DeKalb Times

DeKalb County Highway Committee met March 5.

Here is the minutes provided by the committee:

A meeting of the Highway Committee of the DeKalb County Board was held beginning at 6:00pm in the Conference Room of the DeKalb County Highway Department, located at 1826 Barber Greene Road, DeKalb, Illinois 60115.

Chairman Plote called the meeting to order at 6:00pm and called for the roll. Committee members present were Ms. Emmer, Mr. Luebke, Mr. Osland, Mr. Pietrowski, Mr. West and Vice Chair Willis. The County Engineer, Mr. Nathan Schwartz, County Administrator, Mr. Gary Hanson, Support Services Manager, Mr. Wayne Davey, County Finance Director, Mr. Pete Stefan, County Board Member Mr. Tim Bagby and three guests were also present.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

Motion made by Mr. Luebke and seconded by Vice Chair Willis to approve the agenda as presented. The motion passed unanimously.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Vice Chair Willis moved and Ms. Emmer seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the February 6, 2020 regular meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mr. Patrick Biggs from Corson Drive, thanked the Committee and especially Mr. Schwartz for his diligence and involvement in getting Corson Drive incorporated into the Sycamore Road District system. Without Mr. Schwartz’s direction this process would still be ongoing and everyone is thankful this situation has been resolved.

Three citizens stood and spoke reiterating their comments and concerns about the driving conditions of Plank Road, specifically between Moose Range Road and just east of Lukens Road. Their concerns are the speed of the vehicles, drivers not obeying the rules of the road by passing at intersections, and vehicles passing when vehicle(s) in front of them are making a turning movement that requires them to cross a lane of traffic. Multiple speed limits were mentioned through this section of roadway and having just one constant speed limit for the entire road would be less confusing and safer for those who travel Plank Road. People traveling Plank Road continue to have close calls with vehicles coming at them head-on when turning out of their subdivision. One recent incident involved a vehicle passing while a special needs bus with children on it was attempting to turn into the subdivision. Their petition has over 2,000 signatures on it while the Rich Road petition had considerably less than that amount and they were able to have their speed limit reduced on their road. Chairman Plote thanked everyone for their comments and taking the time to attend the Committee meeting to be heard.

ENGINEERING AGREEMENTS:

Mr. Schwartz presented one resolution for an engineering agreement with the engineering firm of Chastain & Associates, LLC from Rockford, Illinois for certain engineering services associated with the culvert extension and ditch modifications on Waterman Road from Duffy Road to the Somonauk Creek. These would be Phase I and Phase II services and the project is designated as Section 20-00271-00-DR. Chastain & Associates was selected through the QBS (Qualification Based Selection) among six other engineering firms. The County has worked with Chastain previously and has been very satisfied with their performance. Mr. Schwartz recommended approval of Resolution #R2020-14. Mr. Luebke moved and Vice Chair Willis seconded a motion to forward the resolution to the full County Board recommending approval. Motion passed unanimously.

Negotiations are still underway on the engineering agreement for the Plank Road Widening project and that resolution will be placed on the April agenda, if it is ready. Therefore no action will be taken on resolution #R2020-15 tonight.

AWARD RESOLUTIONS:

Mr. Schwartz presented three award resolutions for recommendation after the opening of bids was held on March 4, 2020. They are resolution #R2020-16, #R2020-17 and #R2020-18. Resolution #R2020-16 is for the General County Letting. These bids are requested every year for maintenance materials utilized by the County and Road Districts. These bids cover aggregate, patching material, hot-mix and liquid calcium chloride this year. By accepting these bids, prices are set for the year and will not increase. All bids are awarded and the lowest cost is calculated by taking the bid price of a product and adding in the cost of travel from the quarry/plant to the job site.

Resolution #R2020-17 involves the aggregate spread on road projects, drainage pipes and filling of cracks on various roads for the Road Districts and Villages. Several bids were received and Macklin Incorporated Inc. submitted the low bid for 6,200 tons of aggregate spread on road for Paw Paw Road District in the amount of $80,600.00; Vulcan Construction Materials, LLC submitted the low bid meeting specifications for 2,000 tons of aggregate spread on road in Pierce Road District in the amount of $22,500; and Wagner Aggregate Inc. submitted the low bid for 4,300 tons of aggregate spread on road in Clinton Road District in the amount of $55,427.00; 4,600 ton of aggregate spread on road in Somonauk Road District in the amount of $62,882.00; and 4,500 tons of aggregate spread on road in South Grove Road District in the amount of $38,700.00; for this year’s crack routing and filling project, Behm Pavement Maintenance Inc. from Crystal Lake, Illinois, submitted the low bid meeting specifications in the amount of $164,120.27; drainage pipes to be utilized by the County and Road Districts during 2020 were also let. By combining the needs of the Road Districts with the County’s a lower unit cost is often realized. Two suppliers submitted bids with Contech Engineered Solutions, LLC from Oak Brook, Illinois submitting the low bid meeting specifications. The amount of their bid was $87,674.28 for various pipes and bands.

