Road Commission Fleet Replacement Discussed

(Stock photo)

St. Joseph County Road Commission Managing Director John Lindsey discussed possible fleet replacement options with commission board members at a work session Wednesday. At a previous meeting, Commissioner Rodney Chupp urged Lindsey to investigate possible financial benefits from replacing and reselling vehicles like pickup trucks more frequently to capture potentially higher resale values and reduced maintenance costs. 

Lindsey investigated that option as well as that of leasing vehicles. He concluded there were no cost advantages to more frequent replacement due to the way in which the agency typically downcycles vehicles from down through uses that are progressively rougher or more use intensive, which make in-house repairs necessary. 

“I just think what we’re doing is right for us,” Lindsey said. Even at lower government rates, replacing the entire 22-vehicle pickup truck fleet would cost over $700,000 at once. Further, Lindsey said, there are additional costs. Even if the agency could resell a vehicle at its purchase price, there are costs for the various equipment that the vehicles require, like radios or toolboxes. Some of that equipment is transferable, Lindsey said, but installation costs add up over an entire fleet. 

Leasing would eliminate the upfront cost but would include other drawbacks, like strict penalties for damages, Lindsey said. Leasing would also be an all-or-none commitment, he said. “Once you go, and we get rid of all 22 pickups we got and go with a lease, you’re in. I mean, there’s no getting back out, you’d have to replace your whole fleet,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey concluded there could be some benefit to frequent replacement of the top four or five less-harshly-used management vehicles. Pickup trucks tend to retain comparatively high resale value. However, he also said the more agencies that adopt the practice, the less market there will be for resale.

A bigger equipment purchase priority, Lindsey said, would be a new chip seal spreader. When the current vehicle is down for repairs, he said, underutilized employee costs adds up. Lindsey is exploring options for another machine, including new and used costs and possible depreciation and resale values.

Director of Operations Michael Harris said there were some breakdowns amid heavy use of the chip sealer this year. Increased use, ongoing experimental work, as well as a switch from native stone to slag as an aggregate, has meant more frequent replacement of parts like the auger that moves stone material inside the machine in recent years. 

Lindsey is also looking at options for mowing equipment in order to maximize cost and efficiency ratios, including a possible wheeled excavator with a mowing arm, which could be adapted for other uses. He will bring purchase proposals forth for that equipment as well as chip seal equipment at future commission meetings.

Nottawa Road Bridge Included in State Program

Under a state program to replace critical road bridges, the Road Commission received word that the Nottawa Road bridge has been officially selected for replacement by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Lindsey and Myland received word earlier this summer that officials were considering the bridge. The program is a bridge bundling program in which several bridges around the state will be replaced under a single contract. Myland said he continues to provide MDOT with requested information to assist in moving project planning forward.

Data Collection Suspended

Participation in another recently mentioned program has been suspended by MDOT and the Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC). Each year, Road Commission staff collect various data under the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) system and submit it to a federal database that helps determine eligibility for federal aid for road work. MDOT said it will postpone its support of that data collection until 2021.

Each year, Myland said, “essentially, we do two rounds of collection a year for St. Joe County, and we do a third of our local roads. And for the third of our local roads, essentially (we) go out, we do the rating for the roads and then we give that information to TAMC, and they assume that everything is proper and good, and they report it in their reports.”

He said federal ratings require the presence of one MDOT representative, one county representative, and an area representative. MDOT will not provide representative support this year due to pandemic impacts on staff budgets.

Because the data is still useful internally, and in order to maintain continuity along a timeline that has been in place since 2003, Myland said he and other staff will continue collecting it. This is important, he said, because “we are doing the biggest year that we have ever done” in terms of road projects, and he does not want to have a data gap when it comes time for the Road Commission to be evaluated for potential aid. Myland said he will still make data available to TAMC but does not know if it will be accepted without MDOT support.

Lindsey said a workaround that would enable MDOT participation could still be worked out, depending partly on the effectiveness of advocacy by professional organizations.

