Winnebago County signs secondary-road contract as supervisors review shop repairs, paving and Sunny site gravel timing

The Winnebago County Board of Supervisors voted to sign a secondary-road contract and spent much of its meeting discussing ongoing secondary-road projects, a drainage invoice and timing for selling county-owned property where gravel remains.

The contract was approved by voice vote after a motion from Supervisor Genswold and a second from Supervisor Kirby. The board did not record individual roll-call votes; the chair called the motion “passed” after members responded “aye.”

The discussion that preceded the vote covered several operational items. Road staff reported progress on the county shop: interior concrete work is complete and crews are repairing missed screw locations in the ceiling before insulation is installed. Staff said a perforated tile and a water-bearing trench led to one day of delayed concrete pouring; crews filled the trench with concrete to stop water intrusion.

Supervisors and staff also discussed a $450 drainage-related invoice for work that may have fallen inside a state ditch. Board members directed staff to cancel the current payment and, after the meeting, rerun the claim so it can be billed through the appropriate district or secondary-roads account to keep accounting clear.

On paving, staff reported that a recent fog-seal and pavement marking pass drew positive comments and that planned milling work had been delayed by about a week. The county’s “hot-in-place” recycling operation was reported as scheduled for June 27 and will affect segments of South Mill Road and other county roads; staff said the work will show as a work zone in mapping services but will not produce a permanent detour for county traffic.

The board also debated whether to delay a planned sale of the county’s “Sunny site” property to remove additional gravel. Staff estimated there may be roughly 15,000 tons of gravel remaining in pockets across the site and said a crusher contractor could move roughly 2,500–3,000 tons per day when on site. Supervisors weighed the potential extra revenue from extracting more gravel against the time, staffing and scheduling impacts; staff said the earliest the crusher might be available would be early August, and that meeting advertising and realtor preparation would favor a fall (November) listing. Board members noted the county’s fund balance is strong and that deferring sale proceeds would not create immediate budgetary pressure.

Directives and next steps recorded in the meeting included staff follow-up calls to Lewis’s (a contractor mentioned by staff) and other potential gravel buyers or contractors to confirm availability, and continued coordination with the county realtor to prepare sale listings and photographs if the board decides to proceed later this year.

Supervisors closed the item by approving the secondary-road contract; no amendment to the contract terms or dollar amount was stated on the record.