DRAFT

HIGHWAY COMMITTEE

November 4, 2010

A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board was held on Thursday, November 4, 2010 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 Vice-Chairperson Augsburger, Mr. Emerson, Mr. Gudmunson and Mr. Reid.  Also present were Mr. Charlie Foster, newly elected Board member for District 1, Ms. Dawn Cosentino from Crawford Murphy & Tilly, Mr. William Lorence, County Engineer and Wayne Davey, Support Services Manager.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Mr. Gudmunson and seconded by Vice Chair Augsburger to approve the minutes of the regular September 2, 2010 meeting.  The motion to approve the minutes carried unanimously. 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Mr. Reid and seconded by Vice Chair Augsburger to approve the agenda as presented.   The motion to approve the agenda carried unanimously. 

PUBLIC COMMENT:   None

EXEMPT EMPLOYEE (County Engineer) EVALUATION:

Chair LaVigne stated she had not received any correspondence from the Mr. Bockman concerning the performance of Mr. Lorence.  Mr. Lorence stated he had met all of the requirements set forth in the approved standard work plan and that he has received his credit for 40 hours of continuing education or professional development hours in his area of responsibility during this current year.  Because no raises will be entertained this year there was no need for any exceptional performance discussion by the Committee.  There was no action taken on this item by the Committee.

ORDINANCE #2010-23 PROHIBITING EXCESSIVE ENGINE BRAKING NOISE:

Mr. Lorence requested the Support Services Manger address this item.  Mr. Davey stated that the Highway Department received a concern from a DeKalb County resident living in the area of Illinois Route 72 and Glidden Road regarding excessive engine braking noise.  The resident’s main concern was that this was happening in the early morning hours and this noise was waking children in the household. 625 ILCS 5/12-602.1 does provide the County with the authority to place Excessive Engine Braking Noise Prohibited signs within the County.  After a discussion with the State’s Attorney it was agreed that an ordinance would need to be approved by the County Board prior to the placing of any such signs.  The intersection of Illinois Route 72 and Glidden Road is under the traffic enforcement responsibility of the Village of Kingston.  Contact with the Village by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department learned that the Village currently has a no engine braking ordinance with signs located on Illinois Route 72.  The Village agreed to move their current signs back to the Village limits to the west to allow for enforcement of their ordinance at the intersection of Illinois Route 72 and Glidden.  Further conversation with the Sheriff’s Department learned that this was the only complaint received on this issue in recent memory.  Because this concern appears to have been resolved Mr. Davey inquired of the Committee if they felt is necessary to pursue an ordinance where there might not be a county wide problem.  The consensus of the Committee was that this appeared to be an isolated incident and recommended no action be taken on this item.  This item can be addressed again if/when the Sheriffs’ Department feels engine braking has become a problem in the County that is not within the responsibility of local Cities, Villages or Towns law enforcement. 

RESOLUTION R#2010-58 AUTHORIZING SIGNING OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH SYCAMORE PARK DISTRICT TO USE COUNTY PROPERTY AS A DOG PARK:

Mr. Lorence stated the Sycamore Park District had contacted him regarding a County owned 1.8 acre parcel of land located at the intersection of Ali Drive and Old State Road.  The Park District would like to use this property as a dog park.  This land was purchased by the County for the future realignment of Airport Road.  Currently the land is vacant and has to be maintained by County forces.  There are no plans in the near future to construct or realign Airport Road and this agreement would allow the Park District to use this land for a dog park and temporarily relieve the County from maintenance responsibilities.  If funding becomes available for this project then the park would cease to exist.  This property is already off the tax rolls and would not result in any loss of revenue to the County nor is there any cost to the County involved in this agreement.  It would appear to have benefits for both parties.   Mr. Lorence recommended it be forwarded to the full County Board recommending approval.   A motion was made by Vice Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Emerson to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion carried unanimously.

2011 BUDGET APPEALS:

Due to the Finance Committee acting on all outstanding budget appeals not heard by Committees on November 3, 2010 the Committee took no action on this item.

CHAIR’S COMMENTS:      Chair LaVigne requested an update on the Keslinger Road Bridge.  Mr. Lorence stated nothing has changed since he was informed the Illinois Attorney General was becoming involved with this case.  Mr. Gudmunson expressed concern over this issue as it has been over two years and no progress has been made.  Mr. Gudmunson asked how soon a bridge could be built when this issue is finally settled.  Mr. Lorence stated the quickest he has seen a bridge replaced is six months. 

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

The Transportation Improvement Progress Report for October was provided to the Committee for their review.  The highlighted projects on the report were discussed.  The Kane Road box culvert project and the Perry Road Bridge project have been completed and the roads reopened.  All bridge projects continue to move forward making satisfactory progress.  Old State Road Bridge is waiting on some additional land requirements and then it will be ready to locally let for a spring construction start.  All construction projects have been completed for the year and maintenance projects will continue with the cleaning and installation of culvert and reshaping waterways until weather prohibits such projects.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:    None

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 Mr. Emerson to adjourn and Mr. Gudmunson seconded this motion. The motion passed unanimously and the November 4, 2010 meeting was adjourned at 6:53 p.m. 

Respectfully Submitted

Patricia LaVigne

Chairperson