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DeKalb County, Illinois |
Minutes
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DRAFT
HIGHWAY COMMITTEE
January 6, 2011
A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board was held on Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 6:00pm in the Multi-Purpose Room of the DeKalb County Health Department, 2550 N. Annie Glidden Road, DeKalb, Illinois.
Chairman Gudmunson called the meeting to order at 6:05pm. Committee members present were Vice-Chair Augsburger, Mr. Brown, Mr. Deverell, Mr. Foster and Mr. Todd. Approximately 61 County residents were also present for the discussion of the intersection at Peace and Freed Roads. Also present was Mr. Clay Campbell, State’s Attorney, Mr. John Farrell, Chief Civil Assistant for DeKalb County State’s Attorney Office; other elected officials attending were County Board members, Mr. Ken Andersen, Mr. John Emerson, Mr. Riley Oncken, and Mr. Stephen Reid; City of Sycamore Second Ward Alderman Pete Paulsen; and Sycamore Township Trustee John Ward. Mr. William Lorence, County Engineer and Wayne Davey, Support Services Manager also were in attendance from the Highway Department and Mr. Greg Millburg of DeKalb Farm Bureau.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Chair Gudmunson to approve the minutes of the regular December 2, 2010 meeting. Discussion followed by Vice-Chair Augsburger to amend line 9, 10, and 11under public comment to read “Mr. Andersen stated the County Board has the authority to over ride the warrants and guidelines contained in the MUTCD and direct the County Engineer to install traffic control devices and he requested the Committee entertain a motion to do so.” The motion to approve the minutes as corrected carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Motion made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Foster to approve the agenda as presented. The motion to approve the agenda carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Mr. Oncken addressed those assembled and thanked everyone for attending.
DISCUSSION ON THE INTERSECTION OF PEACE ROAD AND FREED ROAD:
Chairman Gudmunson opened the room up to anyone who wished to address the Committee and share their views and concerns about the intersection at Peace and Freed Roads.
Mr. John Farrell from the State’s Attorney Office made opening comments citing 625 ILCS 5/11-304 Local traffic-control devices as follows: “Local authorities in their respective maintenance jurisdiction shall place and maintain such traffic-control devices upon highways under their maintenance jurisdiction as are required to indicate and carry out the provisions of this Chapter, and local traffic ordinances or to regulate, warn, or guide traffic. All such traffic control devices shall conform to the State Manual and Specifications and shall be justified by traffic warrants stated in the Manual.” Mr. Farrell stated these regulations are in effect to allow for uniformity for the traveling public so they know what to expect from County to County or State to State as they travel. Also of concern would be, by not following the appropriate warrants and standards that have been approved the County could at some point be found not to have done their duty of care for tort immunity. Mr. Farrell just wanted to insure everyone knew what the law stated so residents know how the County Engineer is required to make these decisions concerning traffic control devices.
Mr. Anderson stated that during his campaign the topic of Peace and Freed Road came up numerous times and he stated that he made a promise to get this issue to the Highway Committee for consideration and discussion. Mr. Andersen has been to the City of Sycamore, the Sycamore School Board and Sycamore Township to talk about this issue. Mr. Andersen provided a letter from Dr. Wayne Riesen, Superintendent of Sycamore Community School District 427 which is attached and made a part of these minutes. Mr. Andersen then requested the County Engineer explain why/how the traffic signals came to be in existence at Peace and Sarah Drive.
Mr. Lorence explained the lights at Peace and Sarah Drive were driven from an Intersection Design Study completed by a private commercial entity for the purpose of accommodating anticipated traffic for the commercial and residential development of the property to the west of Peace Road. All these improvements were paid for by this private company. Geometrics (the road) can be currently built to handle traffic projected out for 20 years. Traffic signals usually can not be turned on or installed unless warrants are anticipated to be met within 3-5 years depending on the type of funding being used. The traffic and turning numbers were met or projected for these intersections, therefore their installation was approved by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Once the signals were installed and there are actual cross-roads at that intersection activation was required.
