Ozaukee County, Wisconsin - Minutes - Highway Committee

DRAFT October 28, 2004

Port Washington, WI

Chairman Kaul called the meeting of the Ozaukee County Highway Committee to order at 9:00 a.m. Present were committee members Kaul, Hilber, Grosklaus, Uselding and Kletti, Commissioner Dreblow, Administrator Meaux and Office Manager Carroll. Moved by Grosklaus and second by Kletti to approve the minutes of the October 14, 2004 meeting as printed. All members present voting aye, the motion was adopted.

Dreblow reviewed correspondence as follows:

WisDOT Connector Express – Reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange has officially begun. Preliminary engineering for reconstruction of I-94 from the Illinois state line, north 35 miles has begun also.

City of Mequon – A meeting (to discuss maintenance of the medians) on CTH ‘W’ is scheduled for October 29^th, 9:00 a.m. at the Highway Office.

Winter Highway Conference – Conference room rates are above the county maximum of $85.00. Rooms for a two-night stay are available at a cost of $99.00 each night and rooms for a three-night stay are available at a cost of $109.00. Grosklaus and Uselding will not attend. Kletti and Hilber will stay three nights and Dreblow and Kaul will stay two nights. Carroll will make the necessary reservations.

Former County Board Chairman Wirth joined the meeting. He was on his way to a SEWRPC meeting and wanted to know if there were any items the Highway Committee would like SEWRPC to address.

Superintendent Tackes joined the meeting. Chairman Kaul presented Tackes with his15 year pin and thanked Tackes for a job well done. Uselding asked Tackes if the asphalt patch on CTH ‘O’ at Cedar Creek would be leveled. Tackes will follow through on the request.

Additional communications:

Traffic Safety Committee – Dreblow reported on the October 20^th Traffic Safety Meeting. The request to lower the speed limit on CTH ‘T’ between CTH ‘W’ and Green Bay Road was denied. A number of accidents at this location appear to be caused by auto vs. deer collisions. Deer crossing signs will be erected.

District Fall Meeting - The District #2 Commissioner and Committeemen fall meeting will be held on November 16^th at Racine County. Kletti will be unable to attend.

Committee Duties - Dreblow informed the committee that the proposed ordinance transferring the duties of the Buildings Committee to the Highway Committee was available for review.

Journal/Sentinal Article – Larry Sussman interviewed Dreblow regarding winter maintenance operations. An article will appear in the newspaper at a later date.

The following construction and maintenance projects were discussed.

Roundabout – As directed at the last committee meeting,Dreblow spoke with the Mt Horeb Village engineer to learn more about the roundabout in their community. The previous intersection was signalized with offset legs. This intersection did not work safely. WisDOT engineers designed the roundabout. There are single through lanes in each direction with a right turn only lane east and westbound. The roundabout has been in operation since late spring and there is no experience with winter maintenance. Businesses have complained that there are few gaps in traffic, which limits the ability for vehicles to enterand exit. Dreblow believes that this roundabout is not similar to what is being proposed. Moved by Uselding and second by Kaul to support the design of a signalized intersection at STH 33 and CTH ‘LL’ due to a number of concerns, including the lack of a similar successful roundabout installation in Wisconsin, potential winter maintenance concerns, safe and orderly flow of traffic and pedestrian safety. Uselding and Kaul voting aye, Kletti, Grosklaus and Hilber voting nay, the motion did not pass. After further discussion regarding the design of the CTH ‘LL’ and STH 33 intersection, a second motion was offered. Moved by Groslkaus and second by Uselding that the Ozaukee County Highway Committee is opposed to the design of a roundabout at the intersection of CTH ‘LL’ and STH 33 due a number of concerns, including the lack of a similar successful roundabout installation in Wisconsin, potential winter maintenance concerns, safe and orderly flow of traffic and pedestrian safety. All members present voting aye, the motion was adopted.

CTH ‘I’ Reconstruction – The Hazard Elimination Project must follow federal guidelines for selection of an engineer. Dreblow will solicit for an engineer throught the County’s web site in order to comply with that requirement.

Dreblow advised the committee that Clear Channel has been denied a permit, by the town of Grafton, to reset the billboard on county right-of-way at the southeast corner of CTH ‘W’ and CTH ‘T’, per its agreement with the county. There could be additional damages due Clear Channel for the loss of the sign.

The committee reviewed the proposed request to restore funds to the 2005 construction budget. Meaux advised the committee that the balance of the capital inprovement fund should increase do to higher sales tax earnings and the payment from W E Energies. Meaux requested that the committee take no action to restore funds to the 2005 budget request at this time. When the total available for capital projects is determined, Meaux will support a request from the Highway Committee for a transfer to the construction budget.

Kaul left the meeting. Grosklaus assumed the chair.

Moved by Kletti and second by Hilber to withdraw the request for restoration of $230,000 and to address the funding through an alternate source in 2005. All members present voting aye, the motion was adopted.

Meaux and Dreblow left the meeting.

Carroll explained that the payroll is now being prepared using the Great Plains software. Payroll reports are still in the development stage. When the reports are available, Carroll will bring them before the committee for approval of the payroll.

Accounts payable batch #38834 in the amount of $75.00, batch #38835 in the amount of $11,011.37, batch #38857 in the amount of $306.74 and batch #38858 in the amount of $71,255.01 were reviewed. Moved by Uselding and second by Kletti to approve accounts payable batches totaling $82,648.12. All members present voting aye, the motion was adopted.

Carroll requested that 21" monitors be included with the two computers scheduled for 2005 replacement. The additional cost would be $300 each. Funds will be available in the carry over balance. The committee approved the request.

Moved by Hilber and second by Uselding to adjourn the meeting at 11:50 a.m. All members present voting aye, the motion was adopted.

Respectfully Submitted,

Georgia Carroll, Office Manager