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

Vice-Chair Faivre called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.  Committee members present were, Ms. Fauci, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Whelan.   Also present were County Engineer William Lorence, Wayne Davey, Highway Department Support Services Manager, Mr. Greg Millburg, Farm Bureau, Mr. Steve Slack, DeKalb County Board Member, Ms. Anita Jo Turner, DeKalb County Board Member, Mr. Richard J. Skrodzki, Attorney for Jewel-Osco, and Sherwin Portnoy, Commercial Developer. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Mr. Whelan and seconded by Mr. Gudmunson to approve the minutes of March 2, 2006.  The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Ms. Fauci to approve the agenda and Mr. Osborne seconded this motion.  The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda as presented.    

PUBLIC COMMENT:   None.

JEWEL-OSCO:

Mr. Richard Skrodzki, a Partner in the law firm of Golstine, Skrodzki, Russian, Nemec and Hoff, Ltd of Burr Ridge, IL thanked the Committee for allowing him to appear before it.  The purpose for Mr. Skrodzki appearance was to request the Committee’s clarification, (reconsideration) of a recommendation made at the March Highway Committee meeting.  That recommendation was for the approval of the right-in only on Peace Road approximately half way between the intersection of Illinois Route 23, Peace and Plank Roads and Ward Boulevard.  The approval of that right-in was with the stipulation that Jewel-Osco complete the additional unwarranted highway improvements (additional through lanes).  Mr. Skrodzki informed the Committee that it was never the intent of Jewel-Osco to provide the additional through lane for the granting of a right-in only.  Jewel-Osco was operating under the assumption that the right-in had already been approved by the County at prior meetings held with County Administrators.  Ms. Fauci stated that with her conversations with County Board Chairperson Tobias it was stated that Jewel-Osco should not have to bear the cost of unwarranted highway improvements to secure a right-in only.  Mr. Bockman stated that in a conversation with Highway Committee Chair LaVigne she was very excited about the project and welcomes Jewel-Osco to the Community.  Chair LaVigne is in favor of the right-in only however.  Vice-Chair Faivre inquired into how long it would take for the traffic to increase to a point where the additional through lanes would be needed.  It was explained that the traffic was being generated by the increase in residential expansion in the area and the increase in traffic would not be as a result of the construction of the Jewel-Osco complex.  A motion was made by Mr. Osborne to bring the Committee’s March 2, 2006 recommendation back to the table for reconsideration since no action had been taken on that motion.  Ms. Fauci seconded that motion.  Mr. Osborne amended his original motion recorded at the March 2, 2006 Committee meeting to state that the requested right-in/right-out by Jewel-Osco be denied and that the right-in only be approved.  He further amended the motion to remove any additional stipulation that highway improvements not warranted by the construction of the Jewel-Osco project be a condition for approval of the right-in only and that all costs associated with the required improvements for the right-in be born by the developer.  The motion carried unanimously. 

ORDINANCE 2006-10:  DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY TO SET A SPECIAL SPEED LIMIT WHILE TRAVELING THROUGH HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION OR MAINTENANCE ZONES

            Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee Illinois Statutes allow for local governments to set special speed limits through construction/maintenance zones.  In order for that to happen local governments must appoint that responsibility to a member of the local government and follow certain administrative procedures during the duration of the assigned speed zone.  DeKalb County would use this authority to reduce speed by ten miles an hour in a construction zone and then by an additional ten miles an hour through an actual work zone.  With the upcoming construction of Peace Road the County Engineer would use this authority to reduce the speed during construction and attempt to maintain a safer work environment for the construction workers.  The Committee inquired if speed was a problem through current work zones, Mr. Lorence stated that it was and always is a problem to try to slow traffic down while moving through a work zone.  A motion was made by Ms. Fauci and seconded by Mr. Whelan to forward the proposed Ordinance 2006-10 to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion carried unanimously.

