Montgomery Drain repair two years late, 25% over budget

The streets in the Frandora Hills neighborhood, west of Coolidge Road and just over the border from East Lansing, can charitably be described as patchwork.  

At worst, the road surface is teeth-chatteringly bad. Lansing has put the streets on a list to be repaired the last two years, then taken them off again. 

It’s understandable, then, that residents of the small subdivision feel they’ve taken a double hit. On top of their subdivision roads — or rather, under them — is the ailing Montgomery Drain, for whose repair they are being assessed. 

The project’s cost has risen over time from $36 million to more than $45 million. The difference still needs to be found, with the goal of completion by fall 2023. 

The county is still looking for funding sources beyond the $1 million approved by Ingham County commissioners at their Aug. 23 meeting. Nearly $1 million more will come from a county bond fund. 

The familiar refrain of “supply chain issues” is the crux of the problem here. Take PVC pipe, most commonly used in both residential and commercial construction.   

Like many things, PVC pipe —the kind most people use in plumbing — is made from natural gas. 

Like many things during this lingering pandemic, PVC pipe is in short supply. What happens to things in short supply? Even when you can find what you need, it’s at a staggeringly higher price than normal. 

That’s what has happened with the Montgomery Drain, an area spanning several municipalities in metropolitan Lansing. An unfortunate combination of cost overruns and scarcity of supplies have combined to delay the project’s completion and hike the bottom line by more than $12 million. 

The project was to have been completed this spring, but will not likely wrap up now until fall 2023. Earlier estimates had it being finished by fall 2021. 

The $1 million from the River Trail Millage will pay for 2.5 miles of new paths and newer, wider sidewalks, among other improvements. Additional work will enable nearby Ranney Park and its popular sledding hill to reopen. 

Lansing is paying around 64 percent of the total, funds it is getting from special assessments and drain tax hikes.  

Frandora Hills resident Dan Dekker said his neighbors are paying as much as $11,800 in a special assessment for work that seems to be never-ending. 

“The special assessment bills we received from the city in January of 2020 said the project would be finished in 12 to 18 months,” Dekker noted in an e-mail. “That has obviously come and gone, and there is no end date in sight. We don’t know what the end game is.” 

Dekker said the assessment added between $400 and $700 to most residents’ summer tax bills — not an insignificant sum. 

Ingham County Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann knows residents are frustrated, but the situation is one over which he has no control. The hold-up, he added, may be laid at the feet of a familiar culprit. 

“The only delays that I’ve had — and we’re four to five months behind —100 percent of the drain delays are caused by COVID supply chain issues. Period. That’s it,” he said. 

“High prices and lack of material.” 

Lindemann said the project’s price tag has risen by 20% to 25% from the original $36 million estimate because of the lack of raw materials. 

He is optimistic that the $11 million shortfall to complete the work will come from federal funds allocated to the states through the American Rescue Plan Act. Those dollars are projected to show up by year’s end. 

“We’re going to try to get some of that,” he said. “The state of Michigan has some infrastructure money that we’re going to look at. Failing that, we’re going to go to the Chapter 20 (Drain Code) board and see if they have any bright ideas to make it work.” 

Many projects across the country have wound up costing significantly more due to lack of materials, Lindemann said. As for the Montgomery Drain, it ranks in the middle or “slightly below average” where price hikes are concerned. 

There’s a further complication involving Frandora Hills and the drain. Lindemann estimated that 10% to 15% percent of the system beneath the road surface has collapsed. What makes the most sense, he continued, is repairing the roads at the same time the drain work is done, to keep inconvenience to residents to a minimum. 

A repaired drain will also keep between 50,000 and 70,000 gallons of pollutants annually from reaching the Red Cedar River. 

“Everybody wants clean water, but nobody wants to pay for it,” Lindemann said. “Somehow or another, it’s a problem we all have to face, and we’re all going to have to work it out.” 

If Frandora Hills residents are unhappy about their assessments, they should take their concerns to Lansing city leaders, especially Mayor Andy Schor. 

“That’s his job,” Lindemann said. “The mayor and the city council allocate the funds to raise the money to pay for the work.” 

Chapter 20 of the Drain Code, he continued, allows the city to raise whatever funds it needs in whatever manner is necessary. 

“I don’t think I’ve run into one person in Frandora Hills who disagrees with doing the job. It’s just a matter of how you pay for it.” 

Carla Barnes has lived in Frandora Hills for close to 50 years, long enough to see some things change while others have not. 

“It’s been a nice neighborhood, until recently,” Barnes said. The assessment on their modest 1,250-square-foot house was nearly $9,000, which she said is “absurd.”

“We were all in favor of taking care of the river — no one wants it polluted. (But) I don’t know how the City Council determined the formula, because most of the water goes on grass — it doesn’t go on concrete.” 

Residents attended Council meetings and submitted written objections, Barnes said.  

“I don’t think anyone paid attention to us. I don’t think they had to.” 

Some neighbors, Barnes said, even moved away rather than deal with the situation. 

Editor’s note: A resident of the Frandora Hills subdivision on Lansing’s east side wanted to know why it was taking so long to repair the Montgomery Drain. This story is the result. If you have a question about issues affecting your neighborhood, please email   publisher@lansingcitypulse.com.