**APPROVED MINUTES**

Mason, Michigan

May 3, 2007

The Board of Ingham County Road Commissioners met for a regular meeting on Thursday, May 3, 2007, at 6:00 P.M. in the Board Room of the Road Commission’s Austin E. Cavanaugh Administration Building located at 301 Bush Street, Mason, Michigan.

Present: Larry R. Smith, Chair, Joseph A. Guenther, Vice Chair, and Shirley M. Rodgers, Member.

Also Present: John W. Midgley, Managing Director, Deborah L. Bellows, Secretary to the Board, Kathy M. Haves, Director of Administrative Services, Joseph D. Pulver, Director of Operations, and Robert H. Peterson, Director of Engineering.

Others Present: Dan Chapman, Engineering Dept. employee and OPEIU Local 512 Representative, Will Comstock, Eastern District employee, and Rob Alling, vehicle maintenance Shop employee.

AGENDA ITEM #4 – CONSENT ITEMS.

Moved by Commissioner Guenther and Supported by Commissioner Rodgers, that the following items be approved under consent:

A. Agenda Item #5, minutes of the meetings of April 19^th and April 23^rd, 2007.

B. Agenda Item #6 and #6A, routine and special permits.

C. Agenda Item #8A, accounts payable.

3 yes, 0 no. Motion carried unanimously.

Agenda Item #5 – Minutes.

Moved by Commissioner Guenther and Supported by Commissioner Rodgers, that the minutes of the meetings of April 19^th and April 23^rd, 2007, be approved as presented. 3 yes, 0 no. Motion carried unanimously.

Agenda Item #6 and #6A – Routine and Special Permits.

Moved by Commissioner Guenther and Supported by Commissioner Rodgers, that routine permits be approved as follows:

07-0155 07-0186 07-0187 07-0188 07-0189 07-0169

07-0192 07-0196 07-0197 07-0198 07-0199 07-0200

07-0201 07-0202 07-0203 07-0204 07-0206 07-0207

07-0208 07-0209 07-0210 07-0183 07-0184 07-0185

07-0190 07-0191 07-0193 07-0194 07-0195 07-0205

3 yes, 0 no. Motion carried unanimously.

Moved by Commissioner Guenther and Supported by Commissioner Rodgers, that permit #07-0154 be approved for the purpose of conducting a Memorial Day Parade on May 28, 2007, from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM in Holt. The event is sponsored by the American Legion #238 and is sanctioned by Delhi Charter Township. 3 yes, 0 no. Motion carried unanimously.

Agenda Item #8A – Accounts Payable.

Moved by Commissioner Guenther and Supported by Commissioner Rodgers, that the accounts payable for the two week period from April 16-29, 2007, be approved as follows: check numbers #88258 through #88357, totaling $188,174.81. 3 yes, 0 no. Motion carried unanimously.

AGENDA ITEM #9A – REAPPROVAL OF THE FINAL PLAT OF HIDEAWAY WOODS NO. 5.

Mr. Gary Arnold, the consultant representing the proprietor was present for discussion.

Director of Engineering Bob Peterson stated that the Board approved the final plat of Hideaway Woods No. 5 in December of 2006. However, subsequently one of the proprietors of the plat was not included on the Proprietor’s certificate. The only change from the previously approved final plat is the addition of Independence Bank South Michigan as a proprietor. Mr. Peterson said the final plat mylar will be available for Board signatures at a later date. He recommended the Board re-approve the final plat and authorize the Chair to sign a paper certificate.

RESOLUTION RE-APPROVING THE FINAL PLAT OF HIDEAWAY WOODS NO. 5 LOCATED IN WILLIAMSTOWN TOWNSHIP.

RESOLUTION #065-07

Moved by Commissioner Guenther and Supported by Commissioner Rodgers. 3 yes, 0 no. Resolution carried unanimously.

BE IT RESOLVED that upon recommendation of the Director of Engineering, the Board re-approves the Final Plat of Hideaway Woods No. 5 located in Section 36 of Williamstown Township. The proprietor is Charles Perkins.

