Dry weather does not aid in the battle to control dust

By MEGAN COOPER

Mt. Pleasant News

Dust on the gravel roads leads to frustration because it?s everywhere, but no one can do much about it because of this drought.

Henry County Engineer Jacob Hotchkiss is trying to help.

He told the Henry County Board of Supervisors yesterday that he has been taking bids for the quarry crushing letting that needs to be done, and this time, it will include the lime. ?Taking the lime out will help with the dust, not a lot, but it will help,? Hotchkiss said.

Bids came from various vendors in Iowa; Bruening Rock Products out of Decorah bid $4.49 per ton, which came to a total of $679,484.90; CJ Moyna and Sons out of Elkader bid $3.85 a ton, which totaled $581,350; Cessford Construction Company out of Burlington bid $4.88 a ton, totaling $736,880, Coots Materials out of Vinton bid $5.09 a ton, for a total of $763,500; Preston Ready Mix from Preston bid $3.83 a ton, totaling $5783,30; Reilly Construction Company from Ossian bid $4.75 a ton, for a total of $717,250; Wendling Quarries bid $4.96 a ton, which totaled $748,960; and Winn Corp from Fairfield bid $4.94 a ton, for a total of $745,940.

Hotchkiss said that he will ?go over the bids and bring his recommendation to the board for approval next week.? It is hoped that through the process, the county can gain a better handle on the dust.

Next on Hotchkiss?s update, he talked about Windstream putting a fiber line into a telephone tower north of Highway 78 and Lexington Avenue. Windstream will also be ?boring all crossroad pipes with construction,? Hotchkiss said.

Applications for new personnel have been flooding in and Hotchkiss said ?that?s good,? and he hopes to start going over applications soon. He did change the internal job opening from maintenance foreman to assistant superintendent. He felt that the new job description was closer to what he was wanting for this particular job.

By changing the position, Hotchkiss wants to ?have a clear chain of command? so that everyone knows who is ?in charge? and who can make the decisions. The assistant superintendent will be in charge of the quarry site and ?if something is not right, that person will have the authority to make a call.?

Hotchkiss also said that some rock hauling has been taking place in various locations and that they are ?mowing as they can,? considering the drought. He hopes to work on the right of ways and shoulders soon.

The maintenance shed proposal for an update has taken somewhat of a back burner, right now, due to a more pressing matter. Hotchkiss is still working on getting the proposal together, but Hotchkiss along with Jim Warner of Warner Engineering, worked on a plan for the drainage issue behind the maintenance shed. They will work on creating a terrace for the land and adding pipes in order to better drain the area and also to control how fast the water will drain into the stream below.

?We will work on the land first,? Hotchkiss said. He will be bringing a proposal for updates to the shed to a future meeting.

Maintenance workers will also be working on the low ? water crossing on Quaker Avenue. Hotchkiss is working on a design as of right now, and needs to set up a meeting with landowners to go over the project idea. Hotchkiss said that ?they most likely have all materials on hand? to do the job. ?It?s a good time to be building, considering the weather,? Hotchkiss said and he hopes to start in a week or two.

Board Chairman Marc Lindeen shared information about the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, this commission, along with the USDA, loan grant money for small business loans for area residents in the county, except for the city of Mt. Pleasant. The USDA and the Commission does all the paperwork concerning the manner. The loan is to help residents secure loans from banks, or give them the final nudge they need in order to start up their business. ?It has not been heavily accessed, funds are there, and banks are helping,? Lindeen said. Basically, the commission helps ?fill in the gap, so residents can get loans approved,? said Lindeen.

Supervisor Greg Moeller brought up the issue about drainage at the DHS building. On the west side of the building, water is ?seeping through the wall, on the inside,? Moeller said. There is water that is not going in the eave spouts from the drainage pipes on the roof. Moeller suggested adding dirt to the location and slope it away from the building, but it was decided that the board would have an engineer look at this issue and tell them what is right to do.

The board is still waiting on the confirmation for the solid waste site, at the last meeting they were told that everything looked good concerning the site, they are just waiting on the final approval.

The board will meet again Thursday at 9 a.m.