DRAFT

HIGHWAY COMMITTEE

September 4, 2008

A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday September 4, 2008 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. Anderson, Vice-Chairperson Augsburger, Mr. Gudmunson, Mr. Stoddard, Mr. Stuckert and Mr. Walt.  Also present were Mr. Bill Lorence, County Engineer and Wayne Davey, Support Services Manager.  Mr. Joel Maurer, Mr. Tom Cleveland, and Mr. Rick Monas from the City of DeKalb, Mr. Phillip Riggsby from M&E, LLC Development Corporation, Mr. Scott Newport, DeKalb County Board Candidate, and Greg Millburg, Farm Bureau were also represented.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Anderson to approve the minutes of the regular August 7, 2008 meeting.  The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously. 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Mr. Anderson to approve the agenda and Mr. Walt seconded this motion.  Discussion followed to amend the agenda to add a new item three and renumber the remaining items accordingly.  The new item three was a resolution declaring the Keslinger Road Bridge an emergency situation and allow the County Engineer to enter into an agreement to remove that structure without going through the bidding process.  The motion carried unanimously to approve the agenda as amended. 

PUBLIC COMMENT:  There were no public comments at this time. 

CITY OF DEKALB PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR:  PEACE ROAD ACCESS

Mr. Monas, City of DeKalb Public Works Director, was back before the Committee seeking approval to amend the current Peace Road Access Agreement between the City of DeKalb and the County of DeKalb.  The current agreement and purpose of this request was presented and discussed during the August 7, 2008 Committee meeting.  The amended proposal moved the requested access point 500 feet south of the intersection of Peace and Pleasant instead of the 320 feet south as originally presented.  This requested right-in/right-out would mirror the one located south of Illinois Route 23 and Peace Road at the Walgreen’s access.  Mr. Lorence stated by moving the requested access further south it would be out of the transition zone and should address the Committees’ safety concerns.  There is no way to stop motorists that chooses to break the law or not follow appropriate signage.  Committee members were still concerned about the right-out onto Peace Road and the traffic weaving to make a left turn movement at Pleasant Street in such a short distance.  Mr. Lorence indicated that the right-in/right-out located at Walgreen’s has been satisfactory since the raised median has been installed preventing anyone from attempting a left turn at the right-out access point.  Mr. Lorence further stated the Walgreen’s right-in/right-out was installed prior to the 1994 agreement and that he would not recommend any right-in/right-outs on the County’s highway system with these same circumstances.  Mr. Lorence pointed out that this portion of Peace Road was under the jurisdiction and maintenance control of the City of DeKalb and they would be responsible for maintaining this area as well as dealing with snow removal operations.  The Committee pointed out that with the right-out being placed further south that most vehicle traffic would more than likely exit using the Pleasant street exit.  With this being the case they saw little need for the right-out to be installed.  Mr. Monas reminded the Committee that without the right-in/right-out, commitments from national commercial establishments would never be obtained and this development would not go forward.  A motion was made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Chair LaVigne to allow the amended access as requested.  Mr. Anderson requested a roll call vote.  The results were as follows:  Vice-Chair Augsburger-Yes; Mr. Gudmunson-No; Mr. Stuckert-No; Mr. Stoddard-Yes; Mr. Walt-No; Mr. Anderson-No; Chair LaVigne-Yes.  The motion failed.  A motion was made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Stoddard to forward the City of DeKalb’s request to the full County Board for their discussion.  The results were as follows:  Vice-Chair Augsburger-Yes; Mr. Gudmunson-No; Mr. Stuckert-No; Mr. Stoddard-Yes; Mr. Walt-Yes; Mr. Anderson-No; Chair LaVigne-Yes.  The motion passed to forward the request to the full County Board.

AWARD RESOLUTIONS FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF PERRY ROAD BRIDGE UNDER SECTION NUMBER 05-00214-00-BR:  

Mr. Lorence informed the Committee that five bids were received for the replacement of the bridge on Perry Road east of Anderland Road in Afton Road District.  The low bid meeting specifications was six hundred twenty-one thousand six hundred twenty-four dollars and seventy cents ($621,624.70).  This bid was significantly over the Engineer’s estimate.  When the consultant was contacted over the estimate provided to the County they realized that their estimate for furnishing and erecting structural steel was a blown estimate and should have been $100,000.00 higher than estimated.  With that established all bids were within close proximity to one another, but still over the Engineer’s estimate.  However, all bids were considered competitive and the County Engineer recommended that the Committee recommend award to the lowest bidder, Illinois Constructors from Elburn, Illinois.  The Committee inquired at what weight the bridge was being constructed to carry and Mr. Lorence informed them that it would be approximately 120,000 pounds.  A motion was made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Walt to forward the resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion carried unanimously. 