TRANSVAC BUSINESS:

            Mr. Tom Zucker presented to the Committee three items for consideration.  The first item was an Application for IDOT Consolidated Vehicle Procurement Program.  This would allow for TransVac to procure vehicles from the State at a shared cost of 80/20.   These applications must be submitted through a governmental agency.  There would be no cost to the County for submitting this application.  All future maintenance cost becomes the responsibility of TransVac and would not be the responsibility of the County.  TransVac is requesting three vehicles this year and they feel they have a great chance at getting one and a good chance of getting two.  The FY-07 5311 Grant is a grant for operating funding for TransVac.  This is required to be submitted through a Government agency as well and is a pass through grant.  That means that all funds are passed through the County to TransVac.  Like the funding, all responsibility and liability is passed from the County to TransVac as well.  TransVac match this year will be approximately $330,939.00, up five percent over last year.  This grant is used to provide transportation for residents of DeKalb County outside of the MPO area of DeKalb, Sycamore, and Cortland.  TransVac uses soft/hard matches for their share and have always had no problem in meeting their share.  The last item is the Special Warranty.  This Warranty is required of the County and it simply states that public funds will not be used to provide TransVac with an unfair advantage in operating in this area with other agencies providing the same type of service to the public on a private bases.  A motion was made by Mr. Osborne and seconded by Mr. Gudmunson to forward all three items to the full County Board recommending approval.   The motion carried unanimously.

BID AWARD FOR NEW UTILITY TRACTOR:

            Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that the Highway Department opened bids for a new utility tractor.  Six bids were received from four vendors with DeKane Equipment Corporation submitting the lowest bid.  That bid was however for a Case/International JX 95 tractor that did not meet specifications.  The next lowest bid was for a Kubota also submitted by DeKane Equipment.  That bid was for $22,000.00.  Mr. Lorence recommended to the Committee that this bid be recommended for approval.  The Highway Department’s last utility tractor purchased was a Case/International JX 95 and the Department has had nothing but problems with the PTO.  A motion was made by Mr. Gudmunson and seconded by Mr. Whelan to forward the proposed award recommendation to the full County Board recommending approval.   The motion carried unanimously.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:   Vice-Chair Faivre had no comments for the Committee.

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.  The majority of time was spent last month on the Peace Road widening project.  The Malta Road project is scheduled for letting later this month.

Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that his Department has received some complaints concerning road side memorials.  The Highway Department has done very little with these when they go up unless they are interfering with line of sight, then they are removed immediately.  After a period of time if they are not being maintained they are removed.  If they are being maintained and no one complains, they are left alone.  This is an item that is emotionally charged for some residents and hard to publish a policy for such an event.  Current County Ordinance prohibits the placement of such a memorial within the County’s right-of-way and within ten feet of the County’s right of way.  When citizens call the County Engineer requesting permission to place such a memorial, those requests are denied.  The County is seeing more and more of these in the recent years.  Mr. Lorence wanted the Committee to be aware of this issue because as these memorials are removed Board members may receive complaints.

Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that the City of Sycamore had changed some minor wording in the Intergovernmental Agreement presented to the Committee during their March meeting.  Substantially the agreement is the same and there still is no cost to the County for the bike path/sidewalk.  Mr. Lorence will have the County Board Chairperson sign the Intergovernmental Agreement when it is returned signed by the City of Sycamore if the Committee agrees.  The Committee gave their consent to do that as the full County Board granted the Chairperson the authority to enter into this agreement.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Vice-Chair Faivre inquired if the County had done anything with the excess gravel in the ditches that was placed there during snow removal operations.  Mr. Lorence indicated that nothing has been done.  It is too wet to get a tractor and broom in the ditch and the County could not do that for all their right-of-way. 

Vice-Chair Faivre inquired why the spring postings were so inflexible with the agricultural community this year.  He was told that the County Engineer requested stricter enforcement this year in spite of the roads being in the best shape they have been in past years.  A spirited discussion followed.  The County Engineer will spearhead a move to get the Sheriff’s Department, the State’s Attorney’s Office, County Road Commissioners and the Highway Department together to better address this issue next year. 

ADJOURNMENT:

Vice-Chair Faivre 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 Ms. Fauci to adjourn and this motion was seconded by Mr. Gudmunson.  The motion passed unanimously and the April 6, 2006 meeting was adjourned at 8:03 p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Pat LaVigne

Chair