County project nearly finished

CHARLESTON - The Mississippi County Rural Water District project is almost complete.

"We've got about 15 people hooked up north of town," said Darren Kincy, an engineer for William Green and Associates. Kincy also reported the job is now 77 percent complete.

Commissioners also discussed the blacktopping of several roads, as suggested by community members.

Ronnie Tatum, a community member, addressed the blacktopping of County Road 409. "The road has sunk in over the years," he said.

Commissioner Martin Lucas credited some of this sinking to traffic. "There are lots of heavy loads on that road," he said.

Tatum also recommended blacktopping East Main.

Commissioners discussed using the chip-and-seal process to repair cracks and potholes on East Main. However, they did not think that this technique would work on County Road 409.

"It won't hold trucks and combines," Lucas and Presiding Commissioner Jim Blumenberg agreed.

The chip-and-seal process was again discussed. Blumenberg said: "I think its going to work out pretty good."

Commissioner Homer Oliver agreed. "If these cost figures are right, it's a pretty good deal," he added.

Commissioners agreed that it would be a good idea to get a rough road to determine if the chip-and-seal would hold up. They also speculated this will be a good technique to repair cracks and potholes on roads.

Blumenberg suggested they also try using pea gravel as opposed to chat for the chip-and-seal. The results would be compared to find the best resource to use.

In other news, the commission decided not to support Bain's Subdivision to blacktop the road at this time. Blumenberg said: "There's not enough traffic to do it right now."

In the future, the Commissioners will discuss blacktopping, but didn't think it would be a good investment at this time. "We would probably waste about $8,000. It would be better to wait until next year," Blumenberg said.

County Clerk Junior DeLay mentioned that he has received a couple of phone calls from the public, asking if county support on blacktopping such as in Bain's Subdivision is legal.

"When a plat is brought in and accepted, it becomes a county road," DeLay explained.