July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Shooting for road funding
County will try to win federal stimulus money
Jay County Commissioners gave approval this morning to try to nab federal stimulus money to resurface five roads.
County engineer Dan Watson told the commissioners stimulus money is being portioned out by the state for resurfacing projects. The money will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so Watson encouraged the commissioners to move quickly to position the county to make a run at those funds.
The commissioners, in response, signed a contract to secure hourly services of Beam, Longest and Neff, LLC., Indianapolis, to start drafting specs for the project.
"We'll just submit them as we get them," Watson said, since each project will need to be submitted to the state with engineering plans. Instead of waiting for all of those plans to be completed, the requests will be sent as their finished on descending priority.
The five roads being looked at are in order of priority 300 North between Pennville and U.S. 27; 400 South between Dunkirk and Ind. 1; 1150 West between Dunkirk and 900 South, 200 South between Ind. 67 and Boundary Pike; and 800 South from U.S. 27 to the county line east.
"That's just over 30 miles," Watson said. "We'll be lucky if we get 20."
The stimulus money can only be used for new surface material and cannot be used for grading or other road repairs.
"Do they know you need this done yesterday?" asked commissioner Faron Parr.
"Oh yeah," Watson said.
"If we don't get it started we're not going to get any money," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. as he signed the contract. Watson will get the projects moving as soon as possible.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Were informed by Jay County Surveyor Brad Daniels that the Global Positioning System being used to track the county's cornerstones was installed on the courthouse roof last week and is working properly.
•Briefly reviewed drainage plans for Buffalo Wings and Rings, which will be built near the Holiday Inn Express in Portland. Daniels said the plans looked good and the restaurant will tie into the hotel's detention pond, since it was designed large enough to handle future developments on the lots in front of the hotel.
See Road page 2
•Briefly discussed the possibility of raising the price of buggy plates from the current price of $50. The commissioners said Adam's County charges $60 and noted that Amish buggies cause continual damage to the roadway shoulders. The commissioners did not take any official action on the subject this morning.
•Were informed by Watson that construction on Ind. 1 near Redkey is causing major damage to county roads in the area. Watson said the heavy trucks have torn up several county roads and caused damage to culverts and bridges in the area. He spoke with the Indiana Department of Transportation to try to get the state to repair those roads.
Watson said county road 700 South may be closed off in the future to avoid further damage to a bridge there, since the bridge is slated to be replaced in early June.
•Signed a resolution showing the county's intent to become a part of a regional economic district. The district, which was discussed and approved two weeks ago, will allow the county some additional opportunities for grant money and other development benefits.
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County engineer Dan Watson told the commissioners stimulus money is being portioned out by the state for resurfacing projects. The money will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so Watson encouraged the commissioners to move quickly to position the county to make a run at those funds.
The commissioners, in response, signed a contract to secure hourly services of Beam, Longest and Neff, LLC., Indianapolis, to start drafting specs for the project.
"We'll just submit them as we get them," Watson said, since each project will need to be submitted to the state with engineering plans. Instead of waiting for all of those plans to be completed, the requests will be sent as their finished on descending priority.
The five roads being looked at are in order of priority 300 North between Pennville and U.S. 27; 400 South between Dunkirk and Ind. 1; 1150 West between Dunkirk and 900 South, 200 South between Ind. 67 and Boundary Pike; and 800 South from U.S. 27 to the county line east.
"That's just over 30 miles," Watson said. "We'll be lucky if we get 20."
The stimulus money can only be used for new surface material and cannot be used for grading or other road repairs.
"Do they know you need this done yesterday?" asked commissioner Faron Parr.
"Oh yeah," Watson said.
"If we don't get it started we're not going to get any money," said commissioner Milo Miller Jr. as he signed the contract. Watson will get the projects moving as soon as possible.
In other business, the commissioners:
•Were informed by Jay County Surveyor Brad Daniels that the Global Positioning System being used to track the county's cornerstones was installed on the courthouse roof last week and is working properly.
•Briefly reviewed drainage plans for Buffalo Wings and Rings, which will be built near the Holiday Inn Express in Portland. Daniels said the plans looked good and the restaurant will tie into the hotel's detention pond, since it was designed large enough to handle future developments on the lots in front of the hotel.
See Road page 2
•Briefly discussed the possibility of raising the price of buggy plates from the current price of $50. The commissioners said Adam's County charges $60 and noted that Amish buggies cause continual damage to the roadway shoulders. The commissioners did not take any official action on the subject this morning.
•Were informed by Watson that construction on Ind. 1 near Redkey is causing major damage to county roads in the area. Watson said the heavy trucks have torn up several county roads and caused damage to culverts and bridges in the area. He spoke with the Indiana Department of Transportation to try to get the state to repair those roads.
Watson said county road 700 South may be closed off in the future to avoid further damage to a bridge there, since the bridge is slated to be replaced in early June.
•Signed a resolution showing the county's intent to become a part of a regional economic district. The district, which was discussed and approved two weeks ago, will allow the county some additional opportunities for grant money and other development benefits.
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