Tribe secures funds for Holiday Road

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A group of residents who live near Holiday Road stand Tuesday alongside the street, which will receive funding for repairs. Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump

February 22, 2012

Resident of Holiday Hills: We are really thankful to the band

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY bmcgillivary@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Wed Feb 22, 2012, 07:24 AM EST

TRAVERSE CITY — People look at Debbie Marsh with pity when she reveals she lives in Holiday Hills.

They ask if she has to drive on "that road."

But Marsh learned the rutted and crumbling Holiday Road she travels often may soon be fixed.

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians recently notified the Grand Traverse County Road Commission it secured $1.5 million to reconstruct about two miles of Holiday Road.

"It's one of those things you just keep thinking about it, talking about it, hoping and praying something will happen," Marsh said. "We are just really appreciative and thankful to the band to step up and offer this."

The news comes after numerous road funding plans failed.

Holiday Road property owners repeatedly scuttled special assessment districts some contended would have burdened residents with a disproportionate share of construction costs for a road that serves dozens of subdivisions. Acme and East Bay voters rejected millage attempts in 2009 and a county-wide levy in 2010 to raise money to fix Holiday and other roads that don't qualify for traditional federal transportation funding.

Some viewed the tribe's funding request, made in March 2011, as a last chance to fix the road.

"This is so cool, and obviously we can't take any claim for anything we did, but seeing that project come to fruition will be just so great," said Renee Kaufmam, who worked for several years on the area's Fix Our Roads committee. "I am so happy and so thankful to the tribe."

Every year, the tribe looks at potential road projects, and Holiday Road problems kept coming up, said Robert Kalbfleisch, the tribe's land and roads manager.

"I think the tribe is pretty excited to be doing this project," he said.

The funds come through the Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Reservation Roads program. The BIA changed the funding process in 2011, which led to the delay.

Steps remain before construction can begin.

The tribe has to take responsibility for the project, including quality control and federal testing and inspection requirements, Kalbfleisch said. Both the tribal council and the road commission need to sign agreements before funds can be distributed, likely in late April, he said.

The road commission budgeted $50,000 for design work and is ready to request proposals from engineering firms, said county road Manager Mary Gillis, who doesn't know when construction might start. The road commission will request East Bay and Acme townships contribute to engineering and design costs.

The remaining tasks lessen resident Rick Cooper's excitement. He witnessed many attempts end in disappointment.

"There were a lot of people involved in a lot of different efforts, and there was always a catch-22 every way you turned," said Cooper.

Road Commissioner John Nelson expects the repair work will go forward this time.

"I don't know how we wouldn't when you consider the money at stake," he said.