County Engineer suggests sign replacement fall to cities

     After the Jones County Engineer’s Office replaced and updated roughly 30 signs throughout Monticello, County Engineer Derek Snead and the Board of Supervisors are in agreement that this practice will no longer continue.

     During the Feb. 28 board of supervisors meeting, Snead made the board aware of the fact that his department replaced numerous signs that were once in city limits but are now part of the county due to annexation measures. The replacements were done at the cost to the county. Those signs were not in compliance with MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices). Any signs still not in compliance within Monticello, or any Jones County corporate limit for that matter, will not be replaced by the Engineer’s Office moving forward.

     Those signs in the Monticello area that were recently updated include locations on 190^th Street, County Road E-16, County Road D-62, 11^th Street, and Hardscrabble Road. A new sign comes at a cost of about $55, plus labor and materials.

     “It adds up pretty quick,” said Snead.

     He said his department also performed a bridge inspection for the City of Monticello on the new E. First Street Bridge.

     “Each bridge takes a different amount of effort to inspect, but typically $300 to $400 world cover our costs,” Snead said. The Engineer’s Office has since turned in a bill to Monticello for the bridge inspection.

     Snead said should Monticello contracted with a private bridge inspector, the costs would have been higher.

     “We want to focus our efforts on Jones County’s jurisdiction,” added Snead. “There were a lot of things in the past we just took care of.”

     Snead explained the City of Monticello is unique in the fact that there are many roads that cross over into county roads.

     He said in the past, invoices for sign replacements were not submitted to the various municipalities in the county.

     “It’s not out of line for us to request reimbursement,” Snead said.

     “The costs will add up,” Supervisor Wayne Manternach said of Snead’s department’s time. “I don’t think it would hurt to send a bill to make them (Monticello) aware.”

     Supervisor Joe Oswald said if the Engineer’s Office is going to put Monticello on notice for sign replacement, then all cities in the county should be notified as well.

     “If they want the county to do the work, they’ll have to reimburse us,” said Oswald.

In other county business:

     • The board asked Snead about the future of Landis Road Bridge over the Wapsipinicon River. Snead said the bridge is not on the county’s five-year construction program.

     • The board approved the filing of tax liens of delinquent sewer and water bills at the following locations: County Road E-34 in Fairview, and St. Paul Street, Midland Street, and Main Street in Center Junction.