Discussion on the Motion: Commissioner Rodgers asked if there was a mylar requiring the Board’s signatures? Mr. Peterson stated that in accordance with new legislation from 2005, upon approval of a final plat, the Chair signs two paper certifications and when all approvals have been obtained, the official plat mylar is sent around for signatures. A second Road Commission Board approval to sign the official mylar is not required.

AGENDA ITEM #7 – MANAGING DIRECTOR REPORTS.

A. Lake Lansing Road Construction Project. Managing Director Midgley stated nothing has been received yet from Lansing Township to officially transfer the DEQ permit to the township. It is supposed to be in the works, but the letter to be signed by the Road Commission has not been received. There has also been discussion regarding the construction materials to be used for the roundabout at Wood Street. The township, through Steve Hayward, desires to construct it using asphalt materials; however, the Road Commission would prefer concrete. Mr. Hayward has stated the asphalt construction would be guaranteed by the Township against future repairs. Mr. Midgley stated there is such heavy traffic on Wood Street, that they do not believe the asphalt surface will last long.

Vice Chair Guenther wondered why this hadn’t been brought up before. He said in all the discussions that have taken place, it has always been talked about that the two roundabouts would be constructed of different compounds. Mr. Peterson said there is no question that Wood Street has the heavier traffic, with trucks hauling in and out of Granger, Schlegel and Spartan. Vice Chair Guenther stated that Builders Redi-Mix and Consumers Power would be using the Lake Lansing Road roundabout, but it was also rumored that these two entities would be relocating sometime within the next 5-10 years. Chair Smith indicated that Steve Hayward has commented that Builders Redi-Mix will be gone sooner than that. Vice Chair Guenther suggested that the roundabout on Lake Lansing Road be constructed of concrete as well.

B. Hamilton Road Traffic Study. Updated traffic counts have been taken on Hamilton Road since the entrance off Grand River has been closed for the construction of the new pump house near that location. The closure of Hamilton Road at Grand River has resulted in a decrease in Hamilton Road traffic volumes of about 10%, and a minor increase in speeds at the west end of the study area. The Board asked that a copy of this report be sent to Ann Alchin. Mr. Peterson said he thought she had already gotten this information from our website.

C. Michigan Townships’ Association Chapter Meeting. The Managing Director and the Director of Operations attended an MTA-Ingham County Chapter quarterly meeting at Leslie Township. There were only six townships represented at this meeting, but those present expressed their appreciation for the reinstatement of the 2007 matching funds.

D. Loan from Ingham County. Mr. Midgley stated an email has been received from John Neilsen indicating the county board will consider a $500,000 loan to the Road Commission, but it would not be an interest free loan. Chair Smith asked the Managing Director to find out what the proposed re-payment schedule would be and the amount of interest to be charged. Commissioner Rodgers asked that a comparison of fees and costs be done between bonding and borrowing the money from the county.

E. Noble Road Bridge. Upon discovery of the severity of the deterioration of the Noble Road bridge structure, DLZ was hired and performed an emergency detailed inspection and load analysis. They have recommended that the bridge remain closed until sufficient repairs can be done. DLZ believes that repairs are possible that would extend the useful life of the structure until Local Bridge Program funding can be secured to remove and replace the existing bridge structure. They will complete a detailed inspection and load analysis of the bridge and will make recommendations as to the repairs they believe are required to safely open the bridge to traffic.

Director of Engineering Bob Peterson stated this structure was built in 1930. At some point in time, but the exact year is currently unknown, new abutment walls were constructed along the old ones, which led to conditions that accelerated decline of the bridge’s structural members. The Board will be kept apprised of this situation.

