Cape Girardeau County commission holds discussion on dust control for county roads

A call for a discussion of dust control on county roads brought 10 people to the Cape Girardeau County Commission Thursday, some almost begging for help.

"I have lived out there for 27 years eating dust," said Connie Seabaugh, who lives along County Road 316 south of Jackson. "I am sick of it."

Commissioners are asking voters to approve Proposition 1 on Aug. 8, a half-cent sales tax that will increase the county road budget, pay for more sheriff's deputies and eliminate property taxes for roads and briges. Originally promoted as a way to accelerate the county's road paving program, commissioners used Thursday's meeting to respond to complaints about dust.

The need for Thursday's discussion was apparent after a public hearing Monday, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said. "I thought everybody wanted their road paved," he said. "It seems that everybody wants to get rid of the dust. We can get rid of the dust a lot faster than paving all the roads."

The tax increase would raise about $5.9 million the first year. After replacing the lost property tax revenue for the county and the Cape Girardeau Special Road District, the county would have about $3.1 million remaining.

Commissioners have indicated that the sheriff's department could receive as much as $1 million out of that amount, leaving about $2.1 million for road improvements.

This year's county budget includes $2.4 million for road maintenance and approximately $300,000 for paving projects.

During the meeting Thursday morning, county highway administrator Scott Bechtold presented commissioners with a comparison showing dust control alternatives and paving costs.

Laying asphalt on a mile of road costs about $96,000, not including the cost of preparing the road, Bechtold said.

County road crews could add a layer of dust oil and a "chip seal" of rock and oil to county roads at a cost of about $18,110 per mile. The chip seal process would have to be repeated for three additional years at the cost of approximately $7,100 a mile each year.

A single treatment would deteriorate quickly and could leave a road with potholes, he said.

"One time won't do it," Bechtold said.

The same preparation work for paving would have to precede the chip seal treatment, Bechtold said.

Another dust control method, spraying a layer of calcium chloride on the road, would cost about $3,432 per mile and provide relief for about six months, Bechtold said.

Residents seeking help with dust control are most concerned about the clouds raised by cars as they pass near homes, Commissioner Jay Purcell said. He suggested that some of the sales tax proceeds dedicated to paving could be diverted to adding a chip seal layer on short stretches near homes.

Winning voter approval of the tax, Purcell said, requires an easily understood plan for spending the additional funds. "We are going to have to put out some kind of plan for voters."

The half-cent sales tax would apply to all taxable sales in the county, including those in Cape Girardeau and Jackson. If approved, Cape Girardeau sales would be taxed at 7.425 percent and sales in Jackson would be taxed at 6.725 percent.

Residents in the Cape Girardeau Special Road district pay 23.61 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, while those elsewhere in the county pay 26.81 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

The discussion Thursday morning strayed from the subject of dust control to winning approval of Proposition 1. With residents of Jackson and Cape Girardeau outnumbering those in other parts of the county by about 2-to-1, the key is convincing town dwellers that they have a stake in county roads, said Pat Horrell, who lives on County Road 450 northwest of Jackson.

"This issue passes or fails based on what the citizens of Cape or Jackson do," he said.

Selling those voters, Commissioner Larry Bock said, will require an emphasis on the elimination of the property taxes.

But Bechtold advised commissioners that they must develop a long-range plan for roads regardless of the election outcome. A well-written plan will be better than one hastily conceived to win votes, he said.

"If we hurry through this we would have to turn around and revise it," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126