Logan County Road and Bridge Committee Met July 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
Present: Mr. Farmer, Mr. Schaffenacker, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Wessbecher
Absent: Mrs. Davenport
Guests: Kati Newman
Staff: Bret Aukamp - County Engineer present
Mr. Schaffenacker called the meeting to order at 6:33pm.
1) Approval of Minutes: Mr. Wessbecher, seconded by Mr. Nelson, made a motion to approve the minutes from the June 7, 2021, meeting. Motion carried.
2) Approval of List of Claims for Payment: Mr. Wessbecher, seconded by Mr. Sanders, made a motion to approve the list of claims for payment. Motion carried.
Maintenance: Mr. Aukamp explained that with several hot days in June caused some bleeding oil on the roads and rock was spread on the roads to blot the roads on the hottest days to allow the blotter rock to stick. The weed spraying was finished in June and all the guardrails were treated along with other areas to help get the grass established. Mr. Aukamp stated that the summer interns have been trimming and mowing along guardrails to help improve visibility and reduce accidents and installing entrance culverts and maintenance on existing culverts. Mr. Aukamp mention hat the recent flooding has caused several problems within the County but overall, the culverts and bridges performed well, and the crew worked on rebuilding a section of Rocky Ford roadway, which has been rebuilt every few years after a flooding event. Mr. Aukamp stated that once the water goes down there will be a lot of driftwood to be removed from the bridges.
Construction: Mr. Aukamp mentioned a riprap project in Oran Township was completed in June and the Logan County Highway Dept provided the construction inspection and things went well.
Engineering: Mr. Aukamp explained to the committee the plumbing problems that the Logan County Highway Dept building has been having involving drain lines for the bathrooms that have had numerous leaks over the past few years but have been patched. Mr. Aukamp explained that currently the leaks are behind a masonry block wall and has been working with a masonry contractor to remove and replace the wall to allow the plumber to fix the leaks. Mr. Aukamp stated that he has received the Clear Creek bridge repair plans that was damaged in a vehicle accident and the driver was uninsured. Mr. Aukamp stated that some of the work will require specialized equipment and he will be reaching out to various contractors to get the project completed but some of the work will be completed with in house staff to help reduce the cost. Mr. Aukamp stated that every 5 years he drives the asphalt and concrete roads to conduct pavement evaluations and since there has been large roadway projects in recent years the overall health of the pavement system has improved. Mr. Aukamp stated that Mulligan Solar Farm road use agreement was approved by Broadwell Township and the township has received the letter of credit as well and construction will start very soon. Mr. Aukamp explained to the committee about the large rehab project in Mt. Pulaski Township and the project is scheduled for a letting in August.
Old Business:
1. Hill Topper Wind Farm: Mr. Aukamp stated that gearboxes are continuing to be replaced in several turbines and work should be completed in August. Mr. Aukamp explained that ENEL has been very slow to respond to invoices and that Cummins Engineering is still waiting to be paid for their final invoice for construction inspection.
2. Whitney Hill Wind Farm: Mr. Aukamp stated that they are still waiting on Swift Current Energy to acquire the last remaining documents for the right of way and that Swift Current Energy is still waiting on ENEL to get all the landowner’s signatures. Mr. Aukamp explained to the committee that if it continues then he will reach out to the wind farm attorney.
3. Sugar Creek Wind Farm: Mr. Aukamp explained to the committee that the blade replacement progress is continuing to be very slow and that the culvert work on 350th Ave has been scheduled for July 21-22, and that there is no plan to seal coat the roads this fall but additional calcium chloride was applied to the gravel to help control the dust.
4. 5th Street Road Project: Mr. Aukamp stated that Menard Electric has begun installing their new power poles at the west end of the project and that the replacement is being done at no cost to the County. Mr. Aukamp continued to tell the committee that cost estimates from Panhandle Eastern have been received to extend the casing on 2 of their pipelines and currently are asking for the County to pay $420k of the $480k project and that Mr. Aukamp is waiting to hear back from IDOT for their advice. Mr. Aukamp stated that he is waiting to hear back from Ameren’s legal and real estate department regarding the easements they have along 5th Street and are continuing to work out issues and will need to develop a cost sharing agreement before the work can be done, Ameren stated the estimated cost for relocation to be $1.2M. Mr. Aukamp stated that Frontier has been very slow to respond to any correspondence. Mr. Aukamp explained to the committee that as soon as he has received acceptable cost sharing agreements they will be presented to the Board for approval, and that the costs are much higher than what was included with cost estimates and that MFT funds would be planned to being used to pay for the utility relocations that does require approval from IDOT. Mr. Wessbecher expressed his concerns about the possible new rock quarry and the rock quarry traffic during and after the 5th Street Road Project.
New Business:
1. Resolution to award a Township MFT contract for resurfacing in the County Place Subdivision in Mt. Pulaski Township to the lowest responsible bidder. Letting scheduled for July 13th at 10am- Mr. Aukamp stated that he has been working with Mt. Pulaski Township to address the roads at County Place subdivision that the Township has wanted to resurface for several years and with additional revenue received from the Illinois Capitol Bill the township has the funds to move forward with the project that is estimated around $165k. Mr. Sanders made a motion, seconded by Mr. Nelson, for the resolution to award township MTF contract for resurfacing in the County Place subdivision. Motion carried.
2. Equipment Planning- Mr. Aukamp mentioned that the previous month the Board approved the purchase of a new snowplow truck which would be delivered in 2022 meaning that since the payment did not occur in the current budget cycle there is room in the budget year to purchase equipment since only $25,425 has been used for purchasing a used snowplow truck and Mr. Aukamp stated that he would like to purchase a mowing tractor. Mr. Aukamp explained that he is looking to purchase a 75hp tractor to be used primarily as a mowing tractor to help with the longevity of the mowing tractor with the boom mower attachment. Mr. Aukamp stated that he expects the new mowing tractor to cost around $50k which would still leave $100k in the budget line item for the year. The committee approved with public bid and letting.
3. Review of Guidelines for Snow/ Ice Removal- Mr. Aukamp stated that the document has been updated several times over the years and was last reviewed in 2010 and explained that Logan County does not have a “clear road” policy. Mr. Aukamp explained that typically a mixture of salt/ cinders is spread on critical areas such as hills, curves and stop signs and in rare instances they will spread salt/ cinders on straight sections of roadways, which is only done with the authorization from the County Engineer and is reserved for times when ice storms and cold weather would increase the potential for hazardous roads. Mr. Aukamp stated that during most snow events the county highways will have patches that are snow covered. After review by the committee Mr. Schaffenacker stated that he would like to see more wording in the “Critical Areas” portion of the guidelines, Mr. Aukamp stated he would make the changes for the committee to review at the next Road & Bridge Committee meeting.
4. Quarterly Project Status Report- Mr. Aukamp stated that the quarterly project status report has been provided in the committee packets for the committee’s review.
Communications: None.
Public Comments: None
A motion was made by Mr. Sanders, seconded by Mr. Farmer, to adjourn the meeting at 7:21pm. Motion carried.
https://logancountyil.gov/images/Road_and_Bridge_071221.pdf