation for a $100,000,000.00 hospital expansion. The main offices of the Emmet County Road Commission now are at 2265 Hathaway Road, Harbor Springs, MI.
1937
1954
Photo Below: The 1936 Administration Building for the Emmet County Road Commission
is still standing in 2021 in its original location, but the road commission no longer owns the property.
is still standing in 2021 in its original location, but the road commission no longer owns the property.
~ Emmet County Proposed Building of Roads ~
1922
1922
~ Gas Tax Called Unfair ~
1923
1923
The three late 1920s photos below were submitted by Geoff Guillaume from the collection of his Grandfather.
~ Emmet County's Roto Wing Cuts 17 Feet of Snow at Once ~
1948
1948
~ ECRC Erects 50 Miles of Snow Fence Along County Roads ~
1949
~ Edgar A. Born headed the firm that cleared the area around Petoskey, Michigan,
when the new highway US 131 South was built in 1938. ~
1960
when the new highway US 131 South was built in 1938. ~
1960
~ Emmet Road Commission Erosion Problems ~
1988
1988
~ ECRC Secretary Shirley Greenwell Retired ~
1990
NOTICE Photo Below: June 2018 ~This is the road in front of the Emmet County Road Commission's new facility
6227 East Levering Road, Levering, Michigan... enough said.
6227 East Levering Road, Levering, Michigan... enough said.
Public Comments Below: The NEED for PERPETUAL Comments
regarding the intersections of Pickerel Lake Road and US 31 AND Alcan Drive and East Mitchell
are very reminiscent of a Round-About...
regarding the intersections of Pickerel Lake Road and US 31 AND Alcan Drive and East Mitchell
are very reminiscent of a Round-About...
Saddest Road Sign Ever!
Sign of the Cross...
commemorating the death of a young man at the corner of Alcan Drive and East Mitchell...
commemorating the death of a young man at the corner of Alcan Drive and East Mitchell...
Beach Drive in Little Traverse Township, Emmet County, Michigan
This section of roadway was closed to traffic for more than a month, since 14 September 2019, where a section of road was washed away by high winds on the high lake levels. The erosion was exacerbated because of residential removal of the previous rip rap along the shoreline. The Army Corp of Engineers should not have given permission in 2015, and the rip rap was removed in 2018. The previous concrete rip rap had contained rebar and the property owner wanted it removed. Emmet County Road Commission's Godzik stated on 20 September 2019 that the right-of-way in this area is only 23 feet. The county ha right-of-way from paved edge to paved edge, everything outside of that is out of our right-of-way. Additional information about this situation is included in the Emmet County Road Commission meeting minutes for 20 September 2019... Click HERE.
The 2019 Weque Washout should be reminiscent of the 1951 Weque Washout.
Photo Below: The 1936 Administration Building for the Emmet County Road Commission
is still standing in 2021 in its original location, but the road commission no longer owns the property. (Same photo shown above by the photos of the original 1936 building.)
is still standing in 2021 in its original location, but the road commission no longer owns the property. (Same photo shown above by the photos of the original 1936 building.)
2021 SAFETY Issue addressed also in the past, but being ignored still by the Emmet County Road Commission
The Emmet County Road Commission [ECRC] meeting to be held on 28 December 2021 has on its agenda the 2022 proposed budget to be discussed. I have written and begged for years for the ECRC to install a guardrail at the top of Kolinski Hill where a slight curve, if slippery, and no guard rail, could send a vehicle down the very steep bank for 25 to 50 feet to reach the bottom. I have been “put off” in the past, by the Engineer-Manager Brian Gutowski, that he had applied for a grant for a Kolinski Guard Rail, and was not getting a response regarding the grant.
SAFETY should be the #1 reason for road spending, and so far, SAFETY is being ignored regarding this Kolinski Road guardrail.
Here is the e-mail I have sent to Bear Creek Township Supervisor Dennis Keiser, Emmet County Road Commissioner Mark Hoffman, and Engineer-Manager Brian Gutowski in which I asked for Dennis Keiser to make part of the public record at the 28 December 2021 meeting tomorrow. This posting here also will serve as a public notice…
From: Karla J Buckmaster <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2021 1:19 PM
To: Keiser Dennis <[email protected]>; Gutowski Brian <[email protected]>; Hoffman Mark <[email protected]>
Subject: 12_27_21* Guardrail!
