A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday September 7, 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, Vice-Chair Faivre, Ms. Fauci, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Osborne and Mr. Whelan.   Also present were County Engineer William Lorence, Wayne Davey, Highway Department Support Services Manager, Mr. Ray Bockman, DeKalb County Administrator, and Greg Millburg, Farm Bureau. 

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Mr. Whelan and seconded by Ms. Fauci to approve the minutes of the regular August 16, 2006 meeting.  The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

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

PUBLIC COMMENT:   None

Chair LaVigne introduced Mr. Bockman to the Committee and turned the meeting over to him to discuss the performance of the County Engineer for the past year.  Mr. Bockman explained to the Committee that the evaluation process consisted of three parts.  The first part being a standard work plan that was previously submitted by Mr. Bockman and approved by the County Board.  The second part consists of the County Engineer’s commitment to attend and receive credit for 40 hours of continuing education or professional development hours each year in his area of responsibility.  The third part of the evaluation would be any exceptional performance the Committee would like to recognize the County Engineer for and recommend to the Executive Committee a one-time compensation that is in addition to his regular compensation package.  Mr. Bockman informed the Committed that Mr. Lorence performed his duties per his Standard Work Plan and completed his required 40 hours of professional development during this reporting period. 

The Committee inquired if they needed to go into executive session to discuss Mr. Lorence’s performance.   Mr. Bockman stated there is no requirement to do so but they certainly are entitled to based on the subject being discussed.  The Committee by consensus determined that they could discuss Mr. Lorence’s performance in open session and they proceeded. 

Vice-Chair Faivre stated he had some concerns over Somonauk Road and the decision to just leave the road the way it currently is.  There are globs of tar covering the roadway, it is rough and whatever decision was made to do the road this way made a terrible mistake and caused problems for quite a few citizens.  Mr. Lorence stated it was his decision to use the material on the roadway.  That decision was based on the trap rock out of Wisconsin providing better traction and producing a faster snow/ice melt in the winter due to the dark rock absorbing heat.  Two trial roads were tried prior to this road and everything went well.  The Department is still trying to pinpoint the exact cause of this incident but all information seems to point to the rain that came after the work was completed and turned the oil back to tar.  When the rain showed up on the radar the work was halted and the road seemed fine.  Two hours after the crew was off the road it started to rain causing the problem.  The road blew up so fast that by the time authorities arrived on the scene the damage was done.  The County Engineer informed the Committee that the Department would not be using this material in future seal coating operations. 

Vice-Chair Faivre stated he had further concerns over the lack of response from the Highway Department over complaints of the excess gravel plowed into the ditches this past winter.  Citizens had to remove the excess gravel from their ditches so they could continue to mow their ditches without causing serious damage to their lawn mowers.  This removal caused some citizens to have to rent special equipment and the cost was expensive. 

Ms. Fauci wanted to commend the County Engineer for his involvement in the various committees he is on, especially the State level committees.  She feels this provides the County with valuable information and is a good resource for the County.  She had some concerns about the County Engineer sitting on the City of Sycamore Planning Committee but feels Mr. Lorence is serving the citizens of DeKalb County in a professional manner and is looking out for the County and not just the City of Sycamore during these meetings.  Ms. Fauci also commended the County Engineer for his involvement with the Forest Preserve.  Specifically, Ms. Fauci thanked the County Engineer for arranging for the inspection of a bridge located within the Forest Preserve property that was recently constructed.  This inspection was provided at no cost to the citizens of DeKalb County and ensures this structure is safe for public use.  The bridge has now been placed on the County inventory and will be inspected every two years.  

Mr. Gudmunson stated he had concerns over the length of time the roads were posted during this past spring.  With the year being one of the driest on record he felt there was no need for the roads to be posted so long.  There were also concerns that the Sheriff’s Department was targeting agriculture this year at the request of the Highway Department.  It is difficult for agriculture, especially for those feeding livestock to get feed delivered and to ship animals when the roads are posted.  There needs to be more consensuses between the Road District Commissioners and the County when the roads need to be posted.  

Chair LaVigne stated she was pleased that the Committee and the County Engineer could provide the flashing lights at Glidden and Rich Road for the traveling public.  She is continuing to receive complaints of people blowing the stop signs at Glidden and Bethany Roads. 

With the above concerns noted Vice Chair Faivre made a motion that the County Engineer did perform his assigned duties in an acceptable manner this past year. Ms. Fauci seconded the motion.  The motion carried unanimously.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:  No additional Comments.

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

Mr. Lorence presented the Transportation Improvement Progress Report to the Committee for their review.  Highlights included the opening of Brickville Road to the traveling public and the bid letting for the Suydam Road Bridge to be held October 3, 2006.  There was some discussion concerning the start date for this project.  The Committee does not want it to conflict with harvest and planting season if at all possible.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:  Vice Chair Faivre inquired into the status of the letter of support requested by TWJ Associates, Ltd for a proposed interchange at Hinckley Road and I-88.  Mr. Bockman indicated that no further communication from TWJ had been received and this was more than likely a non-issue at this point.

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 Ms. Fauci to adjourn and this motion was seconded by Mr. Gudmunson.  The motion passed unanimously and the September 7, 2006 meeting was adjourned at 7:10p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Pat LaVigne
Chair