A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday September 6, 2007 at 6:00pm in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, DeKalb, Illinois.  

Chairperson LaVigne called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.  Committee members present were, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Stoddard, and Mr. Walt.  Also present were Mr. Ray Bockman, County Administrator, Mr. Bill Lorence, County Engineer, Wayne Davey, Support Services Manager and Gregg Millburg, Farm Bureau.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Mr. Gudmunson and seconded by Mr. Walt to approve the minutes of the regular August 2, 2007 meeting.  The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously. 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Mr. Gudmunson to approve the agenda and Mr. Stoddard seconded this motion.  The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda as presented.

PUBLIC COMMENT:  There was no public comment. 

 EXEMPT EMPLOYEE EVALUATION SUMMARY:

Mr. Bockman was present to answer any questions the Committee might have concerning correspondence sent out by his Office to Board Members.  This correspondence outlined his recommendation to nominate the County Engineer for Exceptional Performance for his outstanding performance during the past year.  Mr. Bockman stated a recommendation was needed from the Committee to place this item on the agenda of the Executive Committee where the final decision will be made regarding this matter.  Chairperson LaVigne stated she was in favor of the recommendation and asked for a motion.  A motion was made by Mr. Stoddard and seconded by Mr. Walt to recommend Mr. Lorence to the Executive Committee for exceptional performance.   The motion carried unanimously.

AWARD RESOLUTION FOR REPLACEMENT OF A UTILITY LOADER:

Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that bids were taken for the scheduled replacement of one bobcat skid loader on September 4, 2007.  Two bids were received with the lowest bid meeting specifications being submitted by CSR Bobcat of DeKalb, Illinois.  Their bid price for a 2007 Bobcat all-wheel steer loader was $54,557.00 with a trade in allowance of $12,900.00.  Mr. Lorence also stated the Highway Department was requesting an additional option of a laser control package for the 84” grader attachment to assist with the cutting of ditches and leveling shoulders.  The total bid submitted was $47,757.00 (including the option laser) and Mr. Lorence recommended that the low bid be accepted.  A motion was made by Mr. Stoddard and seconded by Mr. Walt to forward the award resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion carried unanimously.

AWARD RESOLUTION FOR SHABBONA ROAD BRIDGE, SECTION NUMBER      01-00196-00-BR:

Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that bids were received for the construction of a reinforced concrete double 12’ x 9’ box culvert including necessary roadway approaches on Shabbona Road north of Shabbona between the Lee Road curves.  Two bids were received with Civil Constructors, Inc from Freeport, Illinois submitting the low bid meeting specifications.  Their bid was for $334,952.70.  Although all bids were above the Engineer’s estimate, Mr. Lorence recommended accepting the lowest bid.   A motion was made by Mr. Gudmunson and seconded by Mr. Walt to forward the award resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.   The motion carried unanimously.

RESOLUTION FOR ANTICIPATION OF TOWNSHIP BRIDGE FUNDS:

Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that South Grove Road District is replacing a bridge on Esmond Road within their Road District.  South Grove is requesting to use funds from the Township Bridge Program to pay for 80% of this project.  Because DeKalb County is in the red for this program a resolution is required.  The County will upfront the funds to pay for this project and then be reimbursed by the State with the receipt of our annual Township Bridge allotment.  The payback schedule will be approximately two years once the County is reimbursed for the Irene Road Bridge and Brickville Road Bridge.  The amount of this resolution is $282,380.64 and Mr. Lorence asked the Committee to recommend approval.  A motion was made by Mr. Stoddard and seconded by Mr. Walt to forward the resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.   The motion carried unanimously.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:          

Chair LaVigne stated she would not be available for the November Highway Committee meeting.

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

The Transportation Improvement Progress Report was provided to the Committee for their review.  The highlighted projects were discussed.  Peace Road surface course is complete and work continues on the traffic signals for Peace Road from last year’s project.  Our Cherry Valley Road Bridge project has a bid let date of September 21, 2007.  Work continues on our right-of-way project for Glidden Road and the Esmond Road bridge project will be let in the near future as well.

Mr. Lorence presented the Committee with the current No Parking Ordinance 2004-08.  When the Ordinance was passed it allowed the placement of No Parking signs only and no other restrictions.   Mr. Lorence recommended changing the wording of our current ordinance to mirror the language in 625 ILCS 5/11-1304 which allows for the prohibiting, limiting, or restricting the stopping, standing or parking of vehicles on roadways under the County’s jurisdiction.  This would allow for no parking during school hours or after a two-inch snowfall, etc signs to be placed when necessary.  A motion was made by Mr. Walt and seconded by Mr. Gudmunson to redo the current No Parking Ordinance to include the language in 625 ILCS 5/11-1304 and to forward the ordinance to the full County Board recommending approval.   The motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Lorence briefed the Committee on a concern he has regarding container shipments traveling on the County roadway system.  The County has noticed truck traffic carrying containers using County roads without a permit.  These trucks are hauling grain from local elevators to the Joliet rail port for shipment overseas.  Containers that are sealed for overseas shipment are considered to be undivisible loads and therefore the County can offer permits for loads that are overweight.  Containers can weigh up to 88,000 pounds, which puts the loads well over the limit for our 73,280 pound roads.  Experience in Will County has found that trucks hauling these containers cause considerable damage to the roadway.  If containers are to be hauled on our system the County should start to think about charging for permits.  Mr. Lorence stated that if we begin to charge for permits the County would have to do so across the board and charge for all overweight permits for undivisible loads and not just for containers.  An estimate was calculated for trucks hauling on Suydam Road and the cost needed to repair the road due to this increase in traffic would be $100.00 per permit.  Mr. Lorence wanted guidance from the Committee on what action the County wanted to take on this matter. The options, as Mr. Lorence sees it, would be to not issue permits, thereby not allowing containers to be hauled over the County roadway system, issue permits per our current permitting system at no charge or charge for permits.  The Committee directed the County Engineer to put together a proposal for charging for permits and present it to the Committee at the next meeting.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: None

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. Stoddard to adjourn and Mr. Walt seconded this motion.  The motion passed unanimously and the September 6, 2007 meeting was adjourned at 6:47p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Patricia LaVigne