McLean County Transportation Committee met Dec. 7.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Transportation Committee of the McLean County Board met at 8:00 a.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 E. Washington St., Bloomington, Illinois.
Members Present: Chairman James Soeldner, Members William Friedrich, Gerald Thompson, Lea Cline, Val Laymon and Jim Rogal
Members Absent: Member Shayna Watchinski
Other Members Present: None
Staff Members Present: Cassy Taylor, Interim County Administrator; Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator; Chris Spanos, First Assistant State’s Attorney – Civil Division; Julie Morlock, Recording Secretary
Department Heads Present: Jerry Stokes, County Engineer
Others Present: Luke Hohulin, Assistant County Engineer The meeting was called to order by Chairman Soeldner at 8:00 a.m. and a quorum declared.
Chairman Soeldner presented the minutes from the November 2, 2021 regular meeting for approval.
Motion by Laymon/Friedrich to approve the November 2, 2021 regular minutes.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Soeldner presented prepaid bills in the amount of $1,323,989.11. Mr. Soeldner asked where right of way purchase was located. Mr. Stokes noted on Lexington East where they would be doing a realignment project because of accidents at a curve. Mr. Soeldner noted high price. Mr. stokes noted prices are based on current value.
Motion by Cline/Laymon to recommend payment of bills as presented.
Motion carried.
Chairman Soeldner confirmed with Cassy Taylor there were no appearances by members of the public or employees.
Chairman Soeldner presented for action Request Approval of Bridge Fund Resolution, Brand II Bridge (CH 32), Section 20-00057-12-BR. Mr. Stokes noted this project was held up with an environmental issue and just received clearance from the Department of Natural Resources. He went over and showed pictures of this project on Stringtown road near Stanford. Mr. Soeldner asked how it would affect traffic. Mr. Stokes indicated it might affect some school traffic to Olympia a little and through traffic would need to be detoured.
Motion by Cline/Thompson to recommend approval Request Approval of Bridge Fund Resolution, Brand II Bridge (CH 32), Section 20-00057-12-BR
Motion Carried.
Chairman Soeldner presented for action Request Approval of Highway Fund Resolution, Meadows Road (CH 23) – Section 21-00005-06-RS. He stated projects were from the wind farm. He went over location and cost of project. Mr. Soeldner asked whether deck of bridges would be included. Mr. stokes indicated one bridge was over interstate, so it is part of the State’s budget and other was not part of project plans at this time. Mr. Thompson asked about vehicle count on that road. Mr. Stokes indicated fairly busy so would have to detour traffic. Mr. Friedrich asked how they could address the State not taking care of bridges on County roads that go over interstates. Mr. stokes noted bridges over Interstate 74 all built about the same time and all having same problem. He stated they call and report issues, but do not want to do patch work and have the State want to transfer responsibility to the County. Mr. Stokes stated they could make a call and see where timing of bridge repairs are in the State’s plan. Mr. Soeldner stated he felt that would be a good place to start.
Motion by Laymon/Thompson to recommend Request Approval of Highway Fund Resolution, Meadows Road (CH 23) – Section 21-00005-06-RS
Motion Carried.
Chairman Soeldner presented for action Request to Approve PJ Keller Highway (CH 8) – Section 21-00046-14-RS. Mr. Stokes went over location and plans for this project.
Motion by Thompson/Friedrich to recommend approval of PJ Keller Highway (CH 8) – Section 21-00046-14-RS
Motion Carried.
Chairman Soeldner presented for action Request to Approve a Motor Fuel Tax Resolution and asked if any Member felt the need to go into CLOSED SESSION pursuant to section 2 (c)(1) of the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)) to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or a volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity.
Motion by Cline/Thompson to go into CLOSED SESSION pursuant to section 2 (c)(1) of the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1)) to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a specific individual who serves as an independent contractor in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or a volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity.
Motion Carried.
Transportation Committee entered closed session at 8:15 a.m.
Transportation Committee returned to open session 8:25 a.m.
Motion Laymon/Friedrich to recommend approval of a Motor Fuel tax resolution.
Motion Carried
Mr. Stokes showed pictures and went over work done on the Olympia road project. He noted they went over budget because of some incidentals. Mr. Friedrich asked who did the work on the project. Mr. Stokes indicated Rowe Construction did the work. Mr. Thompson asked about total cost and Mr. Stokes provided figures.
Under other business Mr. Stokes reminded Committee of discussion in a previous meeting about the delay in getting tandem trucks. Mr. stokes indicated a vender had two slots open up through a third-party company that does bidding for local government and non-for-profit organizations. He stated he wanted to bring this item to stand-up so they could get these two trucks before another party purchased them. He went over pricing compared to last year which would be 2% above last year. He stated if they could get in the que for these they would receive them in in June or July of next year.
Mr. Friedrich asked about total trucks in fleet. Mr. Stokes noted they have 19 tandems and a couple of one ton. Mr. Stokes stated they run 18 during the winter and have 1 as back up. Mr. Friedrich asked about milage on each. Mr. Stokes indicated trucks they would trade have approximately 100,000 and 90,000 miles on them. Mr. Friedrichs noted electronics do not last as long and asked if those could be left off. Mr. stokes indicated that was EPA regulated so they could not request that. Mr. Soeldner asked if we paid the third-party source a fee. Mr. Stokes confirmed we would not. Ms. Taylor noted they brought information to them today so members could ask questions now and keep stand-up short. Ms. Taylor also noted if we do not take advantage of this then we may not get the trucks we need for work next winter. Mr. Friedrich noted he supported this and noted delay in getting all vehicles.
Mr. Soeldner asked about Sapphire wind farm road use agreements. Mr. stokes indicated those had been signed with the townships and some of the construction had started. He went over work started and tentative timeline for additional road work in 2022.
Mr. Soeldner asked if they would be building a canvas hut this year. Mr. Stokes stated they are looking at cost of canvas versus new building as well as location possibilities. Mr. Thompson asked where they wanted to put the building. Mr. Stokes stated they would like to put it at the Highway Department as equipment would be behind locked gate and be more convenient, but he was not sure they had room. Mr. Thompson asked about expanding. Mr. Stokes noted they had looked at expanding 5 to 10 years ago but price of land was expensive. Mr. Thompson asked them to look at all options when figuring costs and then they could determine which option would be viable. Mr. Friedrich agreed and asked about the Route 9 East location. Mr. stokes stated at one time the plan was to move entire department out to that location, but he was not sure that would be a viable option. Ms. Cline asked if there would be funding to expand through the infrastructure law. Ms. Taylor indicated they are analyzing and looking at possible projects that could be paid for through that funding.
Chairman Soeldner asked if there was any other business to come before the Committee; hearing none, he adjourned the meeting at 8:43 a.m.
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8494
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