Board approves Secondary Roads five‑year changes, hires frequent operator and hears bridge and paving updates
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Summary
Supervisors approved revisions to the county's Secondary Roads five‑year program, unanimously hired Breton Tigges as a frequent operator, and received updates on bridge inspections, NEPA clearances and paving/striping quotes; the engineer warned about funding tradeoffs between dust control and bridge maintenance.
The Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors approved changes to the county's certified Secondary Roads five‑year program, unanimously approved the hiring of a recommended frequent operator and heard multiple project updates from County Engineer Michael Cooney.
Cooney told the board he revised the five‑year plan to update a TPMS/TPMI identifier and moved a scheduled project (Bridal 320 / Pleasant View bridge) from 2026 to 2027 after Iowa Department of Transportation timing and funding considerations were raised. A supervisor moved to approve the changes to the five‑year plan; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously.
Cooney reported that biannual bridge inspectors will be on site to perform culvert and short‑span bridge inspections across roughly 560 structures the county administers. He noted that 26 NEPA clearances have been completed for another project and right‑of‑way work was expected to follow, with a possible January milestone mentioned but not confirmed.
On personnel, Cooney said more than a dozen applicants applied for a frequent operator position and staff recommended hiring Breton Tigges, who lives in the Palmer area and has prior machinery experience though limited blade experience. A supervisor moved and seconded the hire and the motion passed unanimously. Cooney said the county routinely sends junior blade operators to blade school as part of training policy.
The engineer also shared procurement and paving details: fuel bids were received, striping work was recently completed in portions of the county, and quotes for resurfacing sections including P32 and 350th Street returned favorable unit prices (reported around $0.07–$0.08 per linear foot). Cooney estimated mobilization at approximately $8,000 for at least one paving job.
Board members and the engineer discussed public complaints about conditions on 350th Street and B32/Town Line Road, noting constraints including harvest season, limited crew capacity and tradeoffs between dust‑control measures and maintenance of bridges and culverts. Cooney said updated traffic counts (expected within a month) will inform whether some segments remain paved or revert to gravel for cost reasons.
The board took no change to policy beyond approving the plan update and the hire; no new county expenditures beyond routine procurement and personnel procedures were authorized in the meeting minutes recorded in the transcript.
Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff to upload approved five‑year plan changes to DOT and continue planned inspections and project coordination.
