At the August 8 meeting of the county board, airport plans/budget and the 2018 Highway department preliminary budget dominated the discussion.
The grant which was accepted is in the amount of $486,041 from the Federal Aviation Administration for an updated Master Plan and rehab of pavements and apron (crack repair and seal coating). The state and the county will each provide 5% of the total project cost of $540,047, or $27,003 each. A grant agreement for the airport improvements and Master Plan was approved.
The board also approved a Federal Airport Funding Repayment Agreement with Mahnomen County. Highway/Airport Office Manager Pam Schroeder explained that the bid was about $5,000 over the not to exceed cost. Within the FAA system, expiring entitlement funds can be transferred that otherwise would be lost. Fillmore County will receive a transfer of $4,927 of 2017 FAA entitlement funds from Mahnomen County for use at the Fillmore County Airport. Fillmore County will transfer $4,927 of their 2018 FAA entitlement funds to Mahnomen County as a repayment of the transfer.
Schroeder reviewed the airport budget. Currently, the amount to be levied for the airport is $53,185.
County Engineer Ron Gregg said his department’s budget is divided into four sections: administration, maintenance, construction, and shop. Commissioner Duane Bakke questioned the amount of $30,000 for dust control. Gregg said it would be for CSAH 1 during reconstruction. CSAH 1 is the highest traveled county road in Fillmore County; 2,500 cars per day.
CSAH 1 will be paved with concrete in 2018 from Spring Valley to Highway 30 at an estimated cost of $7 million. In 2019 it will be paved from Spring Valley to Ostrander.
Commissioner Mitch Lentz suggested that CSAH 1 be closed to local traffic only until the construction project is complete.
The county has a 2018 budget of $80,000 for weed control (wild parsnip). The plan is to spray along all county roads. Chairman Randy Dahl said he would like to look into the cost of getting a piece of equipment to be used for the spraying. It is hired out now.
Gregg listed the equipment he would like to obtain in 2018, including a tandem truck, half-ton pick-up, one-ton pick-up, hydra seeder, a used sheep foot, and additional attachments for the skid steer.
About $80,000 is budgeted to fix the hoop building in Canton. Gregg questioned whether they should be looking into a more permanent structure. Other building improvement money was budgeted for a new roof on the Preston shop (half in 2017, half in 2018). There is a 1.51%, or $33,487, increase in levy dollars in the Highway Department preliminary budget for 2018.
There was considerable discussion about the street which belongs to the county between the sheriff’s office, county office building, and highway building. Bakke asked if the Wheelage Tax, which will begin to be collected after the first of the year, could be used to pay for the work on that street. Gregg admitted it probably could, saying it was the board’s choice. Gregg expects that this tax, which is expected to generate nearly $300,000 by August 2018, could be used for chip sealing about 11 miles of road (County Roads 9, 14, and 20). These are roads that didn’t get included under the preservation projects to be paid for with Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) dollars. County Roads 15 and 8 also need chip sealing. The budget for LOST dollars is $664,500.
Gregg explained the window that chip sealing is most effective for extending the life of a road is in the first couple of years after being paved. After this initial chip sealing, a road should be chip sealed again at five to seven years after paving. Lentz said there are a lot of roads that need our help. Chip sealing is not cost effective on older roads; at that point a full depth reclamation is called for.
Bakke said he voted for the Wheelage Tax because we can’t keep up with chip sealing maintenance with LOST dollars only. He noted that Infrastructure Fund money could also be used to pay part of the cost of the street that belongs to the county in front of the office building. Gregg said our staff can survey and design the street. Bakke said then we can figure out the cost and how to pay for it.
Gregg said CSAH 1 will be the last reconstruction project. Funds need to be used to preserve what we have. Bakke agreed, saying some roads will get full depth reclamation, but not total reconstruction.
Other business in brief
• The resignation to retire from Tom Mosher, deputy sheriff, was approved with thanks, effective September 28.
• The updated Insurance and Other Benefits Policy was approved.
• An access permit for Stephen and Diane Hafner, Section 27, Bloomfield Township for the expansion of an existing driveway to accommodate larger equipment was approved.
• Approval was given for the use of up to four Fillmore County light tower generators for security lighting on August 12 for the Root River Fest at the Fillmore County Fairgrounds.
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