MDOT Toll Roads Study

I think I can safely say that the busiest time of any Corporate Secretary ’s term is when the SHC Executive Officer elections roll around. This year my first step in the facilitation of these elections was to establish a timeline for the election cycle. I based this timeline on the ones for previous years and the requirement that the polls are open for at least two weeks for each election. Other steps included verifying the list of eligible voters in the election. One of the big questions that arose during my term was due to the wording of our bylaws which allowed for members with a future contract with the SHC and have paid their dues to be eligible to vote in SHC elections even if they are not currently living here. I also facilitated a town hall Q&A with the sole candidate for the SHC President Election which I believe was a success. In addition, surveys were sent to candidates for Vice President of Education and Vice President of Membership so members could have more information about them before making their votes.

Looking Forward

To share some ideas for whoever is the next Corporate Secretary, I would encourage exploring the possibility of having the Corporate Secretary serve as a member or work more closely with the Board’s Governance Revision Committee as a lot of their descriptive areas of responsibilities overlap. In terms of elections, I advise in situations where only one candidate is running for President to have that election combined with the elections for VPE and VPM to save time and the number of emails that are sent out to members. I hope that the operations report is continuously improved and that the practice of including minutes from meetings of the SHC is continued.

Final Thoughts

I will end by saying that it was an honor to serve as Corporate Secretary this past year and I am excited to see how the SHC and the cooperative movement continues to grow from here.

In cooperation,

Dale Kruithoff

By Alayna Offredi of Howland

In 2019, State Senator John Bizon makes the case to install toll roads in Michigan, hoping to aid the highway construction costs. The roads in michigan have the worst reputation in the entire country. You know this to be true. The

Spartan Housing Cooperative Pine Press, 27 August 2021 money for maintenance is almost never enough, causing the problem to be a staple of Michigans infrastructure. Toll roads, placed on the most popular highways in the state could be the answer. The study is being done in late 2021 and will provide key insight on if tolls can provide the funds michigan desperately needs.

Michigan roads are bad and they ’re likely not going to get better. Half of the problem is political. Democrats will not vote to increase the highway budget, so theres no money for road maintenance. Something about the environment or whatever. Then, r*publicans hate being taxed, so they won’t vote to increase any budget anywhere. Adding to the issue, Michigan has the heaviest truck weight limit in the country and the smallest fine for being overweight. The fine money doesn’t even go to the roads. It goes to local libraries. Literally what the fuck. Thirdly, we have extreme weather. The jumps from hot and cold so causally cause breakdowns in the asphalt. The physical road is constantly getting beat tf up and theres no money for a doctor. It’s not like MDOT doesn’t have the money. It’s all for building and adding on lanes to areas with high traffic counts. There is a very small maintenance budget for ALL of Michigan, and it isn’t enough. Between the floods, decades old infrastructure and the weight limit, there is simply no doctor visit for the poor roads of Michigan.

Believe it or not, but you already pay tolls. Between getting a car and paying for gas and anything other transportation related, there’s a special tax that goes to the highway maintenance fund. It’s about 2.7 cents per mile. But Alayna, you ask, the highways are shit. To that I reply, yes they are. And they wont be fixed entirely unless we have these tolls. The tolls will run on MDOT’s most popular roads. I-96, I-75, M23 and all the ones we drive on to get home. Depending on how the study goes, you might not have to pay these tolls. It could just apply to the trucks who break down our roads the most. Or, if you benefit from EBT you may be exempt. However for now, tolling is just an idea. You won’t have to even think about tolls for the next 3-5 years. Thank god for slow bureaucracy right?