DRAFT

HIGHWAY COMMITTEE

April 5, 2012

A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board was held on Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 6:00pm in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, DeKalb, Illinois.  

Chairman Gudmunson called the meeting to order at 6:00pm.  Committee members present were Vice Chair Augsburger, Mr. Brown, Mr. Cribben, Mr. Deverell and Mr. Foster.   Others present were Mr. Nathan Schwartz, County Engineer and Wayne Davey, Support Services Manager, from the Highway Department.   Mr. Tice Cole, Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, Inc. was also present.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Motion made by Vice Chairman Augsburger and seconded by Mr. Foster to approve the minutes of the regular March 1, 2012 and special March 23, 2012 meeting.  The motion to approve both sets of minutes carried unanimously. 

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Mr. Brown and seconded by Mr. Cribben to approve the agenda as presented.    The motion passed unanimously. 

PUBLIC COMMENT:   None

RESOLUTION #R2012-26 – LOCAL AGENCY AGREEMENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE RURAL SIGN UPGRADE PROGRAM

Mr. Davey explained to the Committee that DeKalb County has been selected by the Illinois Department of Transportation to participate in the Rural Sign Upgrade Program.  This Program consists of upgrading signs currently on the roadway system to be upgraded to meet the current requirement for retroreflectivity.  DeKalb County would be the lead agency for this program and in addition to DeKalb County, all 19 Road Districts and all Municipalities within DeKalb County with a population of 5,000 or less are also eligible for participation.  Each agency can apply for a grant of up to $25,000.00 for the replacement of their signs, posts and hardware.  Only regulatory and warning signs are eligible for replacement at this time.  There is no local match required.  Funding would be 90% Federal and 10% State.  Mr. Foster made a motion and Vice Chairman Augsburger seconded it to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion passed unanimously. 

RESOLUTION #R2012-27 – AWARD RESOLUTION FOR 2012 COUNTY WIDE STRIPING PROGRAM:

Mr. Schwartz explained to the Committee that bids were received on April 5, 2012 for the County’s striping project for 2012.  Two bids were received for this project and America’s Parking Remarking from St. Louis, Missouri submitted the low bid meeting specifications in the amount of $262,817.00.  This Company has done business in DeKalb County before and their performance has been satisfactory.  The County Engineer recommended award to America’s Parking Remarking.  Vice Chairman Augsburger made a motion and Mr. Cribben seconded it to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending approval.  The motion passed unanimously. 

MFT RESOLUTION #R2012-28 FOR SECTION NUMBER 12-00000-03-GM:  COUNTY STRIPING PROJECT

As explained in the past, when the County intends to utilize Motor Fuel Tax funds to pay for all or a portion of a project, the full County Board must authorize the appropriation of that expenditure.  The County will pay for approximately one half of the County’s striping project with MFT funds for 2012 and that amount has been estimated to be $93,410.00.  Mr. Foster made a motion to forward this resolution to the full County Board recommending approval and that motion was seconded by Mr. Deverell.   The motion passed unanimously.

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS:  Chairman Gudmunson shared the 2012 Legislative Positions from the DeKalb County Farm Bureau.  A summary of those positions are as follows:

1. Encourage the Highway Committee to develop a plan to bring roads and bridges up to 80,000 pound road standards
2. Until all Roads are 80,000 pounds, make Peace Road an 80,000 thoroughfare and remain strong on limiting access to that road
3. Allow 80,000 pound loads on local roads during times of the year when road structure would not be jeopardized.  (June 1^st through November 30^th of each year)
4. Support legislation allowing local jurisdictions to issue overweight permits for 80,000 pounds for divisible loads to connect to current 80,000 pound routes
5. Continue maintenance of the road right-of-way though routine mowing, responsible snow plowing practices and the eradication of noxious weeds

Chairman Gudmunson also shared correspondence from one of his constituents stating concerns over how DeKalb County manages the spring postings for the County Roads and the need for improvement. 

The County Engineer stated he would address the above issues and provide talking points for the Committee to share with the public.

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS: 

Mr. Schwartz presented the Transportation Improvement Progress Report for the month of March.  Progress is being made for Chicago Road from Route 23 east to the Rosenwinkle grain facility to be a truck route.  Letting for this project will hopefully be conducted during June of 2012.  The design engineering on the Five Points Road Bridge is at 75% and continues to move forward.  The Hortense Street Bridge has entered the preliminary engineering phase and Baxter and Woodman has begun the design work.  McClure Engineering continues with work on creating right-of-way plats for the south half of this project.

The Keslinger Road Bridge remains in the court system.  No reportable progress has been made since our last report.

The ComEd transmission line upgrade project has moved to Lee County.  All roads used in DeKalb County for this project have been repaired and attention now is being directed toward landscaping operations.  That operation will start in Kane County and move west repairing right-of-ways by grading and seeding. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:   None

ADJOURNMENT:

Chair Gudmunson asked if there was anything further that needed to be discussed and hearing none asked for a motion to adjourn.  A motion was made by Mr. Foster and seconded by Mr. Deverell to adjourn.  The motion passed unanimously and the March 1, 2012 meeting was adjourned at 6:50pm.

                                                                        Respectfully Submitted,

                                                                        John Gudmunson

                                                                        Chairperson