Mr. John Ward spoke as a concerned citizen and hoped that some common ground could be found to address the concerns of the residents. Mr. Ward stated this item is on the Sycamore Township’s meeting agenda for next Monday’s meeting for discussion. Mr. Ward inquired who was responsible and had jurisdiction over the stop signs that are installed at various intersections along Peace Road. Mr. Lorence stated the stop signs are the responsibility of the jurisdiction that the road is stopping for. For example, Peace Road is under the jurisdiction of DeKalb County. Therefore if traffic is being stopped on side roads to allow Peace Road traffic to flow, the stop signs are the responsibility of the jurisdiction responsible for Peace Road.
Sharie Pearcy stated that she travels Freed Road 3 times a day with small children. It is a shame to have such a good road as Peace Road but be afraid to use it. With as many trips as she has to make everyday Ms. Pearcy feels she should not always have to take a different way. Something needs to be done to allow more time for vehicles to enter Peace Road safely from Freed Road.
Cherylnn Norman stated her daughter was involved in an accident on Peace Road on December 22, 2010. She provided pictures for the Committee to view. Ms. Norman stated she could not understand why no light is currently at this intersection and wondered how many people have to lose their life before the County will do something.
Tom Leneau stated he drives a school bus and observes back-ups of as many as 10 vehicles every day at this intersection waiting to turn left. You cannot get a good bead on traffic because the road follows the houses located there. It takes at least a quarter of a mile to get his bus up to speed to flow with this traffic and it is just not a good intersection. There are times when he will not come to a full stop because he sees an opportunity to enter Peace Road and if he hesitates that opportunity will be lost. This is not a safe way to drive but these circumstances presented at this intersection dictate how one reacts.
Doris Hohertz stated she would be in favor of a round-a-bout at this location and not traffic signals. A round-a-bout would keep traffic moving and not back-up traffic on Peace Road. It would also reduce the speed at which traffic was traveling and allow vehicles to enter safely from side roads. Ms. Hohertz stated there is a difference between a round-a-bout and a traffic circle and a round-a-bout is a much safer and more practical approach for this intersection. Ms. Hohertz is a P.E. with her specialty being traffic design.
Barbara Votaw stated she is happy to have Peace Road. She has however, quit using Freed Road and instead uses Brickville Road when entering Peace Road. She noted you have to accelerate to 65 miles an hour right away to get out of the way of flowing traffic. She would like to see a four-way stop with flashing red lights installed. Ms. Votaw has watched all the other intersections receive traffic signals and can not understand why the intersection of Peace and Freed can not have one.
Ron Glogovsky provided the Committee with three sheets of signatures on a petition for a traffic control device at the intersection of Peace and Freed Road. These sheets are attached and are made part of these minutes. Mr. Glogovsky inquired why there are pedestrian crossing signs on Peace Road and do they have the right of way when crossing Peace Road. Mr. Lorence stated they would not unless they were in a marked crosswalk. Mr. Glogovsky stated it is difficult to understand why all the commercial establishments can install a traffic signal and residents can not get one installed.
Gus Vallejo stated he has been a resident for the past two years and is of the opinion that a stop light needs to be installed at this intersection.
Keith Mathey stated he feels the intersection is dangerous but does not feel a traffic light is the answer. Maybe if the traffic lights at Peace and Ward and Peace and Rt 64 could be adjusted to allow more time (gaps) between traffic flows, traffic could enter Peace Road better. Mr. Mathey stated there are no speed limit signs on Peace Road and was wondering if there was anyway to slow traffic down. Mr. Mathey stated that he sees very little speed enforcement on Peace Road from the County or the City of Sycamore. The intersection is dangerous between the hours of 7:30 to 8:30am and from about 4:30 to 5:30pm. The people who live around Freed Road know how to drive and what to expect and drive accordingly.
