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Commissioners and staff debate highway costs, gravel accounting and fill superintendent job description
Summary
Board members and staff discussed the county's road program costs, gravel inventory and measurement practices, and approved a revised job description for a highway superintendent and a public recruitment posting.
Bennett County commissioners and staff spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing highway maintenance costs, gravel inventory and measurement methods, the county's 2025 road plan, and the long-running effort to hire a highway superintendent.
County staff and commissioners described recent spending levels and surface-maintenance practices and raised concerns about tracking tonnage for gravel purchases. One commissioner summarized the current maintenance cost run rate as about $30,000 per month for routine blade work and estimated annual blade-work costs at roughly $360,000 for seven employees. Commissioners and staff discussed per-mile costs for road rebuilding, various estimates for gravel spread per mile, and the potential benefits and limits of buying a portable scale for pit sites to reduce measurement uncertainty.
Josh, identified in discussion as a highway staffer, was mentioned repeatedly as managing gravel operations; staff said third-party pile measures had been used. Commissioners asked for a written copy of the 2025 highway plan and raised questions about how much of roadwork spending remains local versus going to nonlocal contractors.
The board voted to approve a revised job description for the highway superintendent and to run a public recruitment advertisement (the motion passed by voice vote). During discussion, some commissioners urged offering competitive pay to recruit experienced equipment operators; one commissioner recommended advertising a blade operator position at $35 per hour to attract applicants.
Commissioners also discussed gravel inventories and stockpiles. Board members said the county had multiple gravel pits and that earlier work on a particular loop may have used more loads per mile than originally budgeted (staff estimated about 100 loads per mile placed where budget assumed 60). Commissioners discussed procedural changes to improve tracking and oversight of gravel placement and contract scopes.
No change to major contracts or a new procurement was approved during the discussion; the formal action taken was the approval of the highway superintendent job description and authorization to advertise for the position.
