Signs of area road woes mount

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A sign posted on the side of 397th Avenue north of Woonsocket warns of dangerous road conditions near Sand Creek. Heavy rains and subsequent flooding have wreaked havoc on the road conditions in Sanborn County and many other counties in the state. (Laura Wehde/Republic Photo)

Talk about it

Residents in one area county will consider a $350,000 annual opt-out over five years on Sept. 14, while commissioners in another county approved a new wheel tax last week.

Both measures were taken for immediate road repairs or overdue road maintenance.

Sanborn County commissioners approved the opt-out and set the election, while Gregory County leaders ratified a maximum 4-cent wheel tax.

For Sanborn County, flooding that has occurred since June has impaired roads. The worst areas are along the James River, Sand Creek and 397th Avenue, said Keith Senska, county board chairman from Woonsocket.

“Pretty near every road in Sanborn County has been damaged in one form or another from flooding,” he said.

If the opt-out passes, the county will be able to collect up to $350,000 more per year over the five-year period than it otherwise could under the state’s property tax freeze.

Since the spring thaw and heavy rains have made some roads impassable in area counties and caused them to deteriorate, many county officials are turning to special measures such as opting out of the state property tax freeze or enacting a wheel tax to raise money for repairs.

Aurora County passed a five-year, $400,000 annual opt-out two weeks ago. Last month, voters rejected opt-outs of $850,000 in Brown County and $500,000 in Marshall County. Beadle County plans to ask voters for a three-year opt-out of $300,000 to $500,000 annually after a wheel tax increase of $2 per wheel was defeated by voters in June.

State Sen. Mike Vehle, R-Mitchell, the Senate Transportation Committee chairman, has unsuccessfully tried to increase vehicle registration fees, which go to counties, townships and municipalities, and raise the state gas/diesel tax in the Legislature.

Vehle commended counties for try- ing to take the lead in resolving their fiscal problems. The fact that more counties are seeking such measures could help convince lawmakers of the need to raise those taxes and fees, he said.

“I think it shows to other legislators that counties are serious. They do have road maintenance and road issues that need to be tended to.”

If Gregory County’s wheel tax isn’t brought to a public vote by a petition, the county will become the 43rd in the state to adopt such a tax, according to the state Department of Revenue and Regulation. Eleven Mitchellarea counties already have such a tax, with eight levying the maximum amount.

Gregory County’s wheel tax would generate an estimated $125,000 a year for road maintenance and take effect on Jan. 1, Auditor Jim Waterbury said. County officials chose to levy the maximum because they are short in funds.

“We have oil roads that need major repair, but we are putting it off because we don’t have the money to do it,” he said.

In the meantime, the county will patch some bad spots instead of laying an asphalt overlay and try to keep gravel on roads as best it can, Waterbury said.

Steve Cassidy, Gregory County highway superintendent, said the cost of highway materials has risen.

Liquid asphalt used for chipsealing projects cost $1.04 a gallon in 2004 and climbed to $2.57 a gallon last year, he said.

Cassidy estimated that 25 miles of asphalt roads are deteriorating because of bigger farm equipment and loads hauled by semi-tractors that weren’t used 30-plus years ago when roads were first paved.

And all of the roads are aging at the same time, he said. Cassidy calculated it would cost $6.25 million to fix those 25 miles.

“(The) $125,000 will help, but it surely is not going to solve the problem,” he said.

Waterbury said no one made comments at the two readings for the wheel tax.

“I think the public knows that we have a shortage of funds and we have projects that need to be done,” he said.

Sanborn County officials decided to schedule an election at the 4-H Building in Forestburg because they thought it was fair to taxpayers, Senska said.

County Auditor Diane Larson noted that when the county passed its $4 per wheel tax in 2007, a lot of residents weren’t aware of the change.

“We don’t want people to feel they weren’t given a chance to voice their opinion,” she said.

The election must be held before Oct. 1 so the county can set its property tax levies for the 2011 budget, Larson said.

Sanborn County’s proposed opt-out would increase taxes on a $100,000 home by $110 a year, Larson said.

Several culverts either collapsed or washed out in Sanborn County as well, Senska said.

“A lot of them might get a Band-Aid before the fall or winter,” he said. “Until the water recedes, it’s hard to do a good job to put in culverts.”

Aside from culverts, 90 percent of gravel roads need to be reshaped and some bridges need to be updated, Senska said.

A couple of public meetings will be scheduled at the 4-H Building in Forestburg, Senska said. Those meetings will be scheduled next week.

Tags: road repairs, wheel tax, news, local