F. Summer Work Schedule. A communication from Dan Chapman, representative for OPEIU Local 512 employees was submitted to the Board. Commissioner Rodgers stated she wished there were more employees present for this discussion. However, that being said, she wanted to attempt to address all of the concerns expressed recently by the employees; which, she added, should be the job of staff, not the Board. Commissioner Rodgers said that at the last meeting, in its zeal to settle both sides of this issue, the Board put all of the burden on one single employee group. At the time, it did not occur to her that this was unfair. She said she trusted that this was something people really wanted to do. The Board had also made it clear that they did not want this group to feel pressured or harassed by other employees. At the same time the Board was asking other employees not to pressure the members of the OPEIU unit, it did the exact thing. For that, Commissioner Rodgers said she wished to publicly apologize to the members of OPEIU. The Board should not have put the burden of determining whether the summer work schedule would be approved on this one group of employees.

Commissioner Rodgers said this is the fourth time for discussion on this issue. She indicated she doesn’t know yet how things work around here, but she certainly would have thought if this was something that staff really wanted that the administrative team would have come up with a response to the Board’s concerns in order to meet their goals. She said that once again the most logical arguments the Board received on how this works were from the workers themselves. Commissioner Rodgers stated she does not make decisions without a basis by which to make those decisions and she needs much more than just the comment that the summer hours boost morale. She said she is disappointed with the appearance that efforts were not made by the administrative staff to address this. Commissioner Rodgers said finds it incredible that there is no cost/benefit analysis for the summer hours.

Vice Chair Guenther stated he echoed Commissioner Rodgers’ sentiments. He said he was trying to make something work here for everyone and did not want to put anyone to task for it not working out. He said he also expected to have a good package put together on why this is a good benefit and how the shifts would be split to have the office open five days a week. He is disappointed this did not happen.

Chair Smith stated this was a dead issue for 2007.

G. Township Meetings. The Board was informed that many of the township representatives have mentioned that they are busy with farming now until fall. He suggested the joint meeting between the Board and the townships be reconsidered for late fall, maybe in early November.

AGENDA ITEM #8B – ACT 51 FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2006.

Commissioner Rodgers said she realized this report is due May 1^st and asked how long the extension was approved for submitting it to MDOT? Director of Administrative Services Kathy Haves stated she asked for only a few days as she informed MDOT that it could be electronically submitted on May 4^th. Chair Smith asked, though, how long we actually have to submit it? Ms. Haves stated probably the end of the month. Chair Smith stated he didn’t want to act on this until the Board has had a chance to review the audit. Commissioner Rodgers asked who crafted the balance sheet? Ms. Haves stated that Tina Henry makes the entries. Commissioner Rodgers asked if the auditors have reviewed the annual report? Ms. Haves said yes, it is part of the audit. Commissioner Rodgers asked if they had any preliminary comments? Ms. Haves said the auditors told her the Act 51 report is sound and the fund balance is a sound number. Commissioner Rodgers said she took issue with the due date being May 1^st and the fact that a written extension was not obtained from MDOT. Chair Smith asked if it turns out that the auditors have a problem of any kind with the Act 51 Report as it relates to part of the 2006 audit, could this be corrected and resubmitted to MDOT? Ms. Haves said yes.

RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 2006 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT TO BE SUBMITTED TO MDOT.

RESOLUTION #066-07

Moved by Commissioner Rodgers and Supported by Commissioner Guenther. 3 yes, 0 no. Resolution carried unanimously.

BE IT RESOLVED that upon recommendation of the Director of Administrative Services, the Board approves the Ingham County Road Commission’s 2006 Annual Financial Report and authorizes it to be submitted to MDOT.

AGENDA ITEM #9B – PROPOSAL #1509 FOR THE 2007 BIENNIAL BRIDGE INSPECTIONS.

Director of Engineering Bob Peterson stated that all bridges under the Ingham County Road Commission’s jurisdiction must be inspected every two years and the results reported to MDOT. MDOT uses the biennial bridge inspection reports from all over the state to compile a report that is submitted to the Federal Highway Administration which uses the data to guide decisions about the federal and state surface transportation program. In general, only structures that span 20 feet or more are considered bridges. Ingham County has 69 structures that fit that description.

