Sangamon Sun

Logan County Board Transportation Committee Jan. 8.

Here are the minutes provided by the committee:

Present: Mr. Wessbecher, Mr. DeRoss, Mr. Turner, Mrs. Davenport(remotely) 

Absent: Mrs. Bobell 

Guests: Gene Rohlfs, Kurt Fox, Bret Aukamp, Dale Nelson 

Meeting Called to Order: Mr. Wessbecher called the meeting to order at 5:30pm. 

Approval of Minutes: Mr. DeRoss made a motion, seconded by Mr. Turner, to approve the December 4th, 2023, committee meeting minutes. Motion carried.  

Old Business: AIRPORT & FARM- Mr. Wessbecher stated that there was no old business to discuss but gave an update to the committee regarding property taxes at the airport discussed last month and spoke about a possible exemption.  

New Business: AIRPORT & FARM 

1. Reports: 

a. Airport/ Farm- Mr. Rohlfs gave his report to the committee regarding fuel sales, current projects updates, hangar remodels and updates, new hangar leases, and ground hog remediation. The committee had a discussion with Mr. Rohlfs regarding his report and added  that only 3 hangars will be unoccupied after the completion of the changes to be made at the airport. Mr. Rohlfs added that more brush and tree cutting has been completed at the airport and thanked Mr. DeRoss for his visit to the airport in December. Mr. Rohlfs told the committee about the various visitors to the airport over the previous month.  

b. HIF- Mr. Fox told the committee that of the fuel sales HIF was responsible for at least 150 gallons and told the committee about the Heritage in Flight Museum radio interview. Mr. Wessbecher stated that it is good to get the information out about the museum. Mr. Nelson questioned the sales tax line item in the airport budget, Mr. Rohlfs and Mr. Wessbecher explained the process to Mr. Nelson, the committee had discussion on the topic with Mr.  Rohlfs and Mr. Nelson.  

Old Business: HIGHWAY/ ROAD & BRIDGE 

1. Monthly Report on Maintenance, Construction, and Engineering- Mr. Aukamp explained that  the monthly report is in the committee packets and gave the committee a brief overview of the report to the committee. Mr. Aukamp also told the committee that since the December Regular Board meeting was cancelled all the December action items will need to be presented again at the January Regular Board meeting.  

2. Wind Farms 

a. Status of Top Hat Wind Farm Project- Mr. Aukamp stated that he is having weekly phone calls with the developer and has received a preliminary set of roadway plans and has provided a list of comments to the developer’s engineer.  

b. Other Projects- Mr. Aukamp stated he had nothing new to report on the Pike Creek  windfarm and stated that four wind turbines have been repaired for Whitney Hill with more turbines to be repaired while the crane is onsite. Mr. Nelson asked questions regarding the  wind turbine repairs and the crane. 

3. 5th Street Road Project  

a. Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Lincoln- Mr. Aukamp stated that the current IGA with the city will expire in April and will need to work with the city on getting that renewed. Mr. Aukamp gave the committee a breakdown of the cost and the funding of the project. Mr. Wessbecher stated that the 5th Street Project has been a 25–30year project, Mr. Aukamp agreed, and gave a brief history on the project to the committee. Mr. Aukamp stated that the topic will be discussed more over the coming months and will have  more information as time moves on.  

New Business: HIGHWAY/ ROAD & BRIDGE 

1. Resolution to award 2024 MFT contract for Aggregate Materials to lowest responsible bidders. Letting scheduled for January 9th at 10:00am- Mr. Aukamp explained the bid letting to the committee and stated that he will have all the information by the January Workshop meeting.  Mr. DeRoss made a motion, seconded by Mr. Turner, to award a contract to the lowest bidder.  Motion carried.  

2. Resolution to approve a funding agreement with IDOT for resurfacing County Highway 15 between New Holland and Middletown- Mr. Aukamp explained the agreement and the funding for the project to the committee and stated that the village of Middletown has signed an IGA for reimbursement to the Highway Department for their portion of the project. Mr. Aukamp also explained to the committee where the project will gap over previously resurfaced areas. Mr. Turner made a motion, seconded by Mr. DeRoss, to approve the funding agreement. Motion carried.  

3. Resolution to approve a funding agreement with IDOT for the design of a bridge rehab project on County Highway 24 between New Holland and San Jose- Mr. Aukamp stated that he placed the item on the agenda cannot move forward with the item until IDOT has the funding agreement reviewed, Mr. Aukamp added he has been waiting for the review since September 2023 but added if the agreement is ready before the January Workshop meeting he will ask to have it brought forward at that time.  

4. Quarterly Project Status Report- Mr. Aukamp stated that an updated report is in the committee packets. Mr. Aukamp added several projects have been completed since the last quarterly report and explained those completed to the committee.  

Budget Review & Approval of Bills: Mr. Aukamp pointed out one error in his report of claims to the committee, and stated he would get it corrected and apologized to the committee. Mr. Turner made a  motion, seconded by Mr. DeRoss, to approve the bills. Motion carried. 

Public Comments: None.  

Mr. DeRoss made a motion, seconded by Mr. Turner, to adjourn the meeting at 6:40pm. Motion carried.  

https://logancountyil.gov/images/Transportation010824.pdf