Supervisors discuss motorgrader purchase, care cost for veterans' graves in pair of regular sessions

by Bob Beach

Last week’s regular meeting of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors was delayed until Tuesday, May 26 as a result of the Memorial Day holiday Monday, May 25. The Board then returned to regular session Monday, June 1.

MAY 26 MEETING
During its meeting last Tuesday, May 26, the Board listened to presentations from Martin Equipment of Dubuque and Ziegler Cat of Postville regarding the purchase of new motorgraders for the Secondary Roads Department. Allamakee County Engineer Brian Ridenour had previously recommended the purchase of two new Caterpillar motorgraders from Ziegler although Martin Equipment’s bid for two comparable John Deere motorgraders was lower by approximately $32,000 after the trade-in value of a five-year-old and a six-year-old Caterpillar machine. After listening to both presentations, the Board tabled making a decision until the following week.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Veterans Affairs Director Heather Homewood, who reported that the County has been making some unnecessary payments for the care of veterans’ graves. She said that under state law, the County is only required to pay for the care of veterans’ graves within Allamakee County where perpetual care agreements are not in place. She pointed out that no portion of the Postville Cemetery is within Allamakee County and that Allamakee County has never sought to determine if perpetual care agreements are in place for the care of any veterans’ graves. She added that the County pays $3.00 per veterans’ grave per year, a total of approximately $4,000 annually. Supervisor Dan Byrnes made a motion not to pay for the care of veterans’ graves outside of Allamakee County, but his motion died for lack of a second and the matter was tabled until the Board’s next meeting.
The Board also met with County Engineer Ridenour during the meeting, who recommended that the Board accept Brennan Construction’s bid for the replacement of the bridge deck on Bethel Bridge north of Postville. Brennan’s bid of $99,705.03 was the only bid received for the project and Ridenour said that he had estimated the project cost at $90,868.60. The Board voted to accept Brennan Construction’s bid.
Ridenour also recommended the acceptance of Skyline Construction’s low bid of $161,015.71 for full-depth concrete patching in various locations throughout the county. He said that he had estimated the project cost at $197,693.78. The Board voted to accept Skyline’s bid as well as Bruening Rock Products’ low bid for resurfacing of gravel roads throughout the county.

JUNE 1 MEETING
The Board continued its consideration Monday, June 1 of the bids from Ziegler Cat of Postville and Martin Equipment of Dubuque for the purchase of new motorgraders for the Secondary Roads Department. Chairman Larry Schellhammer said that after speaking with other County Supervisors and County Engineers in the area, he would be willing to support the purchase of either two new Caterpillar motograders as the County Engineer had recommended, or one Caterpillar and one John Deere in order to establish a cost of usage history for future comparison. He said that the Engineer’s recommendation carries a lot of weight and he would not feel comfortable second guessing him.
Supervisor Dan Byrnes said that he doesn’t see a significant difference in the per-hour cost of operation of the John Deere and Caterpillar machines and he supports the purchase of the Caterpillar machines because of the service available from Ziegler, which includes the promise of a “loaner” machine if one of the County’s motorgraders is out of service for more than a day.
Supervisor Dennis Koenig said that there’s a reason the County takes bids for this type of purchase and that with a $32,000 difference in price, the bidding process should be respected.
Byrnes made a motion to purchase two Caterpillar motorgraders from Ziegler and Schellhammer stepped down as Chairman to second the motion. The motion carried with Koenig voting no.
The Board also continued its discussion of the County’s contribution to the cost of caring for veterans' graves. The Board received a letter from County Attorney Jill Kistler advising the Board that Allamakee County is not required to pay for the care of veterans’ graves located outside of the county and that Clayton County is required by state law to pay the cost of caring for the veterans’ graves in the Postville Cemetery. Koenig said that he believes that it’s important to honor veterans and that “a veteran is a veteran wherever they are,” but accepts that Clayton County would pick up the expense. The Board then voted unanimously not to pay for the care of veterans’ graves located outside of Allamakee County.
The Board also met with Allamakee County Treasurer Lori Hesse, who reported that Lana Snitker has resigned from her full-time position in the Treasurer’s Office. She recommended that Tim Fish, who currently works part time in the Treasurer’s Office, be moved into Snitker’s position and a new part-time employee be sought to fill Fish’s current position. The Board accepted Hesse’s recommendation and approved advertising to fill the vacant part-time position.
In other business, the Board approved a fireworks permit for New Albin Days June 12 and appointed Chairman Schellhammer to serve on the Courthouse Safety Committee. The Board also set June 25 at 12 noon as the deadline to submit claims for the current fiscal year and to approve the final claims for the fiscal year during its regular meeting June 29.