Commissioner embarrassed by Clearwater-area road condition

Charlie Henery, chairman of the Antelope County Board of Commissioners, told his peers, when they met at the courthouse last Tuesday, June 2, that the condition of a road north of Clearwater embarrassed him.

Discussion on 854 Road began as commissioner Eli Jacob asked the road superintendent his timeline for grinding a two mile stretch of 516 Avenue, from Clearwater north to the cemetery.

Road boss Aaron Boggs said he first needed to know "where we're going with it."

"Well, we either have to fix that one out there, or close it," Jacob said.

"On that mile west of the cemetery (854 Road), I sat there for over three hours yesterday...and it was embarrassing... a lady went by with an older pickup that had tires in the back, tailgate was down and she was chasing tires. All the tires came out the back of the pickup," Henery said. "It needs to be either shut down or ground immediately put back to dirt on that one. It needs to happen, needs barricades or something on it. It had no signage... rough road or pavement breakup or anything. People are just putting up with...you can't dodge the holes. They're clear across the road and they're deep."

Commissioner Carolyn Pedersen asked questions, then suggested the two miles of 516 Avenue and one mile of 854 Road be ground in place, then topped with six inches of Sinclair dirt, which will potentially repair base issues Boggs said are part of the 516 Avenue issues.

Pedersen's plan would include an overlay later.

The proposal drew agreement from the other commissioners and from Boggs, although he had budgetary concerns. The first step, grinding the asphalt in place, was set to begin last week. Boggs offered choices for future overlay, including millings, cold- or hot-mix asphalt and concrete, any of which can be done next year.

A question remained regarding the first half mile off Highway 275, which is within the city limits of Clearwater. Boggs said he would attend Monday's village board meeting to discuss the project.

Further consideration will be given to borrowing funds through a bond issue, to facilitate repair of deteriorating oil roads across the county. Tobin Buchanan had been invited to the June 9 meeting to explain bonding options and requirements.

Some ideas for potential amounts of a bond and planned work were mulled by the leaders at the end of last week's meeting, but no decision was reached. Pedersen presented a plan that would eliminate about half of 147 miles of hard-surface roads that will remain after 14 miles are ground and either recycled or left in place this season.

The commissioners voted to open the courthouse to the public once again, following its March closure due to the pandemic. The opening was approved unanimously on a motion from commissioner Dean Smith.

County treasurer Deb Branstiter addressed the commissioners in a related matter. She said a shower curtain and "sneeze guards" were used for makeshift protection at her office in anticipation of the courthouse opening. But she asked for permanent barriers for the courthose offices. Henery said bids had been requested in the past from two contractors, with just one, Aaron Kinnan, opting to bid.

Branstiter was unaware of the amount bid.

"I didn't even see it, but I did talk to him about what he was going to do," she said. "I think now's the time we need to do it, just for the COVID-19 virus and the safety of my employees, also the safety of our customers. Without that barrier we are face to face for sometimes an hour. Right now, I have some kids down there running around - for their safety, too."

She said funds may be available to recoup some of the cost, although she wasn't sure permanent changes would qualify. Assessor Kelly Mueller-Oltjenbruns said some counties had been reimbursed as much as $200,000 for safety projects.

Zoning administrator Liz Doerr, who also serves as zoning administrator in Knox County, showed the commissioners photos of her office in Center. She said bulletproof glass was installed in offices there several years ago.

"There's also been an issue where there has been a security worry, especially for Kelly, still is a big concern," Branstiter said. "Somebody said we should put it out for bids and we probably should, but this is an emergency situation and I don't want to go another year."

Henery favored installing bulletproof glass.

"I know it's going to be way, way more expensive," he said. "But if we are doing it once we might as well do it right the first time."

Pedersen advised she had no objection, as long as bids had been sought in the past, but she suggested checking with other area contractors before committing. Henery directed Branstiter to reach out to others.

"Make sure you get a timeline," Jacob advised.

County clerk Lisa Payne reported Branstiter had received a reimbursement payment of $7,060.43 from FEMA. "We're starting that ball rolling," she said.

Although it did not go to a vote, unofficial agreement for a tentative plan to address traffic safety in the area of the new Summerland School was reached, after an hour-long discussion.

Mark Meisinger, a traffic engineer with Felsburg Holt & Ullevig in Omaha, reviewed a recent traffic impact study conducted by the firm.

The impact statement presented, according to Meisinger, was a summary of pertinent information covering "high points" of the report.

The firm was tasked with doing a study to determine safety impacts at the intersection of the Summerland and Orchard roads, and at access points from the roads to school property, two off of Summerland Road and two off of Orchard Road.

"The process (was) to see the size of the school, the number of students (who) are going to be attending," Meisinger said. "We can estimate the number of trips that would be generated by that building, that school. We look at a couple different things, the number of students that are there, the number of staff and then the type of transportation you would have to the sites, whether it's personal vehicle or bus. So we take that information, we identify the number of trips that would be generated ... they were looking at a.m. hours and then your dismissal or kind of the time school got out. ... we can take a percentage of that traffic and run it through intersections and into the site. Then we take those numbers and we add them to the existing traffic and we can project the future."

Study findings included:

• The a.m. peak hour was determined to begin at 7:30 a.m., the p.m. peak hour was determined to commence at 4:30 p.m. and the dismissal peak hour, at 3:30;

• By future (2031), the school is estimated to generate approximately 974 total vehicle trips, 304 during the a.m. peak hour, 79 during the p.m. peak hour, and 168 during the dismissal peak hour.

