Cook County News Herald

County ready to share extra dirt

"Past practice has been to give this unsuitable material to private individuals within the area.


"Past practice has been to give this unsuitable material to private individuals within the area.…"

On Tuesday, June 9, 2009, the county board approved a request by County Engineer Shae Kosmalski for the county to adopt a policy on sharing extra dirt with residents who are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. The measure will benefit the community while saving the county money.

The new "Unsuitable Materials Policy" states, "Ditch work on county roads often produces unsuitable materials that must be hauled off-site and disposed of, at considerable expense in fuel costs and operator time. Past practice has been to give this unsuitable material to private individuals within the area.…" The new policy formalizes the old practice and outlines procedures meant to distribute the dirt fairly.

Contacts with residents will be made in a linear progression, with residents closest to the county work site contacted first, up to the point where the nearest disposal site is closer than a private residence. If a resident is not at home at the time of contact, the crew will proceed to the next residence. Residents can receive up to three truckloads, or 40 cubic yards, of materials.

County vehicle auctions online

The county board gave Kosmalski permission to put old county equipment up for auction online. In a memo to the board, Kosmalski wrote, "In searching for a way for the county and this department to get the most back from its used, auctioned equipment, I learned that our Sheriff ‘s Office conducts vehicle sales through Surplus Services, an online auction service. They feel they have gotten a significant increase in value for used equipment through this process.…"

Kosmalski went on to say, "Surplus Services charges an administrative fee of 10% on sales up to $4,000 and 8% on sales over $4,000, with a fee cap of $1,000. Theyalso allow for a minimum bid price.

"Auctions typically run seven to 10 days, during which time the Highway Department would monitor the auction and answer questions electronically."

Kosmalski assured the board that notices would be posted in the Cook County News-Herald so the community has a chance to get in on the sales. Coming up for sale is a Chevy Impala, a tractor and a hay baler.

FEMA money for outside contractors

The board approved a request from Kosmalski to hire an outside contractor to clear trees from county road ditches in the wake of the March ice storm. A total of over 26 miles of the worst hit areas throughout the county will be cleared.

In a memo to the board, Kosmalski wrote, "According to their rules and guidelines, FEMA would only pay for our overtime, whereas they will reimburse us all the expenses for this contract. That will allow the new work to get done, while allowing our forces to finish the FEMA work from the 2008 storm, at the greatest fiscal benefit to the county."

According to Supervisor Tim Suck, "It only makes sense to do it this way at this point."

Another outside contract was also approved. Edwin E. Thoreson, Inc., was the only bidder on a contract to replace a culvert and stabilize a ditch on the Camp 20 Road (County Road 7). Theproject is being funded by a grant through the Soil & Water Conservation District.

Added staff hours denied for now

The board decided not to act on a request from Kosmalski to increase Clerk Lisa Vanderheiden’s time from 30 hours a week to 40. The increase was approved in this year’s Highway Department budget, but board approval is needed to make the position full-time.

Last year, the board approved a request from Kosmalski to purchase an electronic timesheet program at a cost of over $11,000 in order to save what Kosmalski estimated was half of the clerk’s time spent processing timesheets manually. The process included coding employees’ time according to what roads were worked on, what type of work was done, inventory that was used, and assistance given in the county garage.

The position was revised last year to allow more time for the clerk to assist staff and provide front desk coverage. "As well as allowing for greater assistance in that arena," a memo from Kosmalski to the board states, "the position was also revised to allow time for assistance with the department’s new safety program (policies, etc.), preservation [of] historic plans and documents through scanning, creating and maintaining a reference library for engineer and engineering technicians, and assistance with inventory databases.

"Electronic Timesheets has freed up clerk time to help with these items," the memo goes on, "and good progress has been made. However, after watching how things worked for six months with the extra time the electronic timesheets allowed, the increase to full-time is still warranted to accomplish the goals stated above, and to maintain that level of functioning and assistance."

In a separate interview, Kosmalski said that having access to old road plans is very important when doing repairs and replacements.

In anticipation of expected decreases in state aid, the board decided to wait and see what kind of money will be available when the next county budget process gets underway before deciding on whether to upgrade the clerk position to full-time.
 



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