RESOLUTION DECLARING THE KESLINGER ROAD BRIDGE COLLAPSE AN EMERGENCY AND AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY ENGINEER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT TO REMOVE THE STRUCTURE FROM THE WATERWAY WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE BIDDING PROCESS:

Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that preliminary estimates to remove the collapsed spans and pier cap were over $20,000.00.  Unless the County Board declared this an emergency situation and authorized an agreement without the bidding process no work could be started on the bridge until much later in the year.  Without the removal of the spans and the cap an investigation cannot begin to determine the cause of the failure.  Everyday more evidence could be removed by flowing water at this site and Mr. Lorence stated the County should move as quickly as it can to get this investigation started.  The investigation cost will be born by the State and the University of Illinois who will be conducting the investigation.  The Committee inquired as to why the County was paying anything toward this, as it is a Township bridge and not a County bridge.  Mr. Lorence stated the Afton Road District Commissioner has signed a warrant requesting aid from the county for the removal of this structure.  As such the County is obligated to share the cost 50/50 if funds are in the account.  The Committee further inquired if it was necessary to spend these funds to find out the cause as they felt the major contributing factor was more than likely overweight vehicles associated with the Pipeline construction utilizing this bridge.  Mr. Lorence stated there was no law that he was aware of that would dictate we investigate the cause.  However, when an incident such as this happens an investigation would not only benefit DeKalb County but the State as well as the entire Country.  The County currently has eight of these types of bridges (all on Road District Roads) and if we uncover a previously unknown problem, that problem may very well relate to the other bridges.  A motion was made by Mr. Stoddard and seconded by Mr. Anderson to forward the resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion passed with six yes votes and one no vote. 

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:    Chairperson LaVigne received correspondence from Mr. Stuckert to share with the Committee.  Mr. Stuckert received an e-mail from a concerned DeKalb County resident that appropriate steps would not be taken to find the cause of the Keslinger Road Bridge failure.  This resident felt an outside firm should investigate this incident as the resident felt the County Highway Department was not in favor of finding the root of the failure.  The resident also requested additional information from the County concerning permit information.  The Committee directed Mr. Lorence to address these concerns.

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

The Transportation Improvement Progress Report for August was provided to the Committee for their review.  The highlighted projects on the report were discussed. The Bethany Road South extension in DeKalb Road District is moving forward and is approximately 47% complete.  The Cherry Valley Road Bridge is approximately 85% complete with a target completion date of November 1^st.  If the weather cooperates that bridge should be opened within the next two weeks.  The South County Line Road Bridge project is at 5%.  This project is under the control and direction of LaSalle County with DeKalb County participating financially.  Work is progressing on South First Street as well as the Glidden Road right-of-way project. 

Mr. Lorence stated that the County has received $481,500.00 in Federal funding for the construction of a round-a-bout at the intersection of Glidden and Rich Road.  That represents 90% funding.  Construction should begin sometime during 2010.

Mr. Lorence informed the Committee that the price of salt for the 2008-2009 season has doubled to $83.16 from the 2007-2008 price.  That budget line item will be amended to reflect this increase adding an additional $300,000.00 to cover the cost of contracted salt.  The Committee inquired if the County could find some less expensive way to remove snow from roadways.  Mr. Lorence stated we are always looking for ways to reduce cost, however we are locked into the salt price for this year as we committed to the State Contract Letting process during February 2008. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:  Mr. Anderson requested clarification from the County Engineer concerning if all roads being traveled by Enbridge were bonded as originally reported.  Mr. Lorence stated that bonding or permitting were both options looked at.  The County decided to go the permit route as that would be a permanent solution and would provide funding even though there might not be any apparent damage to County roads.

Mr. Walt inquired if there was anyway to check these trucks for weight on a regular basis.  Mr. Lorence stated we have counters that would count the number of trucks but not for the weight itself.  That method is a costly one and the County currently has no such method.  We have to rely on the State authorities to stop and weigh suspected violators.

ADJOURNMENT:

Chairperson 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 Vice-Chair Augsburger to adjourn and Mr. Walt seconded this motion. The motion passed unanimously and the September 4, 2008 meeting was adjourned at 7:15p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Patricia LaVigne

Chairperson