Published: December 18, 2008 08:51 am      

Finances previewed at Highway Committee meeting

By TESA CULLI

tesa.culli@register-news.com

MT. VERNON — County Board members were given a preview of the condition of county finances Wednesday night by County Board Chairman Ted Buck.

“We got sales tax today, so we’re not totally broke,” Buck told members of the board at the end of the Highway Committee meeting. “After we pay bills, we’ll be pretty close. I’ve asked the offices not to spend any money.”

The board met as a whole for the Highway Committee meeting, and will also meet tonight for the Land Tax and Appointments Committee and the Fiscal Committee. Buck said he will be making announcements of who will be serving on each committee Monday night during the December meeting of the board.

The board also heard that motor fuel tax allotments are down by about 6 percent, which may affect township road maintenance programs. According to the county motor fuel allotment report, the county received $47,006.73 in November 2007, and this year received $34,285.90.

In committee business, the board approved appropriating $900,000 from unobligated motor fuel tax funds for 2009 maintenance; established an 8 ton load limit on county roads from Jan. 15 to April 15, 2009; and approved a low bid on fuel from Davis and Sons for gasoline and diesel at a total of $2.6820.

Information was provided to the committee and public on the status of ongoing projects:

The Scheller Road project, located one mile north of Scheller, entails removing a wooden bridge over the abandoned Illinois Central railroad and constructing a new asphalt roadway. The project is expected to proceed as soon as the railroad approves the county’s petition for the project. The railroad has accepted the funding at 60 percent of the total cost.

The Straza Road bridge has been awarded to George Jones Excavating of Marion, and construction is expected to start in the spring. The road has been closed by the Illinois Department of Transportation due to damage of a pier piling.

The Ina Road overlay project — which will start at Illinois Route 37 and continue east for 3.2 miles to Spring Garden — has been bid, but came in at 38 percent over the project estimates. The project will be rebid during the January state letting.

The Malecki Road Bridge, located six miles north of Bluford is also a railroad bridge over the Illinois Central Railroad. The project is expected to be let on March 6, and right-of-way acquisition is at about 50 percent.