At the Lafayette County Highway Dept. meeting held Thursday, October 26, 2017, chair Dwayne Larson called the meeting to order at 7:00 a.m.
    Tom Jean, Lafayette County Highway Commissioner, reported that he met with FEMA on Oct. 24. At the meeting Jean found out the FEMA declaration was made Oct. 7. So it sounds like townships, villages, county and Tri-County Trails will be receiving FEMA funds to repair the flood damaged roads and bridges that were affected from July 19 – 23. The cost sharing formula is FEMA pays 75%, state 12.5% and local 12.5%.
    A lighting strike that hit the new tower knocked out parts of the County Shop’s fuel system. Jean pointed out this is the third or fourth time the tower has been struck by lightning and it’s affected the fuel system every time. Jean said, “This time it hit the circuit board in the fuel island system (across the street) and knocked out parts in the County Shop office. We are looking for parts to repair the fuel system, but a lot of them are obsolete. We may be looking at a whole new fuel system. We are also looking into why this is happening. The tower has a grounding system, but must be finding the conduit that goes to the fuel system.”
    Jean also mentioned, “I’m not very satisfied with the new radio system. We build a half million dollar, 300’ tower and we can hear Iowa County better than we can hear our own county.”
Projects Updates
    •Jean stated work is being done on Co. Hwy. I bridge in the Town of New Diggings. This project was moved ahead because of damage to the bridge during a flood event that happened in July 24, 2017. Jean estimated the bridge will be completed and opened by Dec. 1, 2017, if the weather holds out.
    •Work on the bike trail between Platteville and Belmont has been progressing. Iverson is doing the paving. Gasman Lane in the Town of Belmont which is part of the trail had issues with the base.
    •The Multi-Use Building work is moving forward. Plumbing, electrical, gas, water lines are all roughed in. Framing has begun this week. “A lot will be done the next few weeks.” said Jean.
Equipment
    •John Deere Grader that broke down had a major repair and is back in-service. Estimated cost for repair is between $25,000 to $30,000.
    •Approved buying a new Sweeper/Broom. Jean stated the broom is used for a lot of projects. The estimated cost for a new broom is $63,140, trade for $6,300 for a total cost to the county of $56,840. This will need to go to County Board for final approval.
    •A roller will need to be fixed or replaced in the near future.
    •Repair to a tractor that rolled over onto its side. The repair costs were $6,542. The deductible is $1,500.
    •Old tower is ready to come down. Planning on cutting the guide wires and falling it to the east.
    In other business:
    •Approved vouchers for $87,856, of that $41,000 will be reimbursed from Wiota for an overlay on Hwy. 78. Several other items are for the new building.
    •Meeting with the Wind Tower people next week, for a final look at the road use agreement. They will be evaluating how much damage was done to the roads and agreeing on compensation.