Cemetery group told there are no funds for road improvements

By MEGAN COOPER

Mt. Pleasant News

Funding restrictions won?t allow for Oasis Avenue to be paved near Burge Cemetery.

During Tuesday?s regular Henry County Board of Supervisors, Don Johnson and other representatives from the Burge Cemetery Commission approached the board in hopes of being added to the Henry County Engineer?s five-year plan.

Commission member Paul McPheron stated, ?We would like to get on the five-year plan to improve the road around Burge Cemetery. We were given an estimate of around a $1 million a few years ago and that was to widen the road and pave it. We don?t need to widen the road. If we keep it as is, it would be a cost-saving basis. We are just concerned about the surface and a black top or seal coat would do the job well.?

Johnson added, ?Jewel Avenue was a test road for seal coat and it appears to have upheld this winter very well, but I know it doesn?t have the same traffic that the cemetery will. Could we get an estimate on the seal coat??

Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss explained to the board and commission that it was a matter of funding the project as to why it can?t be completed right now.

?Just a little background information for you,? began Hotchkiss. ?We did the five-year program presentation last week and we approved that. I have several paved roads that I have no funding for that are coming up to be replaced. There is no money set aside. There are four pavements that need to be done and I have one federal project coming up in 2020 and I can do one of those.

?The biggest struggle I am having right now is with upgrading gravel roads to the next system. I am having trouble maintaining the pavements I currently have. Many counties, like us, have been in the mode of using overlay and trying to get more life. If you drive our paved roads you will see we are losing our shoulders. At some point we need to reconstruct those. For me to go in and fund new hard surfaces or new paved surfaces, something will have to happen at the state level or federal level with the gas tax. I?m very limited at what I can do,? explained the engineer.

Hotchkiss said it was difficult because then he would have to maintain the new road as well, and that is one of the areas that is lacking the most funding.

?I still have to maintain those segments and I don?t have the funding to do that,? said Hotchkiss. ?With the five-year plan I currently have and the projects, we are in the hole at the end of the five years. I understand the dust issue, but the biggest problem now is funding and unfortunately it is hard for us to go out and select roads to be upgraded to the next surface. If I do this project (Burge Cemetery) I have to find where to make that up or not do something else. I have to think about what best serves the county and gravel is the most economical way of surfacing Oasis Avenue right now.?

According to the engineer, there is still hope to help curb the dust problem on Oasis Avenue though.

?I don?t want to come in all doom and gloom,? stated Hotchkiss. ?I can suggest dust control. You (the commission) would choose a dust control provider of your choice and we can prep the road, but I can?t help you with the cost. I think your best option right now is to go with dust control because that was the biggest concern in the past. I know it?s not what you wanted to hear today, but that?s where we are.?

In other news from the county engineer, a resolution was brought to the board to purchase a new 2014 Ford F550 XL 4x4 mechanic service truck. The board approved the purchase of the truck for $76,454.13.

?We are in need of replacing our mechanic truck,? said Hotchkiss. ?The new one will have a crane and an air compressor which are needed for situations in the field.?

The mechanic service truck will be purchased from Pritchard Auto Company of Garner.

The board signed a motion to approve the agreement with the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) and the Traffic Safety Improvement Program (TSIP) to repaint lines on 30 miles of concrete that are in the five-year plan.

?The painting is 100 percent funded through HSIP (federal) and TSIP (state),? said Hotchkiss. ?This is something we applied for and the state is really pushing to improve our markings out there and provide safety. It?s a great opportunity to get some paint out there and at the local level we don?t have a cost.?

The new markings, according to the engineer, will be ground deeper than what is currently there. The new paint is higher billed and has a longer life. It also includes glass beads for reflectivity.

?The new markings will give us a longer life,? said Hotchkiss. ?So when we come back to do our rotation, we can save funding on pavement markings.?

The county crews have been out working on gravel roads and resurfacing them now that spring is upon us.

?We didn?t have any snow. It?s the first time I?ve gotten to say that,? joked Hotchkiss. ?We have been blading the gravel roads and mostly working in Jackson Township and a little in Trenton Township. We are spotting rock in locations and getting the roads in shape for spring. Over the next couple of weeks we will be working on pipes and other miscellaneous projects.?

In other board business it heard the first reading of the amendment to Title 6 Chapter 2 Section 13 Subsection 2(3) of the Henry County Code of Ordinances which stated: Intensity of use requirements in ?R-2? Residential Districts, if public water supply and public sanitary sewer are used the intensity of use requirements are reduced to six thousand (6,000) square feet for a single-family dwelling.

The amendment previously stated, ?if public water supply or public sanitary sewer are used.? The board approved the first reading of the amendment.

The board also:

Received and reviewed the sheriff?s and recorder?s quarterly report.

Reviewed the FY2013 audit and signed the representation letter. There are no changes to be made and a press release will be sent out soon, said board Chairman Marc Lindeen.

Then Henry County Board of Supervisors will meet again in regular session Thursday, April 10, at 9 a.m. in the board room of the courthouse.