Monday may have been April Fools’ Day but Board of Supervisors President Gloria Dickerson was not joking when she closed the debate about rebuilding two county roads with minimal county road crew assistance.
Supervisors voted 4-1 to use a private contractor to do most of the work rebuilding Charlie Ellis Road in the Boyer-Stephensville area of District 4 and O.W. Savell Road just west of Drew in District 5.
The sole no vote came from District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald, who insisted that the job could be done cheaper using either county crews or a specialized Washington County team to construct the final layer of the road after the foundation has been rebuilt by a private contractor.
The board took the action after County Engineer Ron Cassada explained that the time between laying the new foundation and the final overlay is critical — just a matter of days. Discussion further revealed that the county’s machinery for doing the final layer is broken and having it ready and trained crews available on time was unlikely.
A proposal to work out an agreement with Washington County to use a specialized road paving crew probably could not be reached in time to meet the critical paving deadline, especially since work needs to start on the projects very soon.
Despite the overwhelming vote to amend the contract to have the private contractor do the bulk of the job, Donald continued to advocate for the alternative. He demanded to know where the money is coming from and refused to accept an explanation that funds for road repair are available.
He also pressed about the status of proposed discussions with Washington County about using its specialized crew.
Over Donald’s continued objection, Dickerson proclaimed the issue finished and that the board move on to other matters.
Before doing so, however, District 2 Supervisor Riley Rice suggested that pressing the issue after a majority vote may be counterproductive.
“We need to stop arguing and start working together,” Rice said.
Donald replied he is not arguing but speaking out on behalf of the taxpayers.
The decision will increase the cost by about $250,000, bringing the total to $1.3 million for both roads, which have degraded to almost being dangerous to drive. County crews have been relegated to drainage improvements, including installing culverts before construction begins. The money will come from recurring state funds designated for road improvement and related items.
The board also learned Monday that much of the burgeoning bill to repair expensive road equipment may be due to some employees’ failure to do routine daily maintenance checks or to report problems on a timely basis.
The issue arose briefly during a board meeting last month when Tim Howell, the county’s vehicle maintenance director, reported several truck breakdowns caused by drivers failing to properly conduct the daily maintenance checks required of them.
He was asked to present more information concerning the problem at the next meeting.
On Monday, he did just that.
Howell is charged with overseeing the county repair shops with an eye towards preventative maintenance and repair of the county’s more than 200 vehicles and machines.
He estimated that is costing the county about $360,000 a year for repair and maintenance.
Much of this cost is for expensive repairs of specialized machinery, much of it due to improper operation or failure of operators to report problems before serious damage occurs.
Operators are required to do a daily check list of basic maintenance, checking the oil and other fluids, tire inspections and to report any suspected problems during use of the machines. Howell said that in some cases this is not being done diligently or at all, which ultimately leads to preventable expensive breakdowns.
“What I’m concerned about is the (daily operator) checks,” Howell said. “It’s not being done. If it was done, you wouldn’t come up with 30-gallon brake fluid leaks caused by busted hoses.”
He suggested that if the routine operator inspections were done, then the county’s vehicle repair bill could drop significantly. He could not give a firm estimate on the savings but said those numbers will be available after more information is collected.
Howell said he has pointed out the problem with assistant road managers who told him they were telling the operators to do the inspections, but in many cases, they do not seem to be complying.
The board’s discussion then turned to what steps are needed to make sure it gets done. Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams said county employment policy is straightforward: document when they occur.
The first time they fail, they are given a warning and a written notice goes into their file; the second time, they are suspended; the third time, they are fired.
Howell, however, does not have the authority to issue such warnings. That responsibility falls on the shoulder of County Road Manager T.J. Fairley.
District 3 Supervisor Sherry Gaston then suggested an easy solution.
“There should be better communication between y’all (Howell and Fairley),” she said. “Meet once a week and exchange information.”
Glenn Donald agreed.
“When they (the operators) don’t do it, they need to be suspended,” he said.