Resolution #R2020-18 is for the design and the furnishing and delivery of materials for a treated timber salt storage building. Wheeler Lumber, LLC of Eden Prairie, Minnesota submitted the sole bid for this project. This Company designed the current salt storage building and this additional storage building will mirror the existing building. The bid submitted was in the amount of $131,100.00. Mr. Schwartz recommended approval of all three award resolutions. Ms. Emmer moved and Mr. West seconded a motion to forward these resolutions to the full County Board recommending approval. Motion passed unanimously.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENTS:

Six intergovernmental agreements were presented to the Committee for consideration by Mr. Schwartz. Five of the agreements are similar in language and deal with the County performing engineering services for the municipalities located within DeKalb County. In order for these entities to utilize MFT funding for local engineering services IDOT must have a signed agreement on file. These agreements will be in effect until changes are required and will not have to be approved on an annual basis. The agreements are with the City of Genoa (#R2020-19); The Village of Shabbona (#R2020- 20); The Village of Somonauk (#R2020-21); The City of Sycamore (#R2020-22) ; and the City of Sandwich (#R2020-25). Resolution #R2020-23 is the DSATS intergovernmental cooperation agreement between the County, the City of DeKalb, the City of Sycamore, the Town of Cortland, Northern Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Transportation. The agreement provides the frame-work for these governmental agencies to carry out the responsibilities of the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the areas within the DeKalb-Sycamore, Illinois Urbanized Area. This update is driven by the fact that DeKalb County is now the lead agency for DSATS after that responsibility was transferred from the City of DeKalb. Mr. Schwartz recommended approval of all six resolutions. Mr. Luebke moved and Mr. West seconded a motion to forward all six resolutions to the full County Board recommending approval. Motion passed unanimously.

A motion was made by Ms. Emmer and seconded by Vice Chair Willis to move into Executive Session per Chapter 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1) for discussion of Operator’s 150 Union Contract and the DSATS Stipend. Roll call vote was taken with seven yes votes and zero no votes to enter executive session. The Committee entered executive session at 6:46pm.

The Committee exited executive Session and resumed their normal meeting at 7:10pm.

Motion made by Mr. Luebke and Vice Chair Willis seconded the motion to recommend approval of the negotiated five year labor contract for 150 Operators. Motion passed unanimously. The contract will call for an increase to the clothing/Boot Allowance from $450.00 to $455 effective 1/1/2021; from $455 to $460 effective 1/1/2023 and from $460 to $475 effective 1/1/2024; Wages would increase 2% effective 1/1/2020; 2.25% effective 1/1/2021; 2.25% on 1/1/2022; 2.25% on 1/1/2023 and 2.5% on 1/1/2024. Probation may be extended from six months to 12 months if requested by either party.

Motion made by Mr. West and Mr. Osland seconded the motion to recommend approval of an annual $600.00 increase to the County Engineer’s annual DSATS stipend during the time period the County is fulfilling the role as lead/fiscal agent for DSATS and that the 2020 stipend be increased by $5,000.00 for 2020 only. Roll call vote was taken and seven yes votes and zero no votes were recorded. Motion passed unanimously.

CHAIRMAN’S COMMENTS:

Chairman Plote was concerned about the spoils along Waterman Road and the timeline for cleaning them up. They should not be in the farmer’s way when field work starts.

He also commented that he has received concerns that spring road postings were too long.

COUNTY ENGINEER’S COMMENTS:

The transportation improvement progress report was reviewed with the Committee.

- McGirr Road Bridge project is in the QBS process with interviews scheduled for March 16-17, 2020. Three engineering firms were selected for interviews from 14 submissions

- Motel Road Bridge is through the preliminary and design engineering phases; ROW acquisition stands at 50% complete; An April letting is being planned for this project

- Peace Road/Mercantile Drive project is scheduled to go to letting on March 6, 2020 

- Plank Road Realignment from Lindgren Road to Lukens Road is in the QBS process with interviews scheduled for March 16-17, 2020. Three engineering firms were selected for interviews from 17 submissions

- Plank Road widening from Gerry Lane to Lukens Road - the engineering agreement is currently being negotiated with the selected engineering firm

- Somonauk Road Culverts project is at 95% complete for the preliminary engineering and 85% design engineering.

- Suydam Road Bridge project is in the QBS process with interviews scheduled for March 16-17, 2020. Three engineering firms were selected for interviews from 20 submissions

-Waterman Road, phase 3B, redoing the ditches south of Somonauk Creek was acted on tonight by the Committee

Some additional questions were addressed concerning the Plank Road projects. Can the County get a waiver to allow a 45mph speed zone and a no passing zone to be placed where they do not comply with regulations and standards? The County Engineer is still having conversations with the Safety Bureau in Springfield to explore all options. Are the no passing zones and the 45 mph speed zone controlled by the same set of regulations or separate regulations? The County Engineer stated these issues are regulated by different set of standards and guidance. What is the estimated cost for the center turn lane? The estimated cost would vary – if Federal funding were involved the cost would be around one million. If the project were completed with local funds, the cost would be considerably less, around $500,000 to $750,000. One comment was made that it would be nice to fix the existing road and put all that money into the realignment. That money would be well spent on other projects in the County. The realignment would be a limited access roadway much like Peace Road. Why not start with the least expensive recommendations and see if they make a difference and work our way up to the most expensive? Mr. Schwartz stated he is considering lots of options and has not ruled out any. The turn lane on Plank Road is expected to go forward at some point to provide safe turning movements regardless of other options as traffic volumes continue to increase and it is an extension of the likely alignment of the Plank Road realignment.

For a legislative update, Springfield is back in session and the County Engineers are watching about 40-50 proposed bills. They range from allowing more weight to be carried by farmers, speed limit increases on roads and interstates and allowing ATVs on roadways with a speed limit of 55mph.

DSATS is working on the Long Range Transportation Plan which will have to be submitted in the near future.

The Department’s Annual Report is not ready for discussion tonight. The County Engineer will have it ready next week and will email it to the Committee.

ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Plote asked if there was any additional items that needed to be presented tonight and hearing none asked for a motion to adjourn. A motion was made by Mr. Osland, seconded by Mr. Luebke and passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 7:59pm.

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