BENTON COUNTY -- Benton County officials say the Road Department needs new vehicles costing about $3.5 million for 2016.
The Transportation Committee heard a report Tuesday on the department's capital needs for 2016. Jeff Clark, public services administrator and head of the Road Department, gave the committee a list of vehicles and equipment totalling $3,473,289.
The list includes five new road graders, costing $299,250 each, a new paving machine costing $363,239, a new 350 size digger for dirt pits costing $335,365 and a bulldozer with a $194,283 price tag. The list of capital items also includes several trucks with snow plow packages, some new trailers and a new bucket truck. The department is also asking for a pair of new tractors with side boom mowers and two 10-foot brush hogs.
Clark estimated the county can recover about $500,000 in trade-in value for the equipment being replaced.
The requests will be considered during the budget process. Kurt Moore of District 13 said the county has other needs that the vehicles will have to compete with when the justices of the peace look at the overall budget.
"This is going to be a tough row to hoe in Finance," Moore said.
Clark said the road graders are his top priority if the list is to be pared. He said the county is trying to keep to a schedule of replacing graders over a five-year rotation. Maintaining that schedule will keep the vehicles under warranty and the county will receive a higher trade-in value for them when they are replaced. Maintenance costs will also be less because the county avoids keeping vehicles for longer periods of time.
The justices of the peace also discussed the Sheriff's Office requests for vehicles for next year's budget. The Sheriff's Office is seeking 10 Chevrolet Tahoes for the Patrol Division, with a total cost of $474,428 once the vehicles are fully equipped. Another two Tahoes are being sought for the Criminal Investigation Division at a cost of $73,430 fully-equipped.
The Sheriff's Office is also seeking a new Dodge Charger costing $35,977 and another for $34,177. The Sheriff's Office is also asking for a pickup for the animal control officer, costing $42,522, and another pickup for the narcotics unit for $25,793. The Sheriff's Office transportation division is also asking for five vehicles, totalling $139,284.
Pat Adams of District 6 and chairman of the committee, said he asked for the presentations to provide the justices of the peace with information before budget sessions.
"Benton County is growing and county government is going to have to grow with it," Adams said.
Clark also updated the justices of the peace on progress in meeting the department's paving goals for 2015. The paving plan called for paving 53.8 miles of road and Clark said about 30.5 miles have been done. Clark said another 4 miles of paving work is set to begin this week, bringing the targeted jobs remaining down to about 19 miles. Clark said he expects the county will reach its 2015 target by the end of the year.
"We're going to make our 53 miles if it's dark or snowing when we finish," he said.
The panel also discussed the need for a new ordinance governing road construction and the use of colored signs -- green, blue and white -- to designate the maintenance level planned for county roads. Green signs are normal county paved roads and unpaved roads that are included in the county's routine maintenance schedule, blue signs designate limited access public roads, with limited maintenance, and white signs mark private roads, which are not maintained by the county.
County Judge Bob Clinard said state law makes no provision for "limited public access" roads and Benton County's ordinances are contradictory. The ordinance provides that blue sign roads will be graded twice a year, Clinard said, but of the 167 miles of blue-sign roads, 37 miles are paved roads which aren't graded except during snowstorms. Clinard said any other maintenance, or any maintenance at all, may be illegal under state law.
"To clean this up it's either going to be a county road or a private road," Clinard said. "There's no simple solution here."
War Eagle Bridge closing
Benton County's justices of the peace were updated Tuesday on the War Eagle Bridge project. Great River Engineering, of Springfield, Mo., has been hired to develop a plan to keep the bridge in use. The company is planning an on-site inspection of the bridge and it will be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 9 while the inspection is being done.
Source: Staff report
General News on 09/09/2015