AROUND THE COURTHOUSE: Effort needed by landowners to clear right-of-ways

Our weather is a little bit more like normal, if there is such a thing as normal in Missouri, for the early part of April here in Nodaway County. We had a pretty nice week of warm temperatures, gusty winds, and not too much moisture. The ground is still quite saturated but at least it did not rain on Easter Sunday so we should not have seven consecutive Sundays of rainfall. I admit that I am pessimistic concerning moisture considering the recent trends and the storms lined up out in the Pacific Ocean, it will probably be seven consecutive Mondays of rain looking at the radar and the weather forecast. We certainly could go a couple of weeks without any moisture, but it is April and you all know what April showers bring, May morels, anyway that is what Gus likes to think. My mushroom decoys have not brought any of the little rascals out yet but I am told that as close as

Amazonia in Andrew County some devoted hunters are finding a few little gray ones.
The warm sunshine and winds did help our country roads dry up and many of the road graders have been out trying to blade in the deep ruts leftover from the winter snows that melted and soaked into the roadbeds. The roads really are not as bad as I thought they may be. Many of the roads did not get the rock pushed off as bad as many thought they might during snow removal and if they had some crown to them and good drainage ditches, they have dried out pretty good.

There are some terrible side hill seeps on many of the gravel roads that have swelled up and are creating problems, but hopefully they will soon dry up so the townships can begin getting some much needed gravel on them.

The commission met this past week with township personnel including board members, clerks, and operators. We had a good turnout but unfortunately a few of the townships had no representation at the meeting. A local attorney gave a very good presentation on the issues concerning gravel bonds and how the townships need to pursue this important option. One of the local quarries sent a representative who explained rock quality, where the best rock for specific purposes is located at, and the change in the county's specification for rock need for this year. The commission earlier requested that the amount of "fines," that is the smaller particles in the road gravel, be cut back this year which will make the rock appear to be larger. Although the quarries like to sell a greater percentage of the fines believing that it helps to seal the roads helping to slow down moisture seeping into the roadbeds, the commission believed that we need a greater percentage of larger rock that can be worked into the roads and create a more stable base. We all know that the larger rock breaks down anyway due to heavy traffic use, the natural freezing and thawing cycle, and it will become fines eventually anyway. We hope that these new specifications will help make our roads hold up better due to the unusual wet conditions we all have faced the last two or three years. Our neighbor to the west, Atchison County, also adopted our rock specifications believing that it may help their roads as well but only time will tell. We certainly need some dry weather so all of the townships can get the roads bladed and the rock on.

A topic that is always cussed and discussed at these meetings was brought up by one of the township board members concerning brush along and on county road right-of-ways. There is little doubt that this is a huge problem that not only affects farmers who use the roads with their large farm equipment but also the motoring public. Trees and brush not only can damage vehicles but there is also the sight clearance problem at and near intersections where visibility is poor. Snow removal efforts were hampered this winter in many locations due to this problem and in many cases, the snow drifted and piled in excess due to the natural wind blockage caused by the brush.

The commission checked with both Gentry and Worth counties a few years ago to see how their brush laws were implemented and how effective they are. Both counties reported that they do have a law on the books that subjects an offender to either pay for removal of brush or a tax lien placed on the property but not only was it difficult to enforce, it also was costly due to non-payment. A drive through both of these counties point out that they probably have more of a problem with landowners allowing trees and brush on right-of-ways than Nodaway County has. I believe that the best solution is for landowners to be more "neighborly" and try to keep their road banks mowed on a regular basis and spray the brush. These efforts not only make the roads safer to drive on, they also allow the townships to keep them bladed better and can remove snow more effectively. One township trustee at the recent meeting pointed out that during his long tenure on the board his township had completely cleared one road of all trees four times. This is not right! Imagine the cost that this township has incurred just keeping this one road open for traffic. I encourage all landowners to make an effort to keep the right-of-ways clear.

I have been asked several times lately at meetings throughout the county how our revenue sources are and how we did this past year. The county collector-treasurer reported that gross county revenues were down in 2010 approximately $760,000 or about 3.5 percent. This is out of nearly 20 million in total revenue collected but much of it just "pass through" accounts. The county's economic picture is not nearly as gloomy as other reporting agencies. Nodaway County is operating right around budget projections and our road and bridge department is out working on numerous projects. As reported at the township meeting, all of our road and bridge equipment is paid for and we have numerous jobs slated for construction this year. The commission is dedicated in the task of closely watching expenses and spending only for what is necessary for all facets of county operations.

Call or come by the commissioners' offices with questions or concerns and I may be e-mailed at: sales@baumliauto.com. Do not hesitate to use it.

–Joe Baumli is the presiding county commissioner of Nodaway County and provides a weekly column for the Maryville Daily Forum