Objections Raised on Potential County Cuts

Road Commissioners reacted to a recent conversation by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners in which members of that body proposed eliminating or withholding road project funds to offset budget shortfalls from the pandemic and recession. Discussed for withholding is roughly $114,000 for a bridge replacement on Coon Hollow Road and work on Constantine Road.

Chupp said he recognizes “the fact they’ve got a really tough job right now.” He sent a letter to county commissioners about the issue to explain that the discussed cuts are “really not an option in my mind, that we made commitments. We’ve got a bridge deck built, sitting in the yard where they built it. We’ve got signed contracts.” The Coon Hollow Road bridge structure is in the manufacturer’s yard awaiting transportation and installation, which will likely take place in October. 

Railroad Crossing Discussion Continues

Several railroad crossings are under consideration for an MDOT program that makes funds available for replacements. The Grand Elk Railroad, which traverses the west side of the county from north to south, is proposing crossing replacements on Cotherman Lake Road, Marcellus Road, and Featherstone Road. The Road Commission must handle the application for and administration of the funds.

Myland said he has asked the railroad to consider the crossing on Fairchild Road, calling its condition “atrocious.” Road Commission Chairman Dave Allen said, “I blew out my bike tire the other day on that one.” Myland said, “I’m crossing my fingers that they will maybe reconsider one of the other crossings and fix Fairchild Road first, because that I believe is the worst one.”

Commissioners Ask for Contractor Action

Several projects, some involving heavy earthwork, are waiting for a subcontractor to complete them. This includes work on North Centreville Road, Fawn River Road, and Holtom and Sweitzer Roads. A grant-funded repaving project on Wait Road is also awaiting contractor movement. 

Commissioners asked Lindsey whether he could pressure the contractors to begin work or seek a change of subcontractors. Lindsey said with chip sealing and other work completed for the season, staff will have more time going forward to focus on these projects, including follow-up with contractors to get work moving. “We’re disappointed too, but we will pressure them,” he said.

In Other Road Commission News:

  • Work for the remainder of 2020 includes culvert replacements, sweeping, fog seal treatments, completion of paving projects, and other, aforementioned projects.
  • Lindsey said at the September 16 work session, a public hearing will take place regarding the proposed abandonment of Union Street south of Cecelia Street in Mottville.
  • Chip seal work for 2020 was aggressive. Harris said, “a lot of counties I talked to, they do 40, 50, 60 miles a year. You know, we touched 205 this year. Last year was a 130-mile year.” Myland has 170 miles planned for 2021.
  • Commissioner Eric Shafer said on a recent drive in a nearby jurisdiction, it was clear that chip seal experiments were paying off in terms of maximum efficiency of materials and quality of road surface.
  • A third-party outfit will be testing samples of the stone the Commission uses for aggregate to determine effectiveness of various oil and emulsion coating materials.
  • State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) regulations often affect road projects that receive Federal funding. Lindsey said there is discussion taking place regarding the possibility of various road agencies hiring a “SHPO expert.”
  • A bridge replacement project on Klinger Lake Road immediately to the north of Klinger Lake is awaiting coordination with SEMCO on relocation of a gas line.
  • Paving projects are ongoing. Michigan Paving has about $1,173,000 worth of work left to complete for 2020, and Rieth-Riley has about $1.5 million worth of work remaining, for a total of just under $2.7 million. About $7.1 million worth of work was planned.
  • Commissioners and staff discussed merits of chip sealing new and existing asphalt in the Tamarac subdivision. Lindsey said although the treatment makes the surface rougher, it doubles pavement life. He pointed to roads elsewhere that, without treatment, were alligatored within 20 years, whereas roads lasted 40 years it. Because SEMCO is replacing gas lines in the subdivision, Tamarac treatments will take place in 2021.
  • Allen said the Road Commission’s internal culture has improved dramatically during his time serving on its board, and complimented staff and board members for their hard work, dedication, and ability to collaborate. “Some of the work we’re doing this year is absolutely phenomenal,” he said.

Dave Vago is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.