The Suttons Bay Township Board will move forward toward establishment of a special assessment district for residents of Stonehouse Road who have asked that their private road be paved.

At its regular monthly meeting last week, the board heard from zoning administrator Steve Patmore who reported that a majority of property owners on the road had recently signed a petition that will allow the township to take the next steps toward having the road paved under the auspices of the county Road Commission, and having the property owners pay for it.

The road is located at the end of Broadway Street which extends beyond the western border of the Village of Suttons Bay into Suttons Bay Township.

Patmore said he will contact an engineer to obtain a price estimate of the road improvement project, then work with the township tax assessor to determine what share of the cost each property owner on the road should pay, and then run it all by the village attorney.

Patmore said that residents were hopeful the road could be paved before winter, but that may happen only if everything goes smoothly and quickly. The law requires that public hearings be held before the township can set up a special assessment district for any purpose.

No formal action was taken at the Suttons Bay Township Board’s regular monthly meeting on Aug. 8.

In other business at the meeting, the board:

 Learned from supervisor Rich Bahle that voters in both Suttons Bay and Bingham townships had approved a millage renewal for the Suttons Bay- Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority, of which Bahle serves as president. Bahle expressed satisfaction both that the millage passed and that the authority had recently signed a union contract with firefighters and emergency medical personnel now affiliated with the International Association of Fire Fighters.

 Learned from board trustee Bill Drozdalski that work to redesign the interior of a building the township bought last month in Hansen Plaza for use as a township office building was continuing. Drozdalski declined to speculate when the township offices might move from their rented spaces into the new township-owned building, but said it would certainly be after the General Election so as not to disrupt the work of the township clerk.

 Met the new director of the Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library, Ryan Deery, who was introduced by Library Board president John Krug.