Denny,
I see the ECRC is having a meeting tomorrow regarding their Proposed 2022 Working Budget. Denny, will you please publicly ask for the ECRC to make certain that the Kolinski Road guardrail will be installed this year… 2022. I don’t know whether it needs to be included in the budget, or how the financing is handled, but we Kolinski Road users have waited long enough. I have been told in the past that the ECRC is waiting for a grant to cover the installation of the guardrail. Perhaps the financing needs to placed in the budget, and IF a grant is received, then that is gravy… My requests have been put off long enough for a guardrail. If the ECRC thinks they need to wait for someone to go over that CLIFF, then it is tooooo late. One way or the other, the road commission needs to make certain this guardrail is installed in 2022. Make certain that the person taking over Brian Gutoski’s position also is well aware of this situation, and the entire board is aware of the multiple BEGGINGS that I have done in the past for this guardrail. The road commission should be addressing issues of SAFETY before putting new asphalt dribbles on a crack, for instance, or it could come back to “bite them, since they are aware of the SAFETY issue, and so far are choosing to ignore it. Feel free to read this letter openly at the meeting, if you choose.
I also will be sending it to Brian, and to Mark H.
Thank you, Denny.
Karla
SAFETY should be the #1 reason for road spending, and so far, SAFETY is being ignored regarding this Kolinski Road guardrail.
Here is the e-mail I have sent to Bear Creek Township Supervisor Dennis Keiser, Emmet County Road Commissioner Mark Hoffman, and Engineer-Manager Brian Gutowski in which I asked for Dennis Keiser to make part of the public record at the 28 December 2021 meeting tomorrow. This posting here also will serve as a public notice…
From: Karla J Buckmaster <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 27, 2021 1:19 PM
To: Keiser Dennis <[email protected]>; Gutowski Brian <[email protected]>; Hoffman Mark <[email protected]>
Subject: 12_27_21* Guardrail!
Denny,
I see the ECRC is having a meeting tomorrow regarding their Proposed 2022 Working Budget. Denny, will you please publicly ask for the ECRC to make certain that the Kolinski Road guardrail will be installed this year… 2022. I don’t know whether it needs to be included in the budget, or how the financing is handled, but we Kolinski Road users have waited long enough. I have been told in the past that the ECRC is waiting for a grant to cover the installation of the guardrail. Perhaps the financing needs to placed in the budget, and IF a grant is received, then that is gravy… My requests have been put off long enough for a guardrail. If the ECRC thinks they need to wait for someone to go over that CLIFF, then it is tooooo late. One way or the other, the road commission needs to make certain this guardrail is installed in 2022. Make certain that the person taking over Brian Gutoski’s position also is well aware of this situation, and the entire board is aware of the multiple BEGGINGS that I have done in the past for this guardrail. The road commission should be addressing issues of SAFETY before putting new asphalt dribbles on a crack, for instance, or it could come back to “bite them, since they are aware of the SAFETY issue, and so far are choosing to ignore it. Feel free to read this letter openly at the meeting, if you choose.
I also will be sending it to Brian, and to Mark H.
Thank you, Denny.
Karla
Photos Below were taken in March of 2021:
Photo Below: No road shoulder even exists on this part of Kolinski. The red arrow points out where the shoulder begins to DRASTICALLY fall away.
Photo Below: No road shoulder even exists on this part of Kolinski. The red arrow points out where the shoulder begins to DRASTICALLY fall away.
Photo Below: The beginning of the “drop off” is toward the bottom right corner of the photo. The red arrow points to a tree branch with an orange painted stripe pointing out the edge of the road way for any unsuspecting driver of the actual edge of the road… not to mention the plow driver who needs to be aware of how close he is to the edge where a tire could go off the road, and then down the bank the plow and driver would go. The ECRC is aware of this scary situation as they are the ones who placed the striped warning branches. So much for the ECRC addressing road SAFETY.
Photo Below: This is NOT a gradual slope, but rather goes quite straight down for 25 to 50 feet before hitting the bottom of the ravine. No shoulder exists on this north-bound road, so vehicles must drive this close to the edge, especially because Kolinski Road Hill is has approaching vehicles requiring drivers to stay on their own sides of the road... do not go over the center-line to move away from the dangerous, unsafe edge of the north-bound Kolinski Road. So, when Kolinski Road is slippery, tragedy is waiting to happen.
Photo Below: This is a very steep drop-off before reaching the other side of the valley ravine going back up...