CUSTER COUNTY— A fully loaded agenda took the Custer County Board of Supervisors up to the noon hour on Tuesday, February 12 for their regular meeting. To begin the meeting, the board approved the appointment of Tom Hoff to the Custer County Planning Commission.
Andrew Ambriz, Executive Director of the Custer Economic Development Corporation (CEDC), discussed with the board the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Income Report which was essentially a recap of the grant and where the funds are being used.
According to the CEDC website, the objective of the grant is to provide funds to provide financing for start-up and existing businesses that cannot obtain conventional financing, to attract new business to the area and to create and retain jobs for low to moderate income persons. This grant was recently given to two Custer County businesses in the amount of $40,000 each.
The board did unanimously approve the income report and also approved the re-appointment of Chris Smith and Cheryl Carson to the CEDC Advisory Board. The Advisory Board makes recommendations to the Custer County Supervisors on who they believe would be deserving of the grant.
Also approved were the one and six year plans and the County Bridge Match brought to the board by Highway Superintendent Chris Jacobsen. The board and Jacobsen took much of the time discussing the maintenance program which includes asphalt operations and bridge operations. According to the plan, there are three asphalt operations:
1. Cumro Road from the Cumro Fire Hall to the Sumner Road (approximately four miles), Grind and Convert to Gravel
2. Early Spring- Major Machine Patching throughout the County as needed.
3. Ryno Road, from approximately ½ mile south of Jenkins Corner north to Road 435 (Gun Club Road), approximately 11.3 miles. Spot repair, mill surface level, cold mix leveling coarse, and armor coat seal.
There are also a number of bridge operations that will be taking place within the next year. Some of the following bridges have been labeled priority due to their condition or necessity for replacement or repair:
1. Berwyn South-Complete Bridge Replacement
2. Berwyn Southwest-Complete Bridge Replacement
3. Walworth Bridge-Seeding and Approach Rail Adjustments
4. Oconto Southeast- Four Complete Bridge Replacement Projects
5. Maintenance on Mason City Southwest-Scour Repair around Abutment Walls
6. Contract Work: Anselmo Southeast-Complete Bridge Replacement
7. Contract Work: Sargent Northwest-Complete Bridge Replacement
Jacobsen also discussed with the board on receiving the go-ahead on finding pricing on equipment to replace mowers, pneumatic rollers (asphalt rollers), and a semi-tractor. He told the board that the department was not looking to buy anything new, but only used equipment.
Jacobsen told the board that the mowers would cost approximately $14,000-$15,000 for each mower, $30,000-$40,000 for the pneumatic roller, and the department has budgeted up to $70,000 for a new semi-tractor. After discussing the amounts with the board, it was agreed upon that Jacobsen would find more pricing and report back to the board.
The Custer County Courthouse renovation project is moving along as new change of orders were voted on and approved. The renovation project budget sits at $1.6 million having been built up by having set aside money for the project every year for over ten years. As of Tuesday’s meeting, the board has only used $700,000-$800,000 of the total budget.