• Under existing (2020), buildout (2021), and future traffic conditions, all movements at unsignalized intersections function at "B" or better (A=best and F=worst);

• No improvements are anticipated to be required at the intersections of US 20 or US 275 with Orchard Road nor US 275 with Summerland Road;

• It is recommended that a 35-mph school speed limit be implemented in the site vicinity;

• School zone should start 200 feet in advance of the school property lines, school advance warning signs should be provided and flashing beacons should be placed on the school zone speed limit signs and be activated during school arrival and dismissal;

• An all-way stop should be implemented at the intersection of the county roads to increase safety from higher turning movements due to the development;

• Both roads should maintain their current two-lane undivided cross-sections within the study area; and

• It is recommended that both roads implement centerline markings as well as overhead street lighting at the intersection.

Engineers determined there isn't currently a lot of heavy background traffic that would require turn lanes into or out of the school. One lane can be maintained in each direction on both of the roads, with stop-controlled access points. One driveway off Summerland Road will be an entrance, the other an exit, creating a loop. Both driveways from Orchard Road will accommodate two-way traffic.

McDonald objected to a four-way stop, advising Orchard Road is a through "corridor" where travelers do not expect to encounter stop signs.

After hearing McDonald's advice, agreement was reached to eliminate the four-way stop. Traffic on Summerland Road will continue to be stopped. Traffic on both roads will see speed limits decrease to 35 miles per hour, during school hours only. The reduced speed zone will include flashing beacon warnings while the reduced speeds are in force.

Meisinger said a one-Page amended plan will be submitted for consideration prior to the June 9 meeting, when approval is anticipated.

A motion by commissioner Dean Smith for the school district to pay for initial purchase costs and installation of all signage and the flashing beacons, was approved on a 4-1 vote, with commissioner Regina Krebs voting nay. The motion initially included costs for painting center stripes, but after input from his peers, Smith withdrew that portion of his motion prior to a vote.

Krebs added what she called "administrative" direction after the vote, saying a new motion was not necessary.

"If the county is going to ultimately own the signs, I think they need to ultimately pay for the signs and make arrangements for reimbursement (by the school district)," she said. "We need to make sure we have the proper signs that we need in place."

Smith and Henery agreed.

McDonald advised that a resolution will need to be adopted designating the school zone.

A motion by Jacob, to approve four permanent driveways for the school, carried unanimously. There was some discussion about restrictions to driveway use during construction, but it was not included in the motion.

Steve Thiele, on behalf of builder Hausmann Construction, said, "I would just ask that we have the ability to manage our own site."

Boggs agreed "handshake agreements" would be sufficient for driveway use during the construction phase of the project.

Payne shared an email response to a question raised in May by Smith, regarding transferring balances held by the treasurer for several former townships. The funds had previously been used only for gravel purchase in the respective townships. Per the email from state auditor Deann Haeffner, the funds may be used on any expenses related to the particular township area, including gravel, road repairs, etc.

"If the county can show they have spent more money on that particular township, versus the amount of money left in the township fund, they can transfer the money to the county road fund," Haeffner wrote. "Once the money is gone, the fund is considered closed and any future receipts (via back tax payment) that come into that fund can/should be transferred to the road fund."

According to Smith, there are some large balances, including about $26,800 in the Neligh Township account, $16,000 in Royal Township, $10,000 in Burnett, $323 in Willow, $156 in Oakdale, along with a few smaller balances. Boggs was directed to present invoices to show expenses paid out for work in the townships that have funds remaining, prior to the June 23 meeting. Branstiter's request for authorization to automatically transfer funds from township accounts that have been zeroed out at one time, but have since had back tax deposits, was postponed.

Doerr presented her monthly permit report. She explained several permits were issued for Niewohner and JSMM Farms, "replacing some contract finishing barns that have wore out." They are in new locations, one is for the structure itself, and the other is an additional use permit.

"There's a couple of them that we still have to get the driveway ironed out, but the permits for the use of the land and the structure (are) ok," she said.

Doerr also informed the county leaders she now has updated forms available for individuals who wish to request winter ice-mode programming for Invenergy wind turbines located near calving operations.

In other business, the commissioners:

~Approved request from Mueller-Oljenbruns for $34,000 in extra funding to obtain photos of rural properties from gWorks, half to be billed each of the next two fiscal years;

~Approved request from Payne to transfer "budget function money" in the Road and Bridge Payroll Fund, to correct a function balance issue;

~Heard from Payne that another budget function imbalance, in the "judge's" fund, had been corrected;

~Approved moving drug forfeiture fund balance from 3800 account to 2360 account, a procedural action she said was advised by auditors;

~Approval of minutes of two recent meetings, May 5 and May 22, were tabled after Krebs requested clarification on a blank left in the first and inaccurate information recorded in the second;

~Heard from Payne $1.10 found in absentee ballots was deposited as misc. revenue;

~Approved $159,579.56 pay application from A&R Construction for the Tilden North bridge project;

~Approved contracting 80% of anticipated fuel needs through December, including 39,000 gallons from Farmers Pride at $1.49 per gallon, and 7,000 gallons from Sapp Bros. at $1.67; and

~Approved two access permits for Frey on 524.5 Avenue, and on 849 Road, both in Neligh Township, and one for Auger on 532 Avenue in Bazile Township;

~Approved undergound permit applications on 868 Road in Bazile Township, for North Central Public Power District/Klabenes; 513 Avenue in Sherman Township, for Frontier Communications; and 527 Avenue in Cedar Township, for Beckman; and

~Tabled access permit application for Frey, that Boggs had not inspected, on 534 Avenue in Elm Township.