Elk County Roads

[jerry wagner]

As someone who drives on those roads daily and 120 miles on Sunday, I have seen a good portion of them.  I would say that the candidate that is chosen to fill the position shouldn't just be qualified as a leader but also possess one trait very important of a leader: the ability to listen.  My fault w/the past leadership was its inability to listen to suggestions or modify the plan of attack.  To be able to succeed in today's economic and political environment, the ability to listen and adapt your approach to solving a problem is paramount.

[hhjacobs]

  Liz I agree , don't beat on your self so bad,from going to county com. meeting the other day, you left a good impression on me. That you are doing a GREAT job. I know you or anybody else can't fix in a short time what has let happen over a number of years.

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

[pepelect]

Hey the guy did a bang up job with the mowing and stuff on road 15 south of Junebug.   I think the blades need sharpened though.   Ever thought of putting a brush cutter on the old trackhoe?  Never have to get in the ditch, pull out the ones on the fence line, and never hurt the existing fence.  Which I think if I remember my history caused a lot of fights between the cow and sheep men.  It is still the same fence in some places.    Why does the county replace it or do they just tear out the old and the landowner puts back the new?

One of the problems I think would be a easy fix is that we tend to think we work at a bank and have set hours.  We don't.  The construction industry must be fluid.  If it means working on Saturday because in rained all afternoon Friday than so be it.  Take next Thursday off.  If the snowstorm happens on a Sunday then after church fire up the blades and make it safe for school on  Monday.  There are too many instances where the timing of a job has to be done just right and sitting in an office is not where those items need to be weighed.  I know it comes down to money.  If we had more money we could do more. 

But if we become more efficient we could do more with less.  Three shops in three different towns?  Really  the county is so large that we have to have more county road buildings than Coffey County?  I really don't see the need for any of them.  None are larger enough to house all the equipment of even their respective area.  How many employees do we have and how many pieces of equipment sit idle?  New equipment is more expensive but don't we get training with every purchase?  If we are trained then are we implementing the training? 

As for Liz doing a good job.............What else would you expect.     We don't raise them any other way in Elk County.  Frustration builds character.   Inhale ........   Exhale.......       1..2...3.....4...........5...........6..........7...............8.........9.....


I just hope we get the roads fixed before her varmits start to drive..... 

[srkruzich]

Oh i hope the county don't go through and take out all the trees.  there aren't enough trees as it is.

[L Hendricks]

Okay more comments...srkruzich... don't worry - we won't get to all of your trees and Billy has a good idea who is for killing trees and who is not... but trees in ditches are hard on ditches and roads... thats why the highway crew spends so much time mowing every summer....

PEP - the crews have been flexible and have worked on days they weren't scheduled... During the flood last year, many of them worked days in a row to keep our county safe... but several of the guys are single dads, one of mine is the only parent his boys has... and unfortunately the county hasn't adopted a take-your-kid-to-work policy... some places that is okay... some it is not...

I do agree with a one county road shop - CQ does that and it works well.... they have like 7 grader dist, the grader stays in that dist and all that operator does is grade roads, pull ditches... they have 2 guys hauling gravel - they spend 2 days in each grader dist going to spots the grader operator tells them too... They have a culvert crew - 2 guys with a backhoe and dumptruck installing culverts... a ditching crew - excavator and bulldozer... I felt this would eliminate a lot of our extra equipment, plus people could become more specialized in their field.  When I first got in, I wanted to implement this... several barriers... one was the idea that the SE part of the county would be lost, b/c believe it or not the geographic center of the county is just south of Howard - so that seemed a decent spot to locate a shop...Money was another issue... the commission wasn't willing to borrow money to build a new shop... so anyway this idea still seems workable... but we will see...We have in the last 6 years, tried to upgrade our equipment, buying better equipment, and have sent everyone to grader school... plus some of the new equipment does come with training...we have implemented a permanent ditching crew - excavator and dozer... before anyone was running these equipment and everyone else was tearing it up... we now have 2 people that just run these 2 pieces of equipment...

Also remember that those guys out there working for your county don't make a lot of money - most of them around $10/hr - 40 hour weeks... compute that, yea we have great insurance, but last time I checked that does not put gas in the vehicle... How would you like to have 3000 experts telling you how to do your job - one guy tells you to leave a windrow so you have material to work with next time, the next guy tells you to leave it all on the road.... before you get too radical... put yourself in their shoes.  Believe me - I know we need a lot of improving, and I hound these guys a lot and I am not always on their side... I do think we have an opportunity to turn the county road shop around... so the workers are proud of their job, that we have bragging rights to the best run county shop... but it takes management, training and time...

[pepelect]

I will spot you two days a week babysitting for 24 hours of brushcutting.   

Can we also pull all the big as rocks to the center of the road and then get one of those cool pull behind rock crushers and make our own  gravel?   I think especially where they once hauled crick gravel onto the roads it would help...   Some of the rocks are pretty huge.   

Where do you keep the keys I will work third shift to get some of the work done.   

I am not just trying to bash the elk county road crews I know what they get paid.   I don't think that any one should sacrafice the quality of the job  they do just because of a paycheck.    If that was the case you would never get your grocerys bagged with the eggs on top.  I used to mow yards for $8  and still got off the mower to weed eat?

I am just trying to make it better. 

Why can't we get the state to mow our roads.  We could help out with keeping the highway open and they could share the batwings.   Why don't we get rid of the city maintenances departments and just consolidate to a county yard.  Using the district model each town would get the same amount if not more equipment at its disposal.  There would have to be funding and budget issues to work out.  Why can't you hire a contractor?   Give them a specific amount of money to do a job and have them accountable.

If our mail delivery and trash haulers are the road inspectors any way why not hitch a bushhog on the back of each.  They would drive slower and they know the areas by heart.   Your mail may be later but the ditch would be mowed and cleaned out.

Why can't the landowners knock off a few feet of brush.   How would that hurt the bottom line.  We have 30" trees in on the outside of the fence line.  A little sprucing up for the home team.

  Civic organizations sign up to clean the ditches along the highway why not hit the ditch in the country.   



Can I get some of those flexible culvert signs?    I hate mowing around the teeposts.

 

[srkruzich]

Just a suggestion, i am disabled but am allowed to work no more than 18 -20 hours a week. Could yall utilize someone?   I have Congestive heart disease but am allowed to work a little
I ran d-9 cat dozer and front end loaders years ago, drove semi for 4 years, ran backhoes and front-end loaders, worked as a powderman for a roadcrew in tennessee. 

[Sarah]

I'm with skruzich on this one.  They come by here to take my trees and there's going to be a fight.  There are no utilities on this side of the road and I get taxed out to the center of the road, so technically the trees in the ditch are my property and my ditches drain just fine thank you very much and even if they don't they just flood my yard as everything slopes to my house.   

As far as the road is concerned, there is a spot on Rock rd that just keeps getting worse and worse and worse and pretty soon I'm going to drive and there's going to be a car high centered in the middle of the road and yet they've graded my road twice, that didn't need it.  Soooo.........need to do the roads that need it and leave the others alone.  Just a waste of gas.  But I do wish they would quit grading boulders into the middle of the road.  LOL

All in all, I hope they get someone to lead that will do a good job for the county without wasting a ton of money.

[srkruzich]

Uhmm maybe just maybe yall can find a better gravel?  I am tired of having flats!

[Jody]

SELL THE BGGER ROCKS TO PEOPLE FOR LAND SCAPING!