Dexter council may consider bond for travelway repairs

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DEXTER — The Dexter Town Council has a rather routine agenda to deal with at their Thursday, Sept. 11 meeting, but one of the items is a proposal to borrow money for road repairs in the community.

    Councilor Ron Apel will be introducing an ordinance to negotiate a bond for road maintenance and repair.
    Many officials — elected and appointed — have expressed concern at recent meetings that the town is falling behind in highway maintenance even as property taxes have gone up.
    Road Commissioner Mike Delaware had submitted an estimate earlier this year that it would take around $718,000 to complete all the repairs, according to Town Manager Shelley Watson.
    Interest rates on bonds are running around 2.5 percent, and the town recently paid off a long-term loan for previous road work.
    Apel will also reintroduce a motion to seek bids on a vacant restaurant that the town acquired for nonpayment of taxes.
    There were no bids submitted at the Aug. 14 council meeting for the former Dexter Café at, despite that fact that the town’s minimum acceptable bid of $6,000 is far less than the assessed value. At one time, the eatery was valued at over $90,000, but town officials say that it’s now closer to $40,000.
    Public hearings are also scheduled at the Sept. 11 meeting on an airport lease and the annual renewal of automobile graveyard-junkyard permits.
    Other items on the agenda include a bid on harvesting timber on the Dexter Municipal Golf Course, acceptance of a fire department grant, a tax abatement request and a proposed ordinance for a gate at the Harold J. Keyte picnic area.
    Thursday night’s meeting begins at 7 p.m.