Consultant David Skelton, retired St. Louis County maintenance manager, has been hired by six Grand Marais-area agencies at a cost of up to $8,000 to explore the feasibility of a multi-agency maintenance facility. The Cook County Board of Commissioners, the last agency to sign on, agreed Tuesday, June 23, 2009 to pay 25% of the cost.
Cook County Highway Engineer Shae Kosmalski has spearheaded the concept and said Skelton is working on his fourth shared facility project. “He’s half the price of an architecture/engineering firm,” Kosmalski said. “He really represents the people. …He has a lot of passion for these.”
Appearing before the county board with Kosmalski were representatives of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Theother agencies involved in the project are the City of Grand Marais, Independent School District 166, and Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency.
Three sites are being considered for the proposed facility: the site of the county highway garage on County Road 7, Cedar Grove Business Park on the new Gunflint Trail, and north of North Shore Hospital just west of the curve in the Gunflint Trail below the water tower.
“All three of these sites concern me because of the hill and the runoff,” Commissioner Jim Johnson said. Kosmalski said retention ponds are commonly built to deal with potential erosion problems.
Kosmalski maintained that the shared facility would reduce costs. The facility could have one computer system and one building maintenance contract and could result in lower cost for supplies, since they could be purchased in large amounts.
Skelton will begin his work by looking at the current facilities used by the six agencies. He will also consider what those agencies could do with their current facilities if a joint facility is built.
Commissioner Jim Johnson suggested that they consider using the various facilities for separate purposes, such as storing salt and sand at the MnDOT site.
Skelton said one major consideration would be to avoid disruption to public utilities because of the amount of waterpower needed by a large facility. Another factor would be keeping noise and dirt away from common or residential areas.
Unknown is whether the agencies would share any personnel. Skelton will complete the study by December 1, 2009.
In other Highway Department news, a sign policy written by Kosmalski a year ago was approved by the board at an estimated cost of $20,000 a year through 2014, when federal regulations will require all signs to be compliant with federal standards.
One change in sign regulations will be a higher level of required reflectivity. Commissioner Bob Fenwick said he thinks some new reflective signs are too bright. Kosmalski said they will be purchasing the lowest level of reflectivity allowed, partly because they are cheaper. An estimated 3,000 signs will be replaced before January 2015.
Thedepartment will be conducting an inventory of all county road signs this summer to determine their compliance with the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
Kosmalski also presented a work zone safety policy meant to ensure compliance with state regulations and protect the safety of maintenance staff and the traveling public. Putting out the right signs to direct traffic when road maintenance is performed will take staff time out of road projects, Kosmalski said, but it’s good for the staff and the public.
What do you do when the state’s safety manual doesn’t make sense for this county? Commissioner Jim Johnson asked, such as if a tree is down on a county road. Do you clear the tree or wait two hours until the right sign can be delivered? Kosmalski said (and the sign policy states) that they will be flexible, but they will follow other transportation guidelines and refer to safety studies when deviating from the Minnesota Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Staff will carry signs in their vehicles as well, she said.
The board approved the safety policy, and Johnson asked Kosmalski for a report in one year on how pragmatic the rules are and how much time they took to follow.
Kosmalski reported that a bid from KGM for the Lutsen ski hill road came in 16% under her estimate. The county board voted to accept the bid in the amount of $962,441.79.
The board approved a motion to advertise for bids to stripe almost 92 miles of county roads. Fog lines will be laid down, and money left over from the ski hill road project will allow center lines to be epoxied as well.
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