The regular monthly meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday, July 6, 2006 at 6:00pm in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, DeKalb, Illinois.  

Chair LaVigne called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.  Committee members present were, Mr. Anderson, Vice Chair Faivre, Ms. Fauci, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Whelan.   Also present were County Engineer William Lorence and Wayne Davey, Highway Department Support Services Manager. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 

Motion made by Mr. Whelan and seconded by Ms. Fauci to approve the minutes of the regular June 1, 2006 meeting.  Discussion followed to amend the minutes to read as follows:  Under Public Comment, second paragraph, third sentence from the end, insert a period after the word “tile” and delete the remainder of the sentence. The motion to approve the minutes as amended carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Vice Chair Faivre to approve the agenda and Mr. Anderson seconded this motion.  The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda as presented. 

PUBLIC COMMENT:   None

MFT RESOLUTION FOR FLASHING BEACONS AT GLIDDEN AND RICH ROADS UNDER SECTION 06-00219-00-TL 

Mr. Lorence explained that the Committee directed that additional safety features be considered for the intersection of Glidden and Rich Roads.  One of the safety features to be considered was the installation of red and amber flashing beacons.  The cost to install these beacons has been estimated to be $17,940.00 with the County responsible for $14,950.00.  DeKalb Road District has agreed to pay for the installation of one amber beacon.  The County will use MFT funds as well as Matching funds to pay for this safety improvement.  The amount of MFT funds being requested is $7,475.00.  A motion was made by Vice Chair Faivre and seconded by Mr. Osborne to forward the proposed resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion carried unanimously. 

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:   Chair LaVigne inquired if the Committee members had received information on the Enbridge Pipeline project proposed for DeKalb County.  All members had received their information and Mr. Lorence indicated he had finally received some information.  Enbridge now has a surveyor involved and is speaking to land owners concerning this project.  The County has not received any formal notification or proposal from Enbridge.  Enbridge is under the impression that under the Interstate Commerce Act it does not have to have any permission from the County to install their pipeline.  The State’s Attorney’s Office is currently working on this issue.

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

Mr. Lorence provided his progress report to the Committee.  Those projects noted in red are the ones that have been updated since the Committee’s last report.  Our Malta Road project has been awarded and there seems to be a problem locating the actual Contract at IDOT.  The Bethany Road extension is complete and open to the public.  Peace Road widening is scheduled for a July 11, 2006 letting and it would appear that the County will receive no Federal funds for this project, at least not this year.  All the right-of-way for Glidden Road (south of Il Route 64) has now been either purchased or agreed to.   The bridge on Brickville Road is still waiting for NiCor to relocate a gas line in the area.  It would appear that this bridge would not be completed prior to 2006-2007 commencement of the school year.

Mr. Lorence explained that the Peace Road project has been scheduled for letting on July 11, 2006 at 10:00am in the conference room of the Highway Department.  There has been considerable interest in this project.  The County has had to revise our initial estimate for this project due to the fact that asphalt prices were increasing $8.00 per ton for all binder mixes and $10.00 per ton for all surface mixes after August 1, 2006.  This has resulted in an additional $300,000.00 to be added to our estimate for binder only.  The surface course will be laid next year.  The Committee will meet at 7:00pm pm July 19, 2006 prior to the regular County Board meeting to review the bids and make an award recommendation.  An MFT resolution will also be presented at that time.

The Agreement with Dyn Sycamore Commercial, LLC (First Rockford Group) for their portion of construction and traffic signals on Peace Road has been executed and is on file.  Dyn Sycamore Commercial agreed to all points that the County required of them for this project.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:  Mr. Anderson inquired into the land acquisition for Glidden Road north of IL Route 64.  Mr. Lorence explained that the County currently has 60 feet and will be going to 100 feet, which would involve 20 additional feet of right-of-way on both sides of the road. 

Ms. Fauci inquired if a walkway would be installed allowing citizens to cross Illinois 23 at the new Hospital.  Mr. Lorence indicated he knew nothing about it and Ms. Fauci should contact Mr. Brady from the City of Sycamore for information.

Mr. Whelan stated there was a bad accident at the intersection of Freed and Peace Road recently when someone ran the stop sign.  He inquired if the County would be doing anything to improve safety at that intersection.  Mr. Lorence indicated nothing was planned as that was the first accident there all year and it resulted in a driver running the stopping sign.

ADJOURNMENT:

Chair LaVigne inquired if there was anything else that needed to be brought before the Committee and hearing none asked for a motion to adjourn.  A motion was made by Mr. Whelan to adjourn and Ms. Fauci seconded this motion.  The motion passed unanimously and the July 6, 2006 meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Pat LaVigne

Chair