Olin expresses issues with cost of E-45 project

     Becky McAtee, City of Olin mayor, addressed the Jones County Supervisors during their Aug. 1 meeting concerning the cost for the County Road E-45 resurfacing project. Also present were County Engineer Derek Snead and Assistant Engineer Todd Postel.

     McAtee said Snead quoted the City of Olin $250,000 for the roughly quarter-mile stretch of E-45 that enters the city limits of Olin.

     “The city council says no,” McAtee shared with the supervisors in terms of what the Olin council is not willing to pay. “We can’t afford it.”

     McAtee said that because Olin’s population is over 500 (698), the city should be getting farm-to-market funds for road used projects. But she claimed that money was going to the county. Snead explained that cities with populations of under 500, their farm-to-market money is included with the county’s fund. Cities over 500 get their farm-to-market money with their road use tax.

     “I don’t know the exact breakdown,” said Snead of how much FM funds Olin receives, “but the county does not get FM money for Olin’s FM routes.”

     McAtee maintained that the city just does not have $250,000 in its budget for their portion of the E-45 road project.

     “It (the budget) also includes money for wages and maintenance of our own streets,” she said. “The city’s been hurt.”

     She asked whether the county would be in favor of a cheaper asphalt overlay versus concrete resurfacing. McAtee said she’s not questioning the need for the project, but wondering if cheaper alternatives could be found.

     “There’s just no way we could swing it,” she said. “There are not a lot of funds to work with.”

     In lumping the city’s FM funds in with their road use tax, Snead said cities are not limited on how they spend their FM money. Counties have constraints in terms of what their allotted FM funds could be used for.

     Postel told McAtee said the county is in the same boat in terms of tight budgets and the need to stretch its funds.

     “We’re all up against some tough walls,” he said. “We have over 80 miles of road that’s over 50 years old. It all needs to be replaced now, but we don’t have the funds.”

     “This is just an estimate,” Snead said of Olin’s portion of the project. “We don’t have the final design, which will give a tighter guess.” Snead said the final estimate could drop, but not significantly. Curb, gutter and new sidewalks are also part of the project. “You (Olin) wouldn’t have to do all of that,” Snead suggested of the additional work, though the county’s portion of the road will be the full project.

     “I’m going to leave it up to the council to make that decision,” concluded McAtee.

     Snead said in the past, some joint projects involving other cities in the county were broken into payment plans. However, the choice lies with the supervisors.

     “You’d be more bang for your buck working with us,” offered Postel versus Olin tackling their portion alone.

     The E-45 project is expected to have a February 2018 letting with construction to start next summer. Postelo said they are still working on the preliminary design and surveying.

In other county business:

     • The board re-appointed Dave Balster and Norm Zimmerman to the Jones County Historic Preservation Commission. Their terms expired July 30, 2017.

     • The board tentatively awarded the bid for the new Secondary Road shop in Wyoming to Accent Construction, with a low bid of $188,564. Snead will look over the bids before a contract is formally awarded.

     Three bids came in for the project, with the highest at $249,430.

     The shop will look very similar, Snead said, to that of the new shop outside Monticello that was completed last year.

     Snead also advised the supervisors to consider selling the old Wyoming shop once Secondary Roads is in the new facility.

     “I think it’d be in our best interest to sell it,” he said. Snead thought there might be interest from adjacent landowners in the cold-storage facility.

     He his department would not need it for additional storage, and it would one less property to maintain in the future.

      • County Treasurer Amy Picray presented her quarterly investment reports for the county and Waste Management Commission (landfill) to the board, which they placed on file.

     As of June 30, Waste Management saw $2,088,236.68 in total CDs. Picray said that’s down about $161,000 from last due to a property purchase. Their total assets of $2,193,134.57 are also down about $132,000.

     The county’s total in CDs is up $120,000 from last year at $2,203,821.92. The county also has a temporary money market fund with $140,604.39 in it for online payments. Picray said this fund does not incur interest. The county’s total assets sits at $19,155,603.94, up about $2.1 million from year. Picray said that’s due to the mental health region fund.