DAKOTA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

JUNE 15, 2005 PROCEEDING

EMERGENCY MEETING

NANCI WALSH'S OFFICE

DAKOTA COUNTY COURTHOUSE

 

County Clerk Ted Piepho, called an emergency meeting of the County Board to order at 4:30 p.m.  Present were Commissioner Bousquet, Commissioner O'Neill, Arnie Mellick Road Foreman, Nanci Walsh Assistant to the Board and Ted Piepho, Secretary.

 

Nanci Walsh contacted Commissioner Engel and Commissioner Hartnett by telephone and they attended the meeting electronically with the use of a speaker phone.

 

Commissioner Miller could not be reached and therefore absent.

 

The board was briefed concerning the nature of the emergency.  The emergency is that the construction company showed up today to remove the North bridge (Project BRO-7022 (15) on Omaha Avenue while the approach to the south bridge is being prepared for blacktop.  If the county does not permit the Construction company to start construction on the north bridge, the county could be fined $3,500 for each day that the construction can not start the project.  On the other hand it was felt that there would be a possibility that the completion of the South bridge would cause the road there to be closed when the construction company blacktops Omaha Avenue at that location.  In essence, both areas would be closed to traffic, while three families that live between the two bridges would not have ingress to and egress from their property.  It was also a concern whether emergency vehicles would be able to service this area in the case they were needed.

 

The board had two concerns.  One was, that if it rained and made the approaches for the South Bridge impassible and the bridge to the north was out, what could be done and the other issue was that when the approaches were blacktopped, was it necessary to close that area.

 

After debating these two issues, it was determined there is no rain in the forecast until Thursday, June 23rd and the south project would be near completion so the Construction could go ahead and remove the north bridge.  To play it safe the county would insure that a motor grader was located at the south bridge to shave off any wet dirt caused by rain to maintain ingress to and egress from the area for local traffic.

 

As for the other issue of closing the road for the construction company to blacktop the road, Commissioner Bousquet thought that the construction company could blacktop one lane at a time and traffic could use the dirt lane while the first lane was being blacktopped and could use the blacktopped lane when blacktopping on the other lane.

 

Since the feeling is that the county can keep Omaha Avenue open for traffic at all times for the completion of Project BRO-7022(11), which is the bridge by Robert and Janie Meins, Commissioner Bousquet moved, seconded by Commissioner Hartnett to authorize the Construction Company on site to start Project BRO07022(15) (the north bridge on Omaha Avenue) and to have a motor grader on site at the location of BRO-7022(11) (the south bridge on Omaha Avenue) with personnel on standby to operate it in case it is needed for residents in the area to have ingress to and egress from the area between the two projects.

ROLL CALL VOTE: Miller- Absent, Bousquet- Yea, O'Neill- Yea, Hartnett- Yea, Engel- Yea, UNANIMOUS MOTION CARRIED.

 

Chair Engel adjourned the Emergency meeting at 4:44 p.m.

 

                                 DAKOTA COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                 William F. Engel, Chair

ATTEST

Theodore A. Piepho, County Clerk