Bainbridge Township Service Director Alex Hansel outlined the township’s need for a new road levy on the May 5 ballot, saying officials have fallen behind on the road paving schedule.
Bainbridge Township Service Director Alex Hansel outlined the township’s need for a new road levy on the May 5 ballot, saying officials have fallen behind on the road paving schedule.
The permanent 1.2-mill levy, if passed, would cost homeowners $42 per year per $100,000 property valuation, according to the Geauga County Auditor’s Office.
“(Bainbridge is) the largest township road system in Geauga County and it creates a significant maintenance responsibility,” Hansel said.
The township is responsible for 85 miles of roadway and lacks sufficient funding to keep roads up to date, he said.
The road department’s responsibilities include stormwater infrastructure, roadside ditching and drive pipe maintenance, asphalt repair and road reconstruction, Hansel said.
Crack sealing and patching are no longer effective once a road reaches the end of its roughly 20-year lifespan, he added.
The township rates the roads using a system developed by the Ohio Department of Transportation to determine which roads are prioritized for resurfacing. Hansel said the township works through that list each year.
“In 2005, it cost $125,000 to pave a mile-road,” he said. “Today, that same mile cost $350,000, or a 180% increase.”
Over the past 10 years, the township has paved about 27 miles of roadway, averaging 2.7 miles per year, Hansel said.
“That forces us to fall further and further behind as each year passes,” he said.
At that pace, it would take 32 years to pave all 85 miles of township roads, he added.
In 2024, the township spent $1 million to resurface two miles of road. In 2025, it spent $1.2 million to reconstruct a half-mile of roadway, Hansel said.
The township’s current budget allows for about $1.2 million in paving annually, he said.
The proposed levy would generate approximately $1,015,989 annually, increasing total resurfacing funding to about $2.2 million per year, he said.
“Should this levy pass, it will increase our production closer to five miles per year, achieving that 20-year maintenance cycle,” Hansel said.
Hansel said the township currently uses Ohio Public Works Commission funding and tax increment financing when available, though TIF funding is limited to specific roadway areas.
It has been 20 years since the road department last sought additional funding, Hansel said.
“We operate on three renewal levies passed in 1996 (and) four in 2005,” he said. “Those revenues maintained their original values, while the cost of materials, labor and operations continue to rise.”
All levy funds would be dedicated to infrastructure and resurfacing projects, Hansel said.
“We do intend to apply 100% of these funds towards infrastructure and asphalt resurfacing,” he said. “Currently, each year, we’re falling further and further behind. With this funding, we’ll be able to start catching up and getting ahead of that curve, the ability to pave roads before they get to the conditions that they currently are qualified for resurfacing.”