Pete Paulsen has received several suggestions for this intersection including the construction of a round-a-bout, a four-way stop and traffic lights. He indicated that in his opinion traffic lights would not solve all the problems at this location. The majority of incidents happen because of human error. If people would drive to Mercantile Drive on Peace Road and be the first in line you can experience just how long you will have to sit at a light, even if no traffic was coming on Peace Road. Just recently at Peace and Ward a car was rear ended while stopped at the traffic light. Mr. Paulsen stated drivers need to pay closer attention these days as traffic increases and people pay less attention to actually driving. The County needs to follow the established guidelines and warrants established by the Federal and State Government. Most traffic signals are completely driven by commercial development and IDOT tells local jurisdictions what can be done and what can’t be done. Mr. Paulsen stated he would like to see a speed reduction on Peace Road.
Joe Merriman stated he moved to this area in 2004. At first he did not have to deal with the traffic but since changing jobs he now has to sit in the traffic waiting to get onto Peace Road. He feels a traffic light is not the answer, but there should be some incremental steps that can be taken building up to the installation of traffic signals. Mr. Merriman feels most of these accidents are caused by human error. He would like to see the speed limit reduced to 40 mph from Peace/Plank/Rt 23 to Route 64 before we charge the tax payers for a set of traffic signals.
There were several comments from the audience that are summarize here:
Chief Deputy Dumdie was called upon to see if the Sheriff’s Department would write tickets for speeding where the speed limit was not a valid one. Chief Dumdie stated they have criteria that must be met in order to ensure a ticket is valid and will stand up in court. If a speed zone is not established in the proper manner the Sheriff’s Department would have no authority to write tickets and would waste valuable law enforcement time writing tickets that would not stand up in a court of law. Chief Dumdie stated when the squads sit to do radar by the time the tenth car is down the road everyone is flashing their lights warning of the radar. That is why they have the capability of moving radar and they run it from a running vehicle rather a sitting one. The Sheriff’s Department has had to cut positions from traffic control due to budget cuts. They try to balance the need throughout the County at high traffic times. The County is constantly out on Peace Road.
The Committee was asked now that they had heard from their constituents and they have brought a concern to them what was this Committee going to do. Vice-Chair Augsburger stated the Committee would take no action tonight. However, this issue will be brought back to the Committee where it will be discussed at length and any recommendation(s) the Committee felt would be beneficial and legal they would either request the County Engineer to implement or forward their recommendation to the full County Board if the recommendation required Board action.
Mr. Foster stated that as a new Board member attending his first meeting, as several other Committee members are as well, that time would be needed to address these concerns. This issue will be further discussed and recommendations will be made. Citizens can follow this issue on the County’s web site at www.dekalbcounty.org under meetings and agendas and you will know when this issue will be discussed. There is no time line for a decision to be made on this issue.
Chairman Gudmunson thanked everyone for coming and stated the Committee had other business that needed to be attended to tonight. If anyone would like to stay for the remainder of the meeting they are welcome to do so or they may leave.
AWARD RESOLUTION R#2011-01 ROAD DISTRICT MFT AGGREGATE PROJECTS:
Mr. Lorence explained that every year the County prepares bid documents for any of the 19 Road Districts that need to purchase aggregate (gravel) for the maintenance of their respective roads. We had five aggregate projects this year with only four needing County Board award. Road Districts using Township Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds for these projects are awarded by the County Board. We received on average four bids per project this year and prices were approximately 5-10% lower than last year on comparable projects. Macklin, Inc from Rochelle, Illinois submitted the low bid meeting specifications for 6,600 tons of aggregate surface course to be spread on Cemetery Road and Shabbona Grove Road in Shabbona Road District in the amount of $57,288; Vulcan Construction Materials, LP from Sycamore, Illinois submitted the low bids for 2,200 tons of aggregate surface course to be spread on Minnegan Road in Afton Road District for a total of $17,006.00; 5,000 ton of aggregate spread on Teman, Owens, and Weiherman Road in Pierce Road District; 2,500 tons of aggregate spread on Governor Beveridge Highway in Squaw Grove Road District; Wagner Aggregate, Inc from DeKalb, Illinois submitted the low bid meeting specifications for 7,500 ton of aggregate to be spread on Snake, Scrivins and Herbert Roads in Kingston Road District. Mr. Lorence recommended the Committee forward this resolution recommending approval. A motion was made by Mr. Foster and seconded by Vice-Chair Augsburger to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending award. The motion carried unanimously.
