County officials not in favor of spending ARPA money on rock

Board of Supervisors
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     The state of gravel roads in Jones County continues to be on the forefront of the minds of the Jones County Supervisors and Secondary Roads Department.

   During the Feb. 28 Jones County Supervisor meeting, County Engineer Derek Snead updated the board on current methods taking place to help rural residents living on the gravel roads.

   “Our motor grader guys were in early this morning to work up the roads,” he said. “Last week, we put down 2-inch rock on Dales Ford Road; it’s holding up.”

   In addition, he said Rogers Concrete Construction helped to haul rock on 215th Avenue.

   The issue, though, Snead said, is that the spot rock is taking longer because the crews have to go over it a couple of times to smooth it out versus just leaving a pile down the center of the road.

   “It’s taking extra coordination,” he said. “But we keep moving forward.”

   He said his office spoke with six area quarries in which they’re hauling rock from.

   Some utility companies have also been working on a few of the gravel roads in the county. Snead said his office has contacted those companies and asked them not to have heavy equipment on the roads for the time being.

   “They’re no longer allowed on gravel roads.”

   In addition to the spot rock, come this spring, contract rock will also be placed on many of these same roads called into question.

   “We appreciate the effort,” thanked Supervisor Joe Oswald. “It’s a bad situation out there. No one has a magic wand. All you can do is try.”

   Snead said of all of the rock that has been placed on the roads thus far, it amounts to roughly 10,000 tons of material.

   Supervisor John Schlarmann asked for a discussion item to be added to the agenda concerning Secondary Road procedures on projects that narrow the width of the roadways.

   Snead said that is not their focus right now; something they do with larger road projects.

   Schlarmann just asked that if a project calls for narrowing of the road, that those project plans come to the board before moving forward.

   No action was taken by the board concerning the use of ARPA funds for more rock.

   Supervisor Ned Rohwedder said he’d like to see $1.5 million of the $3 million-plus funds go toward contract rock, specifically 800 tons per mile.

   “We could do half of the gravel roads this year, and after that, see how they hold up. I think this would be a great use for it,” he said.

   Supervisors Oswald and Jon Zirkelbach sat on the ARPA committee and met with other county officials to come up with a list of projects in which to use that $4 million. Oswald said there is no guarantee that the rock this year will heal the roads.

   “We need to walk before we run,” he said. “Try this for one season to see if it makes a difference.”

   Some of the suggested ARPA projects included fixing the courthouse elevator, making the courthouse restrooms ADA compliant, and working toward a law enforcement center.

   Oswald said they need to spend the money on projects that show the public what was done with the funds. He said the gravel roads cannot be fixed within one or two years.

   “We have an emergency on our roads,” voiced Schlarmann. “They’re in horrible shape. ARPA is meant for COVID, and we were affected financially by COVID.”

   He suggested using $400,000 this year and next on rock, leaving over $2 million in the pot for the list of projects.

   “We have no idea how much that elevator is going to cost,” Oswald said. “We don’t want to make a decision now and come up short.”

   “I’d prefer to keep the (ARPA) money available,” Zirkelbach said, siding with Oswald.

   “Then we need to find more money,” urged Supervisor Jeff Swisher.

   “This is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” added Rohwedder. “People are struggling to get out. We need to demonstrate that we’re serious about this.”

   Peter Hosch, who lives on Butterfield Road, said it’s not the first couple of miles that need attention, but the areas that see the most traffic.

   “You can’t treat all of the road the same way,” he said.

   He also asked if the roads could withstand 800 tons of rick right now.

   “We’re doing it in two different lifts,” explained Snead. “This is a third of the material we’d use for a road project. All of our districts have roads that we can put 800 tons on.”

   County Attorney Kristofer Lyons expressed wanting to see ARPA funds remain with the list of projects the committee recommended.

   “Using ARPA funds will be a band-aid,” he said. “If you spend the money on rock, that money will be gone and you can’t do all of those projects. There’s no guarantee this will fix all of the problems. These ideas are lasting versus just getting you through half a season.”

   Treasurer Amy Picray and Recorder Sheri Jones agreed.

   Sheriff Greg Graver also shared his thoughts on the matter. He said while the board can do whatever they want with the ARPA funds, he advised against turning this into a political issue.

   “People make rash decisions when they’re faced with political heat,” he said. “I’m not for a blank check. The whole county is not an emergency.”

   He told the board that they need to be unified in their decision.

   “This is not my fight,” he continued. “But here has been hateful speech toward our motor graders. The public thinks we’ve done nothing.

   “This money won’t be there forever. You need to show the public what you’re using the funds for, a tangible project.”

   Graver said the public needs to use caution and drive for the condition of the roads.

Category:

Subscriber Login