Stevens County board approves advertisement for two mill‑and‑overlay projects; highway staff detail pavement preservation work

MORRIS, Minn. — Stevens County commissioners voted to approve advertising two mill‑and‑overlay projects (SAP 07560833 and SAP 07561302) to be funded and managed through state aid processes, and received a highway department update on pavement preservation and bridge design issues.

At the start of the meeting commissioners handled routine business — adopting the agenda and approving minutes — before moving into public comment and department reports. A motion to advertise the two SAP mill‑and‑overlay projects passed after a mover and second were recorded; the board indicated unanimous consent by voice vote.

Projects and votes

The board approved staff’s request to advertise two state‑aid paving projects identified in the meeting as SAP 07560833 and SAP 07561302. Project descriptions presented by county staff list mill and overlay work on roughly five miles on County Road 13 (from County Road 18 down to County Road 8) and work on County Road 8 from County Road 13 to a referenced township line. The board recorded a motion and second; the chair called for voice vote and the motion carried.

Highway department update

Todd (county highway staff) briefed the board on equipment and pavement‑preservation practices. He reported delivery of a 2024 chassis for a new truck to be outfitted with plow equipment and said the department expects to receive completed plow trucks in April after winter. The department is completing design work on County Road 34 and is a partner on a Safe Routes to School planning grant; a separate infrastructure grant for County Road 34 was submitted in January with results expected in April.

Pavement preservation priorities discussed by highway staff (presented with photos and material comparisons) included:

- Routine use of routed seal (slot‑cut then seal) in early life of pavement, and a blow‑and‑go reseal around year 10. - Purchase and in‑house use of a melter for crack sealing to reduce contractor scheduling constraints. - Comparison of two rubberized asphalt materials (37‑23 and 37‑25) and observations that some materials close up in warm weather and may open in very cold temperatures. - Use of mastic banding on select roads; mastic banding costs were described as roughly $4 per linear foot versus $1.75 per linear foot for routed seal, with mastic used on older pavements to extend life before mill and overlay.

Bridge and right‑of‑way notes

Todd advised the board that design for two bridge projects (County Road 10 near Ponder Terre Park and a bridge on County Road 13 in the City of Chicago [as cited in the meeting transcript]) is underway and partially contingent on decisions about the Chrissy Lake/Highway 10 dam area: if dam pool elevations are modified, bridge approaches and roadbed designs may need borings and revisions. He said Houston Engineering is leading the bridge design and staff are coordinating with dam project engineers to avoid making premature design choices.

Other board business

The board scheduled a closed session/work session for the administrator’s review on March 18 and handled routine items including approval of condensed minutes for a prior meeting. The meeting adjourned by a voice vote.

Ending: The board’s vote to advertise the two SAP paving projects moves those projects into the state‑aid advertising and bidding cycle; county staff will return with bid results and continue design work tied to grant decisions and to coordinated dam/bridge work.