DRAFT
HIGHWAY COMMITTEE
October 1, 2009
A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board met on Thursday October 1, 2009 at 6:00pm in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, DeKalb, Illinois.
Vice Chairperson Augsburger called the meeting to order at 6:02pm. Committee members present were Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Emerson and Mr. Gudmunson. Also present were Mr. Ken Andersen, Mr. Larry Anderson, and Mr. Riley Oncken, County Board Members, Mr. Bill Lorence, County Engineer, Mr. Gary Hanson, Deputy County Administrator, Wayne Davey, Support Services Manager, Jim Quinn, Operations Manager and Gregg Millburg, Farm Bureau.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion made by Mr. Gudmunson and seconded by Mr. Chambliss to approve the minutes of the regular September 3, 2009 meeting. The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Motion made by Mr. Gudmunson to approve the agenda and Mr. Emerson seconded this motion. Discussion followed to amend the agenda to add a new item five, an authorization resolution authorizing the County to enter into a Local Agency Agreement for Federal Participation for a Roundabout at Glidden and Rich Roads. The motion to approve the agenda as amended carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
EXEMPT EMPLOYEE EVALUATION SUMMARY: This item was not discussed.
CONSIDERATION OF BUDGET APPEALS:
Mr. Gary Hanson was present to explain two budget appeals that fell under the responsibility of the Highway Committee to review and comment on.
The first appeal concerned item number 16 in the Budget Narrative dealing with $110,000.00 to hire an Assistant County Engineer as a potential replacement for the County Engineer when he retires. Discussion followed concerning this item. Mr. Ken Andersen stated his reason for submitting this appeal was purely financial. Mr. Andersen felt that any replacement ultimately hired by the County would be a qualified employee and could perform the duties of County Engineer without a lengthy turnover period. Mr. Lorence stated his intention for this budget item was to put the County in the very best position to continue on with business as usual when he retires. As things stand now both the County Engineer and the Engineering Manager will retire at the same time taking a considerable amount of DeKalb County hands-on experience with them. In addition to the loss of experience and expertise, the County would not be able to do the required bridge inspections it now does for all of the County and Road District bridges in house. In order to perform these inspections the County would need a person who is qualified to discharge the duties of a Program Manager to ensure bridges are inspected as described in the National Bridge Inspection Standards of the Code of Federal Regulations. In order to be qualified one must have certain criteria and attend certain Illinois Department of Transportation training sessions that are quite extensive and are not offered on a regular basis. Mr. Lorence also felt it was important that a replacement experience at least one winter and one budget cycle prior to becoming the County Engineer. Mr. Andersen stated he felt the remaining managers could assist the new County Engineer with budget and winter operations if such assistance were needed. The Committee felt some amount of turnover was important. Mr. Chambliss stated he felt the 11-month turnover period could be reduced to a five month period. Mr. Emerson stated he felt that no more than a two month turnover period would be sufficient. A motion was made by Mr. Emerson and seconded by Mr. Gudmunson to recommend to the Finance Committee that the County Engineer be allowed to hire an Assistant County Engineer as his replacement no earlier than two months prior to the County Engineer’s official retirement date. The motion carried with three yes votes (Vice-Chair Augsburger, Mr. Emerson, and Mr. Gudmunson) and one no vote (Mr. Chambliss).
The second budget appeal was the deletion of $191,200.00 from budget 3510; line number 7802 for the replacement of one Tandem Dump Truck. Mr. Lorence explained to the Committee that the Highway Department has ten tandem dump trucks on a twelve year replacement cycle. This equipment is the work horse of the Department being utilized for snow removal operations as well as road repairs/maintenance projects. This is the one piece of equipment that is essential to performing the duties that this Department is responsible for. A question was asked if this expenditure was not approved would it reduce the $1.7 million deficit in the County’s General Fund Budget. Mr. Hanson indicated that neither the Assistant County Engineer position nor this piece of equipment would reduce the County’s General Fund as all of the Highway Department’s budgets are separate and apart from the General Fund. A motion was made by Mr. Emerson and seconded by Mr. Chambliss to reject this appeal and recommend to the Finance Committee that this item remain within the 2010 proposed budget. The motion carried unanimously.
The Committee thanked Mr. Hanson for his time and insight on these appeals.
AWARD RESOLUTION #R2009-49 FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF ONE SHOP TRUCK (TABLED FROM SEPTEMBER 16TH COUNTY BOARD MEETING)
Mr. Gudmunson stated he gets questions from other Board members as well as tax payers concerned about the amount of funds being spent by the County and that relationship to their property taxes being increased every year. Mr. Gudmunson stated that the two items sent back to the Committee should be discussed further and that is best done at the Committee level where you have more time to discuss these issues. Mr. Emerson stated he was not in attendance at the September Committee/Board meeting as he was out of the Country but he has since inspected the equipment in question and feels it should be replaced. The current shop truck is scheduled to be reassigned as the aerial lift truck and the aerial lift cab and chassis will be sold at auction. Mr. Gudmunson stated he had inspected the 1992 aerial lift truck and the 1997 shop truck and both looked to be in fair condition. If the current aerial lift truck only needs a transmission than Mr. Gudmunson inquired as to why the mechanics could not rebuild it and save the taxpayers money. Mr. Gudmunson stated it is nice to replace equipment every 10-12 years but sometimes when the economy is in a downturn County Government should be looking for ways to reduce spending. A motion was made by Mr. Emerson and seconded by Mr. Chambliss to return this resolution to the full County Board recommending award. The motion carried unanimously.
