Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Jurisdictional Transfer topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Oneida County committee defeats motion to send Willow Road jurisdictional transfer to county board
Summary
The Public Works & Solid Waste Committee debated a request from the Town of Lynne to transfer Willow Road and two Minocqua-area roads to county control but voted down a motion to forward the proposal to the county board. Members asked for cost estimates, town input and options to pursue reclassification or ARIP eligibility changes.
The Oneida County Public Works & Solid Waste Committee on April 30 debated a request from the Town of Lynne to transfer jurisdiction of Willow Road, and two Minocqua-area roads, to the county but defeated a motion to send the proposal to the county board for further discussion.
Jeff Brown, representing the Town of Lynne, told the committee that Willow Road was in poor condition, that forestry truck traffic and seasonal conditions had produced safety concerns, and that the town lacked funds to reconstruct the full route. Brown said the town planned to repair roughly 4 miles of the 12.45-mile route but that the remaining section would need complete reconstruction and estimated it would cost about $350,000 just to peel the existing blacktop. He also said the road was not eligible for ARIP funding because it met Department of Transportation criteria as a major collector and seasonal weight limits applied.
Committee members and Interim Highway Commissioner Ben Rich discussed the scale of county costs if a transfer occurred, noting expensive structures including a bridge in the Town of Lynne, numerous 6- to 20-foot culverts in Minocqua and hundreds of smaller culverts along the corridor. Rich said the County would receive general transportation aid for roughly 27.9 miles of road but cautioned that the county was not keeping up with its current workload and reconstruction would be an enormous cost.
After debate, a motion by Dan Hess, seconded by Bob Almekinder, to send the jurisdictional transfer to the county board for further discussion was defeated. Committee members recommended inviting representatives from the towns to a future meeting, pursuing reclassification of the roadway or changes to eligibility rules for ARIP funding, and preparing a county cost estimate. Chair Ted Cushing also suggested voting the motion down and bringing a revised proposal back on a future agenda with the option of taking it to the county board in June.
The committee did not adopt the transfer and left next steps to further study, outreach to townships and additional committee discussion.
