The Leelanau County Road Commission was standing room only Tuesday during a regular meeting that featured discussion about N. Shore Drive in Northport and Hareld Drive in Leland Township.
Rumors were circulating about the Leelanau County Road Commission making significant improvements, including widening the road and cutting trees, on N. Shore Drive in Northport.
“I think the real issue here is that different property owners on the beauty road have heard different things at different times about what exactly has been done on the road. There’s an issue of maintenance and whether there’s a hearing (for major improvements),” Northport resident Jeff Spalding said in public comment.
In fact, the road commission plans maintenance projects for shoulder peeling and cutting edges to improve drainage on the Natural Beauty Road.
N. Shore Drive, where the northern 0.7 miles of the road are under county jurisdiction, and the rest is under Northport Village jurisdiction.
The biggest problem is dealing with drainage, as every time it rains, water accumulates on the road, resulting in erosion and material buildup.
“The manicured lawns tend to build up and track water on the road, which causes problems, and we have to get the water off the road,” Leelanau County Road Commission Manager Brendan Mullane said.
Northport resident Arthur Bucki is concerned about a wall that has set on his property for over a hundred years. It now sits in the road right-of-way.
“The wall wasn’t (in the rightof- way) when it was built ... No one ever came by and said move the wall. Now, all of a sudden, we have to move the wall. Can’t you leave the wall the way it is? It makes the road beautiful,” he said.
Mullane said he sent a notice in June for a fall teardown if the wall wasn’t moved. It’s unclear to what extent the communication is, but it has caused confusion between both parties.
“As we identify maintenance work and things like that around the county, we try to identify encroachments. There’s encroachments all over the county ... It’s a good policy and it’s our charge to enforce them.”
After a constant back-andforth between Bucki and Mullane during public comment, they agreed to work together while given a couple of weeks to figure it out.
Bucki admits that removing the wall would affect property value.
Reports from residents indicate that mail has not been delivered this summer due to unbearable road conditions.
In other news, a petition to abandon Hareld Road in Leland Township was rejected and will remain in county jurisdiction.
The private road and shared driveway with a public right-ofway were approved to remain as is, 5-0. When the road was built, it were platted with 3,000-pound blocks, which represent quality infrastructure.
The Road Commission listed a public notice located in the classified section of this paper explaining right-of-way permits, lawn watering sprinkler systems, and reviews for dividing and selling land, among others.
