The Alleghany County Board of
Commissioners and the North Carolina Department of Transportation held a public
hearing on
Present - County: Chair Eldon
Edwards, Vice-Chair Warren Taylor, Commissioner
Present - NC DOT: Mike Pettyjohn,
Charles Reinhardt, Brandon Whitaker, Jim Sloop, Roger Todd, Carolyn Hudson and
Teresa Woodle.
Chair Eldon Edwards called the
meeting to order at
Mr. Pettyjohn introduced the NC DOT staff.
Mr. Reinhardt reviewed the guidelines on how the funding
could be spent on secondary road construction.
He stated the priority system is a list of the priority rating with all
of the unpaved roads being re-inventoried in spring 2001. He explained how the priority system
works. He stated that a new priority listing
would be placed into effect July 2005.
He reviewed how they count every facility on the road and issue points
accordingly with the highest point roads being first on the priority list. He reminded everyone that North Carolina
General Statutes freezes the next ten roads after this year’s program is
completed. He reviewed the process if a
right-of-way hasn’t been signed. He
further explained that the roads with right-of-way problems are placed into a
different grouping.
Mr. Sloop reviewed the anticipated allocation for FY
2004-2005. The 2004-2005 anticipated
allocations are as follows:
Highway Fund $
1,248,142
Trust Fund
698,277
Total Anticipated Allocation $
1,946,419
Mr. Sloop further reviewed the program that will come
into effect on
Mr. Whitaker asked for questions from the County.
County Manager
Mr. Reinhardt stated that out of the 25 roads that
has received funding, 6 have been placed on hold due to right-of-way issues.
Chair Eldon Edwards and Mike Pettyjohn discussed the
procedure for handling right-of-way issues.
Mr. Whitaker stated that there are nine roads that are
actively being worked on at this time.
Commissioner
NCDOT staff agreed that the road must enter into the
next funding cycle before any work can be completed on the road.
Commissioner Warren Taylor and Mr. Pettyjohn
discussed the County does not lose money due to right-of-way problems.
Mr. Reinhardt stated that there were 91 roads on the
2001 priority list with 30 on the hold list.
Chair Eldon Edwards asked about the portion of
funding for strengthening certain roads.
Mr. Sloop explained how the roads are strengthened
and the purpose for strengthening the roads.
Commissioner
Mr. Pettyjohn stated that the hold lists are public
record. He further stated that they work
with the Board of Education about getting the school bus routes when the
priority list is created. He explained
how the school bus routes change annually and DOT can’t adjust the priority
list annually.
Commissioner Warren Taylor asked about DOT bonding
the property owner in a right-of-way refusal situation.
Mr. Pettyjohn stated that the General Statutes does
not give the Department of Transportation the authority to bond property
owners.
Commissioner Warren Taylor asked about how much money
a bond costs.
Mr. Pettyjohn stated that it is $2,500 per
parcel. He explained the bonding
process.
Commissioner Warren Taylor and Mike Pettyjohn
discussed the amount of money for last year’s program and this program being
about the same amount.
Comments from
the public were received.
Clarence Crouse, SR 1416, stated that they are
supportive of this program and their questions have already been answered.
Barbara Conrad, SR 1354 and SR 1317B, talked about
the cemetery in
Mr. Whitaker talked to Ms. Conrad about the pipe that
was taken out at her request is causing the drainage problems.
Barbara Conrad asked who is responsible for digging
out the ditches on
Mr. Whitaker stated that
Barbara Conrad and Brandon Whitaker discussed looking
at the road to see what can be done to fix the problems.
Georgia Cox, SR1411A, stated that her questions have
been answered.
Donald Conrad, SR 1354, asked will the roads be paved
that have been discussed tonight.
NCDOT staff stated that roads thru priority #31 are
slated to be paved during the next fiscal year.
Donald Conrad asked if building a structure to be
used for a business would increase the chance for a road to be paved.
Mr. Pettyjohn and Mr. Whitaker discussed the priority
system. They stated that DOT will not
know the ratings until the priority system is completed in July 2005.
Donald Conrad, Mr. Reinhardt and Mr. Whitaker
discussed the chance of a road being paved by increasing the rating number due
to the number of structures on the road now versus how many structures were on
the road in the Spring of 2001.
Mr. Whitaker reviewed the three actions that the
Commissioners can take; make recommendations on the program, approve the
program, or delay action until a later date.
Chair Eldon Edwards thanked DOT for their time and
effort. He also stated that the local
DOT done an outstanding job during the winter months for the citizens of
Chair Eldon Edwards declared the meeting adjourned at
Respectfully
Submitted,
Clerk
to the Board
Attest:
Eldon
Edwards
Chairman