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County residents take road complaints to commission

Staff reporter

The county commission room was nearly filled to capacity Monday with residents complaining about road conditions. In the end, the commission assured residents a policy would be reviewed in responding to roads in need of repair and overall improvement of county road conditions.

Ed Vinduska who lives near North Nighthawk on Old Mill Road, had been invited to attend a commission meeting to discuss his concerns regarding road conditions.

In addition to Vinduska, more than 10 county residents attended the meeting to complain.

Vinduska said he had contacted the county's road and bridge department and requested gravel. He also met with acting road and bridge superintendent Jim Herzet regarding the condition of the roads.

"We got one load of gravel," Vinduska said. "We shouldn't have to come to a commission meeting for results."

Nighthawk Road is the main thoroughfare and is the only way in and out for some residents.

"I want to know who is inspecting that road," Vinduska said. He said the surface of the road had been scraped to the dirt. He also said the poor condition of the road did not "occur overnight."

"All of the side roads (in that area) are in the same condition," Vinduska said. He said the motorgrader operator was maintaining roads correctly.

"This is mismanagement out the wazoo," Vinduska said exasperated.

Other residents spoke of similar concerns regarding rock being bladed from road surfaces and into ditches, small amounts of snow being removed from graveled roads which also removed the top layer of rock, and a lack of response to requests for road maintenance.

Terry Camp, who lives south of Lehigh, said the county needs to establish a program to maintain roads.

Ditches need to be established and roads elevated.

"All of the rock in the world won't make any difference," Camp said.

He also recalled being told a county maintainer from that area had requested rock for that section but was unable to get it.

A clarification was made regarding the purchase of a dump truck and hiring of another employee. The commission said the dump truck would replace an old truck and no additional employees would be hired.

Gary Evans, an Old Mill resident, suggested roads be reworked by a contractor.

"If the road falls apart, the county would have some recourse," Evans said.

Evans also said the county wants to encourage development.

"Economic development is not going to come to the county if the infrastructure is poor," he said.

Evans added the roads aren't great but he's seen worse. He also realized this was a new commission.

Commission vice chairman Dan Holub said there will be a school in April for county grader operators. The school should provide the necessary information to improve the skills of the operators in maintaining roads — especially graveled roads.

Don Stenzel also a resident on Old Mill Road asked if Nighthawk was going to be made more narrow.

Herzet responded plans were being made to rework Nighthawk similar to the Wonsevu road with the top ripped off the road, dirt on the sides of the road, and the road being covered with rock and sand.

Herzet also commented nearly 2,000 tons of rock was put on Nighthawk.

Commissioner Randy Dallke said he heard complaints about county roads when he was obtaining signatures for his petition to file for the commission seat.

"The comments I heard were the roads are flat and don't have a crest," Dallke said. He added the commission recognizes the need for a road program but it has not been discussed.

Vinduska suggested black-topped roads and main thoroughfares be prioritized.

Ray Just of rural Aulne said he had to drive five miles farther with a load of hay because of poor road conditions.

He also asked for signs warning of holes on Kanza near 140th and 150th. He said he was concerned about public safety on that road.

"We know we've got a problem," Dallke said.

He said he appreciated the comments from the public. He said maybe ditches need to be dug out and a new base put on roads.

Robert Konarik said the county should consider hard surfaced roads.

"My mother-in-law lives in Ohio," Konarik said, where there aren't any graveled roads.

"Instead of dumping all this money on rock, we need to look at blacktop," he said.

Larry Landsvert who lives on 230th said "apparently somebody isn't doing his job."

Holub said he would like to come up with a reporting system where residents could report road issues to township personnel who would report to Herzet.

Vinduska commented the county already was doing that with county personnel.

Holub said he wanted input from those who use the roads on a daily basis.

Dallke asked Herzet how grader operators prioritized roads. Herzet responded the major roads were first, followed by other roads.

Prior to the meeting with Vinduska, Sylvester Vinduska and Landsvert asked the commission the plan for maintaining roads.

Sylvester Vinduska lives near Landsvert on 230th and said they didn't understand why rock was placed on the sides of the road and not pushed to the middle.

Dallke explained the county has 936 square miles of roads to maintain which is more than most counties.

Holub said the county's budget allowed only a specific amount of equipment, personnel, and materials for road improvement.

They also noted some culverts were in need of repair. They were instructed to contact the road and bridge department.

Dallke asked Herzet how grader operators reported roads in need of repair. Herzet said the operators mark a map with a marker.

Following the meeting with residents, Holub told Herzet the county needed to establish policies and a plan for supervision and road maintenance.

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