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Residents raise dust-control concerns; road department explains cost-sharing and procurement options
Summary
A resident urged the county to reconsider long-standing practices of providing dust control/tree-sap treatments for some private operations while other residents receive no routine service. Road department staff explained historical cost-sharing arrangements and noted last year’s two-application cost was $2,770 each ($5,544 total), half reimbursed by the beneficiary.
During public discussion, a resident who identified himself as Richard Miller said the county had been applying dust control/tree-sap treatments for a private operation while not offering the same service to typical residents, and asked the board to reconsider historical commitments.
Road Department representative Doug explained the county’s approach: some locations—such as high-traffic county-owned pits or stockpile sites—have historically been paid for entirely by the county, while other private sites have split costs with the property owner (typically half the cost). Doug said the department applies two treatments for these locations and can provide an estimate of costs to the board on request.
Later in the meeting staff reported that last year’s two applications cost about $2,770 per application ($5,544 total) and that the beneficiary (referred to as ABY in the meeting) reimbursed half ($2,772) on Oct. 6. Board members questioned continuing to support treatments when some private beneficiaries do not pay for other services such as EMS, and asked staff to return with clearer cost figures and procurement options.
The road department also reported two competitive quotes for ditch-spraying and highlighted a roughly 60% price difference between quotes this year and last. Supervisors emphasized that any formal request for quotes should specify the exact service (including whether a boom sprayer is required) so bids are comparable.
Next steps: Road staff to provide detailed cost breakdowns for dust-control applications and prepare consistent specifications for future ditch-spraying quotes so the board can compare bids.
