Shaw Rd. added to Wapsi Trail Project

Board of Supervisors
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     With changes needing to be made regarding the Wapsipinicon Trail Project through Jones County and Anamosa, the Board of Supervisors approved an amendment to the engineering contract, as well as a $280,000 grant application.

     The grant is a joint application with the DOT for a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) Project.

     The county currently has a contract with Anderson-Bogert for the trail project. With the addition of the Shaw Road project, Committee Chair Dusty Embree, felt the contract needed to be amended.

     “With moving the road project up,” Embree said, “we’ll incur more costs.”

     Todd Happel, the project engineer, mentioned also that the Iowa DNR backed out of their portion of the trail project into Wapsipinicon State Park due to depleted funds. Happel said they would eventually take part in the project.

     The following are items that were amended into the contract with Anderson-Bogert:

     • Coordinate with the DOT and ECICOG for administrative updates.

     • Provide topographical surveys to Jones County Secondary Roads for design use.

     • Redesign the trail components to conform with the added (Shaw) roadway segment.

     • Submit preliminary, check, and final plans to the DOT.

     • Prepare and submit Project Development Certificate (PDC) indicating all right of way and easements have been acquired.

     • Prepare wetland mitigation plans and associated permitting.

     Happel said the DNR offered space with Wapsi State Park for wetland relocation.

     The amendment also added $45,000 onto the original $101,000 contract.

     Preliminary plans are expected back to the trail committee by Sept. 19. Final plans are due back Nov. 21, with a mid-February 2018 letting date for the trail project. The timeline is dependent upon easement acquisitions, appraisals, permitting and DOT approvals.

     In terms of funding the trail project, Embree said the county and City of Anamosa have both agreed to commit funds. The committee also secured a $25,000 Wellmark grant for engineering, as well as several other grants and private donations.

     “We’re happy to take more,” Embree said of donations towards the total project. “But we have enough to cover this portion.”

     She informed the supervisors that she was just notified of the receipt of a $100,000 Wellmark grant that requires a 50 percent cash match and a 50 percent in-kind match.

     Embree said they are also waiting to hear on a $139,000 state trail grant in September.

     This project is expected to take two phases. Phase one is estimated at $976,000.

     “There are quite a few funding sources with this project,” noted Happel. “Sometimes that’s what it takes.”

     With adding Shaw Road to the project, this would also include the City of Anamosa’s portion of the roadway. Embree asked the county if they would be willing to set up a payment plan with Anamosa for their associated costs. County Engineer Derek Snead said the county would cover the full costs of the project, with Anamosa paying them back.

     “It’s not a huge distance,” Snead said of Anamosa’s portion, coming in at around $60,000 to $65,000.

     Snead said while the county hasn’t done a lot of joint trail projects with the municipalities, they have done several joint road projects. Those cities contracted with the county under a 28E agreement, and adhered to a payment plan.

     “There has been some precedence,” Snead said.

     Happel said Anamosa could plan for construction to take place within FY 2019.

     “They can set aside that money now,” he urged.

     For the county’s portion of Shaw Road, Snead said local option tax would cover the costs.

In other county business:

     • The board voted 3-2, with Supervisors Wayne Manternach and Ned Rohwedder opposed, to reappoint Rose Rohr to the Jones County Historic Preservation Commission.

     “I feel with the lack of timely information on the Stone Bridge incident and lack of communication afterwards, we need to go in a different direction,” said Manternach.

     “It’s important we receive the information on a timely basis,” supported Rohwedder. “It’s a travesty we didn’t know about (the University of) Denver pulling out until three months after the fact. We, as the board, could have had an impact.”

     Supervisor Joe Oswald said he understood those sentiments, but also knows that Rohr donates a lot of her time to the county.

     “Who else could we find to put in that kind of time and effort?” he asked. “That’s my only reservation.”

     • The board voted unanimously to reappoint Joyce Fishwild to the Commission.

     •The board approved to amend a 28E agreement between the county and the Solid Waste Management Agency to remove the formed city of Center Junction from the agreement.

     • The board approved updates to Secondary Roads’ Fence Compensation Policy, as presented by Snead. The last time the policy was updated was 2011.

     “I wanted to keep it updated with the increase in costs,” explained Snead.

     There are four types of fencing the county will compensate for right-of-way purposes: barbed wire, $61; woven, $89; high tensile, #64; and electric, $12.

Category:

Subscriber Login