The regular meeting of the Board of County Road Commission of the County of Calhoun was held Wednesday, December 7, 2005 at 9:00 a.m. in their office located at 13300 Fifteen Mile Road, Marshall, Michigan.

Present: Commissioner Chester E. Travis, Chairperson

Commissioner David D. Veramay, Vice-Chairperson

Commissioner Charles E. Monaweck, Member

Dennis Randolph, Managing Director

Joanna I. Johnson, Assistant Managing Director - Board Clerk

Angela Kline, Assistant County Highway Engineer

Also Present: Tom Frank, Albion Township Supervisor

Stephen Irons, Athens Township Supervisor

Larry Spoor, Burlington Township Supervisor

Robert Brownell, Marengo Township Supervisor

Eugene Hamaker, Marshall Township Supervisor

Steve Tuttle, Athens Township Trustee

John Bates, Athens Township Trustee

Walter Obrinske, Clarence Township Trustee

Peter Shrontz, Marengo Township Trustee

Joseph Bramble, Convis Township Resident

Damon Powell, Emmett Township Resident

Dennis Smock, Fredonia Township Resident

Gardy Berezonsky, Marengo Township Resident

Clarence Millard, Newton Township Resident

Jim Russell, Calhoun County Road Commission

Steve Ball, Calhoun County Road Commission

Robert Volkmer, Calhoun County Road Commission

Dave Fuller, Calhoun County Road Commission

Hershel Stacy, Calhoun County Road Commission

Chairperson Travis called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

MINUTES

Chairperson Travis stated that there being no additions or corrections to the public hearing minutes of November 16, 2005 or of the regular meeting minutes of November 16, 2005 they stand approved as printed and distributed. Voice vote: Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve the November 23, 2005 accounts payable for $329,855.04. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Monaweck and supported by Commissioner Veramay to approve the November 23, 2005 payroll for $129,589.61. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve the transfer of up to 30% of the motor vehicle highway funds from the county primary road system to the county local road system for 2006. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Commissioner Monaweck asked to table the employment agreements for Dennis A. Randolph, Managing Director, Joanna I. Johnson, Assistant Managing Director and Pixie A. Coats, Human Resource Director until January. Commissioner Travis stated that according to these contracts they needed to be approved by the end of December. Commissioner Monaweck stated that he wanted to feel comfortable enough that if someone in the audience should ever approach him then he would be able to answer in a competent manner that he had approved them and felt comfortable about doing it. He stated he wanted to have further time to review them and said it was nothing personal.

Commissioner Travis asked if it would be all right with the staff to put this off so that we could have a workshop with everyone present. Mr. Randolph stated that this would be an open meeting and needed to be posted prior to December 31 st . Commissioner. Travis stated a meeting would be scheduled on this topic. Mr. Randolph also stated that if personnel matters were going to be discussed then he would have the right and the option to have a closed session. Commissioner Travis stated that Mr. Randolph was correct and could have the meeting closed. Mr. Randolph stated that he believes that the condition of the contract is solely up to the Board and that he worked here 5 years before he had a contract and that was changed at the urging of the Board. Commissioner Travis asked if Mr. Randolph could be at the meeting to comment. Commissioner Veramay suggested a meeting for each staff member individually. Commissioner Monaweck stated that he wasn't asking for a public meeting, but just wanted to understand the contracts if asked about them by others.

Commissioner Veramay stated that he had gone over the contracts and that he believed they were pretty standard. He stated that there were a few things in the contract that they haven't done and it was probably a matter of preference. One of the things is to sit down and evaluate our Managing Director. Commissioner Veramay stated that if he had an issue or a problem with the Director then he would sit down with him and discuss it and they would come to some conclusion. But as far as the contracts presented here, Commissioner Veramay stated that he did not have any problem with them. If you want to do this then we need to sit down with all persons involved and deal with each one of them separately. Commissioner Veramay stated that frankly he knew very little about what Pixie Coats does as Human Resource Director. Commissioner Veramay asked if Dennis had an evaluation procedure that he followed. Mr. Randolph stated that we have a very modern evaluation procedure.

Commissioner Veramay said they had tried to give Mr. Randolph a pay raise and he had refused it.

Commissioner Travis stated that a date would be set up to review the contracts.

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve the 2006 Meeting Schedule of the Calhoun County Road Commission. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Monaweck and supported by Commissioner Veramay to approve the 2006 construction costs schedule. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve the 2006 Permit and other fees & services schedule. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve Policy # 91 Respirator Policy. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve the purchase/transfer of Kimball Pines Parkway, Emmett Township right-of-way by the Calhoun County Road Commission. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Veramay and supported by Commissioner Monaweck to approve the sale of right-of-way on Kistler Drive, Emmett Township. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Monaweck and supported by Commissioner Veramay to approve the 2006 annual salary and wage period (2080 hours) to begin December 19, 2005 and end on December 17, 2006 for all employees. Voice vote: Motion carried.

