Commissioners deny funds for county road study

An engineering study to write specifications for improved county roads should be conducted by county highway administrator Scott Bechtold, the Cape Girardeau County Commission decided Thursday.

Commissioners turned down a request from the county Road and Bridge Advisory Board to provide up to $5,000 for a private engineer to write the study. The issue isn't dead, however, as commissioners Larry Bock and Jay Purcell said they plan to attend the board's meeting Monday evening to discuss the idea.

The engineering study was designed to create a single standard for road improvements paid by the Proposition 1 sales tax that took effect Jan. 1. The county hopes receipts from the tax will be enough to pave 10 or more miles of road each year.

In past years, county highway department employees have prepared each road for paving by widening the roadbed, putting on new layers of gravel and compacting the soil. But because the road crews have limited time for such tasks while taking care of other routine duties, meeting the paving goal is unlikely unless the county uses contractors for the work.

The engineering report sought by the advisory board would include specifications to guide the contractors with standards for rock and soil compaction for future road work.

"I would suggest Scott can do this," Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said during the meeting. "He's an engineer. He's being paid as an engineer. Let him do it."

Both Bock and Purcell agreed with Jones. The specifications should be generic, Bock said, and Bechtold should be able to produce the report requested by the advisory board.

At Thursday's meeting, commissioners were surprised to learn that the county has received the first payments from the new sales tax. The tax was expected to raise about $4.2 million this year and more than $6 million in future years, but the first receipts weren't anticipated until March. The first payment was $26,311.73.

And commissioners approved a detailed distribution plan for expected payments in 2007 and 2008. Treasurer Roger Hudson provided a list of accounts for each recipient of the tax, ranging from 36 percent in 2007 for the Cape Special Road District to as little as 0.0042 percent for tiny Allenville.

The figures are subject to change if receipts exceed expectations.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126