Road improvement projects in the works in Pecatonica

By Chris Johnson

Reporter

PECATONICA – The Village of Pecatonica is beginning to put into action a plan which will begin giving a facelift to some of the municipality’s roadways.

Discussion surfaced during a recent meeting of Committee Members with the Pecatonica Committee of the Whole.

One of the challenging positions the Village finds itself in is attempting to determine how much work can be done with the little amount of revenue it has to work with.

In earlier meetings debates began regarding how to approach various projects.

Jason Stoll, Village Engineer with Chastain and Associates, was asked to come up with a plan that will allow the funds available to be used most effectively. Areas, which have been targeted, include some of the roadways that aren’t classified as being in the poorest condition.

Many are roads that could use a little extra attention, before they achieve poor condition.

The amount of revenue it takes to completely restore a road, one that has been designated with the lowest ranking, isn’t always available.

If it was available and the funds were used for a major project, many other smaller projects may not get done.

During the 2016-2017 fiscal year, that situation remains. Valley View Subdivision and other roads east of Main Street seem to be the focus at this point.

Stoll was asked by Committee Members to issue options to the Board. He presented his findings during open meeting.

“As directed by the Village Board, at the Committee of the Whole Meeting in May, Chastain and Associates has updated estimates for improvements to streets in Valley View Subdivision.”

Over $40,000 would be used on one project, which would allow improvements on Valley View, with the plan to begin work on chip/fog seal, with patching.

Committee Member Zach Foster said he was in favor of projects getting underway as quickly as possible.

“The residents in the Village have to see that we are actually doing something. That work is actually going to get done.”

In other action, conversation turned to an issue that caused the Village of Pecatonica unnecessary expense. On occasion, the Village’s Public Works Department needs to see pipe problems that lie below the surface. As a regular form of action Visu-Sewer, headquartered in Wisconsin, is asked to assist. Cameras are dropped through opened manhole covers to see what issues may be present. After the viewing is completed, ground is broken, as the collection tubes are accessed. Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned, leading to unnecessary construction or groundbreaking. That, however, is rare, according to reports.

In a recent attempt to assist the Village with underground inspection of collection systems, Visu-Sewer provided information which was then acted upon with ground broken.

After action had been taken it was discovered that the direction of the camera did not match design specifications, leading to unnecessary damage.

Committee Member Bill Smull said something had to be done to attempt to deal with the unneeded expense.

“We need to issue them a letter that says we have damage to our road and pipe and they need to pay for it.”

When Public Works Director Mark Rust was asked how the service provider responded, he stated they said “oops”.

Village Attorney Doug Henry advised Committee Members as to the course of action he would recommend.

“You should get all the information together. Send them a letter on Village letterhead first, to see if you can resolve this issue without legal services.”

Henry said the information would state that Visu-Sewer would be responsible to make an accommodation that is satisfactory to the Village.

One of the impact areas was located near Third and John Streets.

Smull stated that he agreed with the Village Attorney’s suggestion.

“We need to tell them they need to be held accountable.”

The services Visu-Sewer provides will continue to be used as they have been found to be efficient in most situations and trusted to achieve the desired goals, according to reports.