Moved by Commissioner Monaweck and supported by Commissioner Veramay to approve the writing off of the Uncollectible Invoices for 2005, per the listing. Voice vote: Motion carried.

MANAGING DIRECTORS REPORT

Mr. Dennis Randolph, Managing Director provided the Board with the following information:

Mr. Randolph noted that the approval for the transfer of up to 30% of the motor vehicle highway funds is standard and it is done every year. Act 51 allows us to transfer money from the primary road fund to the local road fund if we need it. The local road fund receives ½ of what we receive for the primary road fund.

Ms. Johnson stated that she had worked with MIOSHA and our attorneys regarding the hot rubber machine and there were no issues with this piece of equipment. It was suggested to put into place a Respirator Policy since the test showed that our equipment does not require a respirator. Should an employee put on a respirator and potentially have this become a health risk it could cause due hardship to both the employee and the Road Commission.

Mr. Randolph stated that we have received 95% federal aid for a new bridge to cross 22 Mile Road over the St. Joseph River in Clarendon Township. This project won't get started until 2007 but we had to start on the historic clearances for the bridge.

A standard snowfall of six inches is used to base our crews on. Our average speed is about 15 mph for snow removal and about 30 mph for driving down the road. We find that we need 45 snow routes and each route having about 33 miles of road. We also have a night crew to help out as well.

Mr. Randolph stated that he wanted to clear up any confusion about the Road Commission not paying into social security. The Road Commission employees pay into social security and the Road Commission itself has paid and belonged to social security since 1964.

Our service request system is working well. Every time we receive a call we log it into our service request system and make sure that it is followed up on. As of this morning we have had 5,424 calls logged into the system. Potholes are at the top of the list, which is why we continue to work on them. The next highest is dead animal at 835 and trees or tree related complaints is at 694. These three items account for 65% of all the calls that we log in.

Mr. Randolph announced that tonight at 6:00pm Convis Township is hosting the MTA meeting to talk to the township citizen regarding the Casino. On December 8 th at 7:00p.m. consultants working for the tourism development will be in Marshall talking about bringing visitors and attractions to the county. Mr. Randolph talked with Mrs. Chapman and thought it would be nice to have an opportunity to get together with the general public from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. on Monday, December 19 th at the bridge park. Mrs. Chapman has invited all of Calhoun County and Road Commission employees to stop by and see the lights and look at the park. We will be offering cider and donuts and have a chance to visit with the citizens of the county.

Maintenance:

• We continue to do road repairs and are keeping pothole crews out every day
• We have had a few snow call outs since Thanksgiving including several holiday call outs, which are time and one half hourly pay.
• We make our own cold mix and sell it to private vendors.
• We continue to do some punch list items on this years project for construction.

• Continue vehicle maintenance, doing routine check ups and preventative maintenance

Engineering

• Continue to have a lot of permits coming in.
• Continue work on Custer Bridge and the Pennfield road project.
• Completed Road soft and that is being moved into our database.
• Continuing to look at the crash data and at the road quality data.

This Coming Week

• Continue road repair work across the County
• Snow work is going well.

COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS:

Commissioner Monaweck stated that he and many of the citizens living by M66 say they are very pleased with the work that was done building up the shoulders. Just as an observation, Commissioner Monaweck stated that he hoped we are using better material of hot rubber than the state did on M66 because that is an absolute mess down there. Mr. Randolph stated that it had appeared that they had some bad material. When it was first put down we noticed that it was brown and this shows that the material had oxidized badly. They also put it down to thick, which is a common problem when laying this material. We complained to the State almost immediately but they have their ways of doing things. He noted a nice job was done on the guardrail on 15 Mile Road, however was concerned about the end of it if hit straight on by a vehicle. Dave Fuller commented the existing end had been put back on but would take a look at it.

Commissioner Veramay stated that if you see anything wrong with the roads, call it in so that it can get put into our service request system and get taken care of. Our employees have traveled every one of our roads on snow-plow day and we have only had 22 complaints from that day, so that tells me we have one of the nicest roads in the State of Michigan. Everyone needs to work together on this.

SUPERVISORS & PUBLIC OFFICIALS TIME:

Mr. Frank asked what we paid for an employee to work overtime on a holiday. Mr. Randolph stated that it was two and a half time their normal rate. Mr. Randolph stated that we have been able to manage the payroll cost and fringe rate. They both have stayed pretty constant. We have four vacant spots right now and we don't hire temporary/seasonal employees so that we don't get caught with extra people or having to pay extra costs. We use our sign shop and mechanics to help cover us get the coverage we need.

