NW Illinois News

Ogle County Highway Department Road & Bridge Committee met May 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

I. Meeting called to order at 8:00 AM by Chairman Hopkins. Meeting held virtually over Zoom conference.

Members participating: Stan Asp, Dorothy Bowers, Lloyd Droege (8:15), Rick Fritz and Lyle Hopkins.

Others participating: Patt Nordman & Jeremy Ciesiel (County Engineer)

II. Approval of Minutes

A. Reviewed April 14, 2020 Road & Bridge Minutes.

1. Motion to approve minutes by – Dorothy Bowers

2. Motion seconded by – Stan Asp

3. Vote – All in favor

III. Reviewed Bills and Payroll

A. Motion to approve Highway Dept bills and payrolls by – Rick Fritz

B. Motion seconded by – Dorothy Bowers

C. Vote – All in favor

IV. Review & Award of Bids received April 9, 2020

A. Flagg Twp–Thorpe Rd & Klondike Rd Reconstruction (Sect. 20-06139-00-WR)

1. Motion to award low bid, subject to no protests being filed by – Dorothy Bowers

2. Motion Seconded by – Rick Fritz

3. Discussion: None

4. Vote – All in favor

V. Petitions and Resolutions

A. None

VI. Business & Communications

A. Unfinished Business

1. COVID-19 Update: As of May 4th, the Highway Department is back to full staff. A response memo was shared with the committee detailing the updated procedures. The staff is still split into two crews with each crew having a different starting time. This is possible since the majority of work being performed is along the highways. On rain days when it is not possible to perform roadside maintenance, one crew is sent home in order to keep the crews separate. Dorothy Bowers commented that she feels the Highway Department has a good plan in place.

2. Water Road Bridge: On April 24th, the bids were opened in Springfield for the Water Road Bridge Replacement project taking place in Byron Township. The low bidder was Curnyn Construction out of Geneseo with a bid price of $246,611. Contracts are currently being executed.

3. Project Status Report (See Attached)

4. REBUILD Illinois Update: IDOT will be distributing the proceeds of the first of six bond sales shortly. These are expected to occur roughly every 6 months over the next 3 years. While the distributions to townships will be able to be used for most routine maintenance projects, there are more restrictions for counties and most municipalities on what type of projects the funds can be used to finance. In general, the funds must be used on a project with an expected life of at least 13 years. However, preliminary discussions with IDOT indicate that there are additional restrictions. These restrictions will be discussed in more detail at the IACE Policy Committee meeting on May 19th. The County Engineer will provide an update in June.

5. We are still waiting for the April Motor Fuel Tax numbers to be released in order to better assess the impacts of the COVID-19 stay at home order. For the Townships the REBUILD Illinois payment will make up for any shortcomings in traditional MFT receipts.

6. The International HV-507 tandem-axle dump truck ordered on March 19, 2019, arrived last week. Everything appears to be in order.

B. New Business

1. I.A.C.E. Legislative Committee – Nothing new to report.

2. I.A.C.E. Policy Committee – Meeting on March 19th.

3. Next Meeting – Tuesday, June 9, 2020, @ 8:00 AM,

County Engineer may not be present for this meeting. If he is unavailable, Shaun Gallagher, Asst. County Engineer, will be in attendance at the meeting.

Location still to be determined

Lettings: None

4. Dorothy Bowers asked about delays at the Highway Department due to COVID-19. The County Engineer responded that the majority of the work under contract should go as planned. He has not heard of any supply line or staffing issues from the contractors. There is an issue with the crack sealing contractor being unable to find hotels in the area for their crew. As a result, this work has been delayed until September. The delays that will be realized are on those functions performed by our own County forces. It was decided to hold off on hiring the seasonal employees that normally perform road-side mowing given the current pandemic. The full-time staff will therefore need to handle mowing operations. This will reduce the staff available for road patching, structure repair, ditch cleaning, culvert replacement, etc. Ultimately, less work will be performed in 2020.

VII. Public Comment

- Lyle Hopkins was pleased with the distribution of information prior to the meeting. This sentiment was seconded by Dorothy Bowers, Lloyd Droege, Stan Asp and Rick Fritz.

VIII. Meeting adjourned at 8:25 A.M. by Chairman Hopkins. Minutes submitted by Jeremy A. Ciesiel, PE

https://www.oglecounty.org/document_center/highway/road%20and%20bridge/2020/Road%20&%20Bridge%20Minutes%20May%202020.pdf