Late last month, Wilkin County commissioners held an informative meeting with township representatives. Anticipating major cuts in state aid, gas tax funding and lack of sufficient employees, the highway department said it could no longer handle the additional snowplowing and blade work on gravel roads. During the winter, townships consume about half of the county's maintenance.
Tom Richels, highway engineer, said the arrangement works for everyone - the department can better maintain the county, townships will have more efficient service and contractors will have winter work.
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Equipment replacement costs have been an annual concern, but Richels said snowplows will handle about 48 miles per machine this year, roughly half of a normal workload. Five to eight more machines will also be on the road compared to previous years.
"Dan [Swedland, maintenance foreman] and I are really committed to making this work," he said. "We certainly think we can make it happen."
Township officers will also be responsible for Federal Emergency Management Agency paperwork if their area is affected by flood damage. In March, the highway department collected information from all 500 sites, whereas townships may only have five or six each, said Richels.
Commissioners said the county won't abandon townships in a desperate situation, and officers should feel comfortable contacting the highway department this season.
"If the timeline is too short for them to work out something, then we'll be a backup," said Commissioner Neal Folstad.
Although township officers have offered to pay more for the county's help, that's not entirely the issue, said Commission Chairman Lyle Hovland.
"We don't know that we can efficiently or effectively charge enough to recover our costs," he said, adding that it's not necessarily a benefit for the taxpayer. "We'll be ultimately sticking the taxpayer with a higher bill than need be if we go with a private contractor."
Richels said he will send out a letter to notify township officers of the decision.
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