MFT RESOLUTION #R2011-02 COUNTY-WIDE SEAL COAT PROJECT:
Mr. Lorence explained that in order for the Highway Department to utilize MFT funds for County projects the County Board must first pass a resolution stating the amount of funds it will be using. This resolution, once passed, is then forwarded to the State for authorization of those funds. This resolution is based on an engineer’s estimate and must be presented to the State prior to the County advertising this project for bids. This project is scheduled for letting on February 1, 2011. The entire 2011 Seal Coat project has been estimated to be over a million dollars, with the County’s portion around $300,000. We will use approximately 55% MFT funds for this project or $172,834.75 for 18 miles of seal coat. Mr. Lorence recommended this resolution be forwarded to the full County Board recommending approval. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Todd to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending award. The motion carried unanimously.
MFT RESOLUTION #R2011-03 COUNTY CRACK FILL PROJECT:
Mr. Lorence explained the County will be utilizing MFT funds to help pay for a crack filling and routing project. The County has fallen behind in filling cracks and needs to get caught up. This project is for approximately 72 miles of roadway and is expected to cost over $200,000. We will use approximately 55% MFT funds for this project as well or $122,578.50. Mr. Lorence recommended this resolution be forwarded to the full County Board recommending approval. A motion was made by Vice-Chair Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Brown to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending award. The motion carried unanimously.
CHAIR’S COMMENTS: Chair Gudmunson stated he had no comments at this time.
COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS:
The Transportation Improvement Progress Report for December was provided to the Committee for their review. The highlighted projects on the report were discussed. The East County Line Road project as well as the East County Line Road Bridge project will continue to move forward together. As the bridge gets replaced, the County will upgrade this road to an all weather 80,000 pound route. Waterman Road is being surveyed for additional right-of-way needed for improvements. All bridge projects continue to move forward making satisfactory progress. All necessary right-of-way has now been obtained for the Old State Road Bridge. The County will be placing a fog seal on Peace Road this summer from Pleasant Street to Wirsing Boulevard. This will be the first time we have used this particular product and we are hoping to extend the time before resurfacing is needed. This procedure should help protect the surface layer that is deteriorating due to the heavy traffic.
The Snow Removal Policy for the 2010-2011 winter season was provided to the Committee for information. Mr. Lorence encourages anyone with any specific questions concerning this policy to please speak with him. One major change this year is the Department will no longer assign a plow driver to stay all night at the Department during a serious snow event. The Department feels response time should be acceptable in the event a call out is necessary. With having only a limited number of plow drivers, when a driver was required to stay all night, the next day the Department was short a plow driver due to DOT rest requirements. The Department will monitor how this change goes for this year and see if any adjustments will need to be made.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Mr. Brown inquired into the status of the Keslinger Road Bridge. Mr. Lorence indicated that the State’s Attorney is proceeding to go forward and take the case to Court. Chair Gudmunson inquired if we at least had a set of plans for the bridge. Mr. Lorence stated the only forward movement of this project was the removal of the bridge from the streambed.
Chair Gudmunson inquired about the bridge deck on Somonauk Road, south of Hinckley. There appears to be pot holes and wondered if they can be fixed. Mr. Lorence stated this bridge was built prior to the use of epoxy coated reinforcement bars in the deck. The bars currently in the deck are rusted and as they rust they expand causing the concrete to break apart. We have had trouble with this bridge for some time and keep trying new materials to try to correct the problem without having to bare the expense of a total deck replacement. This will be looked at again this spring and see if a new material that was recently purchased will solve the problem.
ADJOURNMENT:
Chair Gudmunson 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. Foster to adjourn and Mr. Deverell seconded this motion. The motion passed unanimously and the January 6, 2011 meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
John Gudmunson Chairperson |
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