By Bruce Rolfe
While there are few private roads in Climax Township and the immediate surrounding area, two representatives from the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County shared a growing concern some private road and subdivision residents in other parts of Kalamazoo County are experiencing at the February 10 Climax Township regular board meeting.
Mark Worden, public relations director, and Ryan Minkus, engineer, of the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County, said the local County Road Commission has recently seen an uptick in resident complaints about private road maintenance. The two felt it was important to inform the township board and audience who is responsible for maintaining private roads when there is a development built.
Minkus said RCKC has a mandate to oversee public roads, not private roads.
The RCKC engineer adds RCKC does not have any oversight or are involved when there are subdivisions and private roads constructed other then any permitting to access the public road system.
He said typically a home owners association or condo association oversees the management of the private roads. This means the HOA, condo association or citizens that live on the private road, are responsible for plowing, maintenance and paving or drainage concerns.
“A lot of the calls that come in to us have been when these roads have been in place 10, 15, 20 years. The residents are concerned that they need to be paved. The conversations I’m having is the residents are realizing what it costs to repave a road and it sounds like, from what I’m hearing, that nothing has been set aside over time to pay for this. So it’s a very hefty bill that they’re looking at right up front that there’s no reserves to pull from,” said Minkus.
Minkus said based on feedback he has learned many residents thought they would just need to petition the Road Commission to take over the maintenance, however that is incorrect.
He adds RCKC makes sure roads are designed and built to RCKC standards.
“There’s a lot of things that we look for, specifically when we’re watching for construction to make sure things are built to last a long time and not create ongoing maintenance costs and concerns from our perspective,” explained Minkus.
The RCKC engineer said if a developer does approach the Road Commission about turning a private paved road into a public road, the RCKC would want the existing pavement replaced before considering to add the road. This also allows RCKC to view what is underneath the old paved surface to see if the surface meets RCKC standards.
He said residents may be used to having some items in place on a private road, like basketball. hoops, that RCKC will not allow if the road becomes a public road. He said RCKC does not allow encroachments in the right of way. If a road in a plat has been ceded to RCKC and trees are involved, RCKC will remove the trees when they need to be removed and will not replace them. He said since he has been employed at RCKC, the local Road Commission has not accepted a private road into the Road Commission’s public road system.
Funding for road maintenance on private roads could take place through a special assessment by the HOA or condo association or working with the Township to have a special assessment on a subdivision plat.
Minkus and Worden said many of the private roads are on the west side of Kalamazoo County.
Climax Township Fire And Rescue Report
Climax Township Fire Chief Scott Smith informed the board and audience the local fire department responded to 22 calls for service in January. The break down included 17 medical calls for service, one motor vehicle fire that was cancelled enroute, two other calls cancelled enroute, one hazardous condition gasoline, and one hazardous condition power line arcing. There were three mutual aid given and four mutual aid received calls.
New Road Committee Member Selected
The Township Board approved Jacob Haywood as a new Road Committee member by general consensus.
Jake DeBoer has agreed to serve as the new Road Committee chairman. Sean Perrin is the vice-chair, and Murat Bates is secretary. Former Road Committee Chairman Joel Amos has stepped down but will serve as an alternate. Bob Gibson has stepped down as an alternate.
Township Board Treasurer Steve Walman is the liaison member on the Road Committee.
After tabling the Earned Sick Time Act Policy at the January board meeting the board approved the policy, with one small change of including on-call firefighters eligible to accrue earned sick time by a 4-1 margin (Steve Walman voted no).
After discussing a tabled request by KELC to approve a resolution that allows a bicycle route that partially goes through Climax Township as part of the Midwest Tandem Rally in September, 2026 at the January board meeting, general board consensus was to not sign a resolution and allow the group to use a portion of the township roads for the event.
Township Attorney Rob Thall felt the township did not need to sign the form for the bike rally unless the Township has an ordinance that requires approval of the event, which the township does not. Thall felt the township would not be accepting any liability for the event by allowing the group to use a portion of the township roads.
In other items covered at the February 10 meeting:
• The Township Board unanimously approved the Prein & Newhof yearly Professional Services Agreement for engineering and related services for 2026 with a slight increase in cost.
• The Township Board unanimously approved a variance application refund to a resident. Clerk Sarah DeBoer said a township resident wanted to initially sell two parcels of land requiring a variance for $700. The township resident decided not to use the variance and requested a refund. The township will deduct $200 the township absorbed for the attorney to review the variance request and any other charges the township incurred for the variance request.
• The Township Board will hold a special budget preparation meeting February 19 at 5:30 p.m.
