Published: May 06, 2008 11:17 am            

County supervisors opt for 19th Avenue North bond referendum

CLINTON — The Clinton County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to send a bond request to Clinton County voters by approving a resolution that authorizes the issue be included on the ballot in the Nov. 4 general election.

The board held a public hearing on April 7 to garner citizen input on the possible bond referendum to fund a $750,000 contribution to the 19th Avenue North Extension Project that would connect the Mill Creek Parkway to the North Bridge. During the hearing, Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf advised the board they had three options, including funding the project directly from the General Fund, taking a general special levy bond or bonding through a referendum by the voters. He said if the board opted to directly bond without a referendum, county citizens could ask for a reverse referendum with a petition of signatures of 10 percent of the voters in the last election and force a referendum.

Some county residents attended the April 7 hearing and asked the board to put the issue on the ballot so voters could decide whether to bond for the project. Others asked the county to deny the funding, saying taxpayers cannot afford to be taxed further. Members of the Iowa Illinois Highway 30 partnership explained the project, saying it is a vital project that could bring more county residents to Clinton, alleviate traffic in the corridor and offer better access to the County Administration Building. At that meeting, members of the board indicated they would favor a bond referendum that could be approved or defeated by county voters.

According to Wolf, a referendum will require a super-majority of the voters, or 60 percent, for approval. If the referendum is approved, a special levy would be assessed countywide.

Later in the agenda, Clinton County Engineer Todd Kinney offered the board an update on Secondary Roads activities completed since Jan. 1. Kinney said department employees replaced an entrance bridge northwest of Lost Nation with a railroad tank car and have repaired or replaced three cross road culverts. He said the bridge crew has completed a day labor bridge replacement project and repaired a bank slide on 170th Street and almost has completed a bridge replacement project near 170th Street and 340th Avenue east of Charlotte.

Kinney said the bridge crew will be repairing a bank slide on Z-24, south of Charlotte, and the only remaining day labor project for fiscal year 2008 is a bridge replacement project east of Wheatland. He noted that a fiscal year 2009 bridge replacement project north of Goose Lake on 110th St. and work to resurface Z-36 are scheduled for a May letting. He advised the board that bridge inspections for this fiscal year almost are complete and should be finished this week. He said he will have to make new load calculations using load ratings.

Kinney said severe and widespread frost boils were experienced throughout the county this spring, resulting in a considerable increase in spot rock hauling, with some work still to be done. He said several areas have been identified for vertical drain installation based on previous success with the method. He said the work likely would begin this summer. Kinney added patrol operators are doing maintenance grading on gravel roads and said approximately 30 miles of annual contract rock surfacing have been completed. He commented that several roads in the county were under water and will need to be repaired due to flooding of the Wapsipinicon River. Kinney said road repair work has started on 180th Street, north of Toronto.

He said bidding documents for a new storage shed site in DeWitt are approximately 50 percent complete, with letting and construction still anticipated this construction season. He said the Secondary Roads Department has received quotes on salt, calcium chloride, crack sealing, slurry leveling, deck sealing, line painting and lumber. Kinney noted salt costs have increased by approximately $7 per ton from last year, calling it a “pretty big increase.”

Kinney said the Traffic Safety Program grant application in the amount of $116,000 for paving shoulders on the Humeston Road curves was funded by the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Kinney said the departmental budget is 4 percent over the budgeted expenses through April. He said a budget amendment will have to be submitted to the DOT because equipment operations expenses will be over 10 percent of the budgeted amount. Kinney said the Road Maintenance budget also may need to be adjusted.

        

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