AWARD RESOLUTION #R2009-50 FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF ONE EXCAVATOR (TABLED FROM SEPTEMBER 16TH COUNTY BOARD MEETING):
The discussion held under the above resolution was pertinent to this resolution as well. Additional comments were presented from Mr. Ken Andersen concerning the excavator. Mr. Andersen inquired if the Department ever considered contracting the work out that is currently being done by County forces with this piece of equipment. Mr. Lorence explained that any public works project the County would be required to pay prevailing wages which would increase the cost of projects to the County. The County does not have to pay prevailing wages to its employees. The County could perform and complete projects utilizing the excavator at a lower cost to the County than any contractor. Also if the County were to rent an excavator when it needed it, past records indicate that owning would also provide a cost savings to the County. Mr. Lorence indicated that a tracked excavator would do less harm to roadways than our current wheeled excavator does. The requested excavator would also be able to work within the right-of-way and not have to set on the roadway blocking traffic. Mr. Lorence stated the excavator came in under the budgeted amount. Mr. Andersen stated that in these particular hard times just because an item is in an approved budget does not mean we have to spend the money if a purchase can be delayed for a period of time. Mr. Gudmunson stated he sees alot of waste in this Department and for the amount of time the excavator has been utilized he does not see the need to replace it. It appears to be working fine at the moment not withstanding the past history of transmission problems and the Department should make it last for awhile longer. A motion was made by Mr. Chambliss and seconded by Vice-Chair Augsburger to return this resolution to the full County Board recommending award. The motion carried with three yes votes (Vice-Chair Augsburger, Mr. Chambliss, and Mr. Emerson) and one no vote (Mr. Gudmunson).
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE COUNTY TO ENTER INTO A LOCAL AGENCY AGREEMENT FOR FEDERAL PARTICIPATION FOR A ROUNDABOUT AT GLIDDEN AND RICH ROADS:
Mr. Lorence explained that the final design had been approved for the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Glidden Road and Rich Road in DeKalb County. This project will help reduce the severity of injuries as a result of accidents at this intersection. The State of Illinois selected this safety project to be funded with HRRRP funding in an amount not to exceed $481,500.00. In order to secure this Federal Funding the County needs to enter into an agreement with the State of Illinois. This resolution satisfies that requirement. A motion was made by Mr. Emerson and seconded by Mr. Chambliss to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending approval. The motion carried with three yes votes (Vice-Chair Augsburger, Mr. Chambliss, and Mr. Emerson) and one no vote (Mr. Gudmunson).
CHAIR’S COMMENTS: None
COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS:
The Transportation Improvement Progress Report for September was provided to the Committee for their review. The highlighted projects on the report were discussed. Perry Road has been selected by Senator Burzynski and Representative Pritchard to receive Emergency Repair Program funds in the amount of $400,000.00. This project will be on our local letting and will be scheduled for February 2010. Preliminary Engineering is progressing on the Kane Road culvert project as well as Old State Road Bridge, Five Points Road Bridge and Coltonville Road Bridge. The Glidden Road roundabout is scheduled for an April 2010 State letting. The Shabbona Road bridge construction stands at 60% complete and is moving as scheduled. The South First Street project is completed with the exception of striping, which will be done when the weather permits. The additional lift to be placed on South First Street as part of the MPO stimulus project will be let on January 15, 2010.
The DeKalb Road District Bethany Road extension project is nearing completion. When completed, that part of the road within the City of DeKalb limits will be named the John Huber Parkway. In order to reduce confusion and assist 911 operators and responders, the remaining of this road north to the east curve should also be named John Huber Parkway. The DeKalb County Board has jurisdiction over naming roads in unincorporated areas. The County Engineer recommended the Highway Committee hold a public hearing and recommend to the County to change the name. The Committee by consensus agreed with the County Engineer. A public hearing will be set up in the near future.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Mr. Oncken inquired into the possibility of a traffic light at Peace and Freed Roads. Mr. Lorence indicated that no warrants have been met at that location for the installation of traffic lights.
ADJOURNMENT:
Vice-Chair Augsburger 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. Emerson to adjourn and Mr. Chambliss seconded this motion. The motion passed unanimously and the October 1, 2009 meeting was adjourned at 7:45p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Jerry Augsburger
Vice-Chair
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