While there are few private roads in Climax Township and the immediate surrounding area, two representatives from the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County shared a growing concern some private road and subdivision residents in other parts of Kalamazoo County are experiencing at the February 10 Climax Township regular board meeting.
Mark Worden, public relations director, and Ryan Minkus, engineer, of the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County, said the local County Road Commission has recently seen an uptick in resident complaints about private road maintenance. The two felt it was important to inform the township board and audience who is responsible for maintaining private roads when there is a development built.
Minkus said RCKC has a mandate to oversee public roads, not private roads.
The RCKC engineer adds RCKC does not have any oversight or are involved when there are subdivisions and private roads constructed other then any permitting to access the public road system.
He said typically a home owners association or condo association oversees the management of the private roads. This means the HOA, condo association or citizens that live on the private road, are responsible for plowing, maintenance and paving or drainage concerns.
“A lot of the calls that come in to us have been when these roads have been in place 10, 15, 20 years. The residents are concerned that they need to be paved. The conversations I’m having is the residents are realizing what it costs to repave a road and it sounds like, from what I’m hearing, that nothing has been set aside over time to pay for this. So it’s a very hefty bill that they’re looking at right up front that there’s no reserves to pull from,” said Minkus.
Minkus said based on feedback he has learned many residents thought they would just need to petition the Road Commission to take over the maintenance, however that is incorrect.
He adds RCKC makes sure roads are designed and built to RCKC standards.
“There’s a lot of things that we look for, specifically when we’re watching for construction to make sure things are built to last a long time and not create ongoing maintenance costs and concerns from our perspective,” explained Minkus.
The RCKC engineer said if a developer does approach the Road Commission about turning a private paved road into a public road, the RCKC would want the existing pavement replaced before considering to add the road. This also allows RCKC to view what is underneath the old paved surface to see if the surface meets RCKC standards.
He said residents may be used to having some items in place on a private road, like basketball. hoops, that RCKC will not allow if the road becomes a public road. He said RCKC does not allow encroachments in the right of way. If a road in a plat has been ceded to RCKC and trees are involved, RCKC will remove the trees when they need to be removed and will not replace them. He said since he has been employed at RCKC, the local Road Commission has not accepted a private road into the Road Commission’s public road system.
Funding for road maintenance on private roads could take place through a special assessment by the HOA or condo association or working with the Township to have a special assessment on a subdivision plat.
Minkus and Worden said many of the private roads are on the west side of Kalamazoo County.
Climax Township Fire And Rescue Report
Climax Township Fire Chief Scott Smith informed the board and audience the local fire department responded to 22 calls for service in January. The break down included 17 medical calls for service, one motor vehicle fire that was cancelled enroute, two other calls cancelled enroute, one hazardous condition gasoline, and one hazardous condition power line arcing. There were three mutual aid given and four mutual aid received calls.
New Road Committee Member Selected
The Township Board approved Jacob Haywood as a new Road Committee member by general consensus.
Jake DeBoer has agreed to serve as the new Road Committee chairman. Sean Perrin is the vice-chair, and Murat Bates is secretary. Former Road Committee Chairman Joel Amos has stepped down but will serve as an alternate. Bob Gibson has stepped down as an alternate.
Township Board Treasurer Steve Walman is the liaison member on the Road Committee.
After tabling the Earned Sick Time Act Policy at the January board meeting the board approved the policy, with one small change of including on-call firefighters eligible to accrue earned sick time by a 4-1 margin (Steve Walman voted no).
After discussing a tabled request by KELC to approve a resolution that allows a bicycle route that partially goes through Climax Township as part of the Midwest Tandem Rally in September, 2026 at the January board meeting, general board consensus was to not sign a resolution and allow the group to use a portion of the township roads for the event.
Township Attorney Rob Thall felt the township did not need to sign the form for the bike rally unless the Township has an ordinance that requires approval of the event, which the township does not. Thall felt the township would not be accepting any liability for the event by allowing the group to use a portion of the township roads.
In other items covered at the February 10 meeting:
• The Township Board unanimously approved the Prein & Newhof yearly Professional Services Agreement for engineering and related services for 2026 with a slight increase in cost.
• The Township Board unanimously approved a variance application refund to a resident. Clerk Sarah DeBoer said a township resident wanted to initially sell two parcels of land requiring a variance for $700. The township resident decided not to use the variance and requested a refund. The township will deduct $200 the township absorbed for the attorney to review the variance request and any other charges the township incurred for the variance request.
• The Township Board will hold a special budget preparation meeting February 19 at 5:30 p.m.
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