Vice-Chair Faivre called the meeting to order.  Committee members present were Vice-Chair Faivre, Mr. Anderson, Ms. Fauci, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Whelan.   Also present were William Lorence, County Engineer, James Quinn, Highway Department Operations Manager and Wayne Davey, Highway Department Support Services Manager, and Mr. Greg Millburg, Farm Bureau.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 

Motion made by Mr. Gudmunson and seconded by Ms. Fauci to approve the minutes of December 2, 2004.  The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA: 

Motion made by Mr. Anderson to approve the agenda and Mr. Whelan seconded this motion.  Discussion followed to amend the agenda by adding a new item 2 and renumbering the existing numbers to 3, 4 and 5 respectfully.  New item 2 was the discussion of granting an additional easement to NiCor Gas on County Property located at Lot 3 of Lot 13 of the Market Square property.   The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda as amended. 

RESOLUTION FOR BID AWARD:   

The County Engineer presented to the Committee the results of the bid letting held at the Highway Department on January 4, 2005 at 10:00am for the purpose of receiving bids for the replacement of one single axle cab and chassis.  The Committee was presented with a copy of the bid tab that indicated three bids were received.  They were Dave Gill Trucks, Inc from East Peoria, Illinois with a bid, including options, of $53,917.00; Peterbilt of Wisconsin from Pewaukee, Wisconsin with a bid of $70,851.00; and TransChicago Truck from Elmhurst, Illinois, with a bid, including options of $54,842.00.  The apparent low bidder, Dave Gill Trucks, did not bid a truck as specified by the Department.  Of major concern was the omission of a front PTO to allow the operation of hydraulic pumps to perform without having any adverse effect on the RPMs of the engine.  Dave Gill indicated they would install the PTO but it would be at an additional cost.  In order to maintain the integrity of the bidding system it was recommended by the County Engineer that TransChicago Truck be awarded the bid as the bidder meeting specifications.  The County Engineer also informed the Committee that South Grove Road District has indicated that they might be interested in the County’s trade-in vehicle.  South Grove will be offered the opportunity to purchase that vehicle at the amount of the trade-in bid by TransChicago.  A motion was made by Ms. Fauci and seconded by Mr. Whelan to forward the proposed resolution to the full County Board recommending approval to award the equipment bid to TransChicago Truck of Elmhurst, Illinois.  The motion carried unanimously. 

REQUEST BY NICOR FOR A UTILITY EASMENT ON COUNTY PROPERTY:

 Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that Roger Hopkins, Executive Director of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation, has presented the County with a request for a utility easement along County property to allow NiCor Gas to complete a new transmission line to serve Park 88.  Mr. Lorence explained that due to the capacity of gas transmission lines in the Park 88 area that it was necessary to route the gas line from a location on County Farm Road.  The Committee inquired into the price the County would be paid for this easement and Mr. Lorence indicated that the County would be granting the easement at no cost for economic development purposes.  It was unknown just how big the gas main would be but Mr. Lorence indicated that by granting this easement NiCor could place as many lines as they wanted as long as they would stay within the easement.  The easement is through the County’s stormwater detention ponds and if this property were ever sold all responsibility to maintain the detention pond would go with it.  The Committee inquired if the legal description had been checked by the State’s Attorney and Mr. Lorence indicated he had checked it and it was in order.  The 15-foot easement being requested is in addition to the existing 10-foot easement.  Mr. Lorence recommended that the Committee forward the request for this additional easement to the full County Board for discussion and a vote.  Mr. Lorence recommended however that the following language be added to the easement prior to any action being taken by the full Board:  Grantee shall not install utilities less than 36 inches below the outlet elevation of stormwater facilities on Lot 3 (Approximate USGS Elevation 878.15). Utilities shall be maintained below such depth. Grantee shall relocate utilities as necessary for drainage and grading improvements as required by Grantor. 

A motion was made by Mr. Anderson and seconded by Mr. Osborne to forward the proposed request for additional easement to the full County Board recommending approval with the addition of the language above and authorizing the County Chair to sign the appropriate documents granting the additional easement to NiCor Gas.  Motion carried unanimously.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:   

Vice-Chair Faivre polled the Committee concerning the starting time for the Highway Committee.  It was the consensus of the Committee to begin meetings at 6:30pm on the first Thursday of each month.  

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

Mr. Lorence provided his progress report to the Committee.  Highlights were explained as the Irene Road Bridge is 95% complete and the road is now open to traffic.  Both the Irene Road Bridge project and Peace and Bethany Road traffic signal project have been shut down for the winter.  These projects will resume when the weather permits.  As explained to the Committee during the December meeting, the County was granted Hazardous Elimination Funds for the closing of the west side of County Farm Road and Peace Road and relocating the existing roadway to Greenwood Acres Drive.  These funds were requested after the City of DeKalb requested that this intersection be closed or traffic signals be installed due to high number of accidents occurring at this location.  After several meetings with the City of DeKalb, the City has decided that it no longer desires this intersection to be closed for fear of impeding future development of that area.  Due to eastbound County Farm Road being closed east of the airport now the accident rate no longer supports the elimination of this intersection.  The County will continue to work with the City of DeKalb and the Illinois Department of Transportation to explore the possibility of the installation of traffic signals at this location at a future date.  The funding authorized for this project will be reverted back to the State for reassignment to other HES projects.   

The Committee broke at 7:40pm to tour the Highway Facility and to inspect County Highway equipment located within the facility.

The Committee returned to the conference room at 8:45pm and resumed its regular meeting.

Mr. Lorence explained in detail the funding required and received by the County for the operation of the Department and the maintenance of County and Township roads and bridges.  Mr. Lorence explained that three sources of revenue are provided by property tax levies.  These are Highway, Aid to Bridges and Federal Highway Matching.  The Highway revenue funds are used for the operation of the Department and the purchasing of equipment, supplies, and materials.  The Aid to Bridges revenue funds can only be used for the replacement or repair of bridges throughout the County, Townships, and Municipalities.  These funds come with additional requirements that must be met in order for funds to be authorized for disbursement on bridge projects.  The Federal Highway Matching funds are required to be spent on the roadways and must be matched with other sources of revenue not to exceed 50% of the cost of the project.  In addition to the tax levies, the County receives additional revenue from the County Motor Fuel Tax, Township Motor Fuel Tax, Township Bridge Fund, and several Federal Aid programs. Mr. Lorence stated the Committee has been provided a handout in the orientation booklet with the funding details explained and the Committee should refer to that handout for future reference if needed. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

            Ms. Fauci reported to the Committee that she had received some information from Representative Pritchard concerning a transportation summit for Area Transportation Growth.  Ms. Fauci indicated she would provide more information to the Committee as it becomes available but thought this is something some of the Committee members would be interested in.

ADJOURNMENT:

            There being no further business to be brought before the Committee Mr. Anderson moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Gudmunson.   Motion carried unanimously by voice vote and the January 6, 2005 meeting adjourned at 9:45pm.

Respectfully Submitted

Vince Faivre

Vice Chair