Mr. Peterson stated that bridge inspections are a rigorous exercise that must follow National Bridge Inspection and MDOT standards. We only solicited proposals from MDOT pre-qualified consultants who have the expertise and training required to perform the inspections. Mr. Peterson said that even though all respondents are MDOT pre-qualified, Qualifications Statements were solicited to expand upon the consultant’s expertise and the individual team member’s experience.

Mr. Peterson explained that the FHWA recently adopted a new method to calculate the allowable loading that a given structure can support, based on the condition of its elements. The federal law does not directly state that all bridges must have new load calculations, but our contacts at both MDOT and the FHWA strongly suggest that the new calculations be performed on all bridges. Mr. Peterson said he proposed that we phase in the work and perform load ratings on a third of our bridges for the next three bridge inspection cycles (six years).

Mr. Peterson said he would recommend retaining DLZ Michigan to perform the 2007 Biennial Bridge inspections and load ratings at an expected total cost of $43,410.00 with any additional load analyses and detailed inspections to be authorized by the Road Commission, if any, using the unit prices contained in their proposal.

Chair Smith stated he was unsure about using DLZ because he hasn’t been too impressed with how they have handled the Lake Lansing Road project. Mr. Peterson said it will be a different team doing the inspections than the ones handling the Lake Lansing Road project. Commissioner Rodgers asked about the ratings that Mr. Peterson did on the consultants. She said she didn’t see one higher than “good”. Mr. Peterson said that the way he rated them was poor, fair and good; with good being the highest rating. Commissioner Rodgers asked if the same team would be doing the inspections as in 2005? Mr. Peterson said yes. Commissioner Rodgers agreed with Chair Smith that she is not too impressed with the way in which the particular consultants from DLZ have conducted themselves and handled the Lake Lansing Road construction project and all its various issues. Mr. Peterson reiterated this would be a different team of individuals performing the inspections.

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE HIRING OF DLZ MICHIGAN TO PERFORM THE 2007 BIENNIAL BRIDGE INSPECTION PROGRAM.

RESOLUTION #067-07

Moved by Commissioner Rodgers and Supported by Commissioner Guenther. 3 yes, 0 no. Resolution carried unanimously.

BE IT RESOLVED that upon recommendation of the Director of Engineering, the Board approves entering a contract with the consulting firm of DLZ Michigan to perform the 2007 Biennial Bridge inspection program for a cost of $43,410.00.

AGENDA ITEM #9C – LOCAL BRIDGE PROGRAM PRIORITIES.

Director of Engineering Bob Peterson reviewed with the Board, his recommendation for local bridge program funding priorities. Applications for the Local Bridge Program are due June 1, 2007, for fiscal year 2010 funding. As part of the application process, a certified resolution supporting the project and a priority list must be submitted. He suggested that the following bridges, listed in priority order, be submitted for funding: 1) Willoughby Road Bridge over Sycamore Creek; 2) Dobie Road Bridge over the Red Cedar River; 3) Van Atta Road Bridge over the Red Cedar River; 4) Zimmer Road Bridge over the Red Cedar River; and, 5) Noble Road Bridge over Doan Creek. The total estimated replacement cost for these five bridges is $4,500,000. If we are awarded funding for all five projects, our match would be $225,000.

Commissioner Rodgers asked why, if Noble Road is in such bad shape and is already closed, it is not a higher priority than five out of five? Mr. Peterson said that what makes them a higher priority is consideration of a number of factors, such as the number of vehicles they carry. For instance, Dobie Road carries 12,300 vehicles per day, versus Noble Road’s 700 vehicles per day.

Chair Smith asked how much it is going to cost to repair Noble Road enough to be able to open it back up? Mr. Peterson stated if it is repaired with a wood deck and spread footings, about $100,00; if repaired using concrete with pile foundation, over $300,000.

RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION FOR LOCAL BRIDGE PROGRAM FUNDING FOR THE WILLOUGHBY ROAD BRIDGE OVER SYCAMORE CREEK IN ALAIEDON TOWNSHIP.

resolution #068-07