Mr. Frank asked if the Road Commission has their own coverage for retirees. Mrs. Johnson stated that our retirees do have their own coverage and it is very costly. We had a presentation on Medicare D and it has been determined that our coverage for the retirees is better than Medicare D. Our retirees will stay with the current plan and we will be looking for the subsidy from the federal government on the prescriptions. Mrs. Johnson said she would get the figures for our retirees and have it for the next meeting.

Mr. Brownell commented that he was sorry there wasn't more work done on primary roads because they are taking a beating.

Mr. Hamaker asked if the road list rating was completed. Mr. Randolph commented we are still waiting on the data for the rating.

Mr. Irons commented the second time on M66 looked good. He asked if we had a thaw would we be able to get out and scrap the roads. Mr. Randolph said that if he had a particular area to let them know so that when it warms up they can take a look at it.

Mr. Irons asked if the employment contracts are a matter of public record or public information. Mr. Randolph said that everything we do at the Road Commission is public. Mr. Irons asked if he could get a copy of the contracts. Mrs. Johnson said that he could get a copy through FOIA in writing. Mr. Irons asked if the employment contracts were yearly. Commissioner Travis stated that they were four-year rolling contracts approved annually. Mr. Irons asked if the Commissioners were the ones who made these contracts up. Mr. Randolph stated our labor attorney originally prepared the contracts. Commissioner Travis said that we approve whatever we think is right for the Road Commission and that is what counts. Mr. Irons asked who set the Commissioner's wages. Commissioner Travis said that the County Commissioners appoint them and set their wages. Commissioner Veramay noted that anyone sitting on this Board certainly isn't doing it for the money. Mr. Irons asked when Mr. Randolph gets a raise does it affect how much money we spend on roads. Commissioner Veramay said that what ever we pay Mr. Randolph is nowhere near what he has brought into this County from grants and other means. Commissioner Veramay stated for example; anyone driving at night can see the lines along the side of the road. That would never have been possible without the $300,000.00 plus highway traffic safety grant we received because of Mr. Randolph. Commissioner Veramay stated that we pay Mr. Randolph based on what other road agencies are paying their director. For the quality of work that Mr. Randolph does, in my opinion I have no problem with the wage figure we have in his contract. Mr. Randolph is worth every penny of that wage and as far as I'm concerned, even more. Mr. Irons stated that these contracts should be submitted in October, so that the Road Commissioners would have time to review them and this would save on having another meeting. Mrs. Johnson stated that both the Teamster and SEIU employees would be receiving a three and a half percent contractual increase the first of the year.

Mr. Irons asked when the Road Commission sends out the request to the townships for the prime and double seal or any road work, if it could come due after the April Township annual meeting so they will know what monies they are going to have. Mr. Randolph stated that the biggest problem is trying to organize where the work is going to be. This could be something we could look at down the road but the first year is going to be the hardest. Mr. Randolph stated that he hopes to hire a new Planning Director shortly. Mr. Iron wanted to know if we have the funds to hire a Planning Director. Mr. Randolph stated that the County has cut the funding to the planning department but there is still some money to hire a Planning Director.

Larry Spoor stated that they put in a resolution for a chip and seal on R Drive S between 11 Mile and 12 Mile Road in 2004. He knew it was received late but it didn't happen this year either. Mr. Randolph stated that in the last couple of years the money has gotten very tight and we had to cut the miles of road that we do by quite a bit. This road is still on our list to be sealed next year. Dave Fuller commented that this was a concrete gravel road that was completed in 2005, it needs a year to sit and we will seal it in 2006.

CITIZENS TIME:

Mr. Millard asked how far off the pavement trees are supposed to be. Mr. Randolph stated that our objective is to have trees six feet off the road. We have been working around the county right now trying to put shoulders on all the primary roads. As we get the primary roads taken care of then we will work on the local roads.

Mr. Bramble stated that a lady had told him that she had a tree in her yard and wondered how she could get it taken care of. Mr. Bramble told her to call the hot line at the Road Commission and let them know. Mr. Bramble stated that he saw her a few days later and she told him that the Road Commission cut that tree down yesterday.

Mr. Bates understands that the citizens of this county need to take a more active role but with all the trucks on the roads, I don't see how the employees or Supervisors doing the work can overlook some obvious needed repairs in the roads. Commissioner Travis told him that most of the service requests come from our employees.

Mrs. Johnson asked the Board if she could be present at the meeting that will be addressing the employment agreements. Mrs. Johnson stated that she couldn't completely speak for Pixie Coats, but she believed that she would like to be at the meeting as well. Even though Mr. Randolph is in charge of these two contracts, the Board approves them separately. Mrs. Johnson stated that in regards to the Open Meetings Act, she too would exercise the right to a closed meeting if necessary. Commissioner Travis said she was correct and it would be fine.

The following meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 4, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. There being no additional business before the Board, Chairperson Travis adjourned the meeting at 10:59 a.m.