Olivia P Tucker
Times Reporter
Scott County Board of Commissioners addressed the need for equipment for the Scott County Highway Department with the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds at their regular meeting on Wednesday, April 17.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 granted $1.9 trillion for the country’s recovery from the economic and health effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commissioners plan to use some of the funding from ARPA to go into an interlocal agreement with the neighboring county Jefferson County to purchase and share chip-seal equipment to preserve the roads in each county.
Scott County Council heard from Highway Department Superintendent Kevin Hall the night before the commissioners meeting on April 16. He was informing the council of the deal with Jefferson County that the commissioners wanted to enter this agreement.
Council President JR Ward said he would have to see the lawyer written agreement between both counties. Hall responded that he was simply informing the council that this was the solution that was for the equipment.
“As long as we are asking for opinions, I’m going to give mine. I think two counties going together to share equipment got to be one of the stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard of in my life, ” council member Jonathan White said,
White gave the example that he owns multiple properties and one mower to be able to maintain all of the properties and not a mower for each location but he wasn’t sure how it would work sharing between two counties.
Ward stated again that what White said was the reasoning why he would like to see the lawyer paperwork, gesturing his elbow towards council attorney Heather Peters.
Council member John Collins addressed Hall about the fact that the Highway Department had to hire a construction company to build a structure but didn’t have the manpower to be able to build it and was concerned with having the help on the chip and seal equipment.
“I find it entertaining, John, that you don’t think we can do that when we just run over 1,000 tons of asphalt today with the same crew,” said County Highway Superintendent
Hall questioned White as he was shaking his head asking, “How many roads have you chip sealed.”
“Me? None,” said White, “I don’t like to ride on a chip seal road because I drive a motorcycle.”
“How are you going to fix everything and keep paving everything?” Hall asked.
White said “I don’t know” which prompted Hall to laugh in frustration.
Scott County Board of Commissioners during their meeting got an explanation from Hall that Scott County was approved for $1.5 million from the Community Crossing Grant.
The agreement with the grant was to resurface 20 miles of county roads. Hall said that he was stretching out his crew to be able to complete the requirement.
“One of the (county) councilmen took a stab at my crew,” said Hall, “It’s my crew, it’s my job to manage them and put them where they make the most sense and they make the most sense putting our structures in at this time.”
Commissioner Randy Julian said,” So on that note, I got something I want to say. And this is about the council and I guess it’s to you. When it comes to the county highway department and the way the council has bent the county highway department, as a Republican I am embarrassed. Because part of being a
Republican is building infrastructure. Under this ARPA fund, we have the potential to buy the equipment to take care of all the roads in Scott County.”
Julian said that the purchasing of the equipment will not cost Scott County Citizens anything but due to personal grudges, the council is holding back progress and taking away from the citizens as well.
“As a citizen, I am extremely upset,’ said Julian, “As a commissioner, I am appalled that someone who is trusted enough to be elected would use their position to settle personal vendettas instead of working for the people that voted them in office. So with that said Kevin, I don’t know what else to say except for I hope the people of Scott County (pay attention to) council meetings and see the obvious traits that a few of them are going down.”
Commissioner President Mike Jones said that he originally had no plans on speaking on the matter but changed his mind.
“I can echo some of the things Randy said, I wasn’t very happy with how the meeting went, especially with (Hall), there was a lot of questioning from the council towards department heads towards what I think is unnecessary for the fact that board of commissioners is the executive board of this county and we purchase things, we sign contracts, we enter into agreements with people whether that’s an inner local agreement with another county or another municipality. It is our job to do that.”
Jones said that it is a statewide issue where county councils overstep their positions with the commissioners.
“I was really upset when they were in the weeds on chip seal equipment and how we were going to work it out with Jefferson County over when we were going to use the equipment and when they were going to use the equipment,” said Jones.
“The ARPA money is not coming out of the general fund, it’s not coming out of any other tax payer based funding. It’s actually a pass through and [the council] don’t like that whatsoever that we are making decisions. I can go back on everything that we bought, spent ARPA money on, opioid money on and I would challenge anybody and say ‘show us where we spent money stupidly’ and I don’t believe we ever have.”
Jones says that if Scott County was to buy the equipment on their own it would cost $775,000 but with the agreement with Jefferson County it could cost $350,000 to $400,000 to purchase the shared equipment. He said that both counties would use it 3 months out of the year per county and for the rest of the year it will be stored.
Commissioner Greg Prince said, “Do we know everything? No, and I don’t know everything. But I got a pretty damn good background in transportation and so does Kevin. And so he understands and he is working thorough with INDOT.”
“I personally worked on as a laborer all the way up to a foreman,” said Hall,” US 50, US 421, US 31, State Road 56, State Road 39, 250, all chip seal. Those roads are good enough to chip seal but Scott County roads are not. I find that amazing, I honestly can’t get over it.”
Prince said the only roads that haven’t been touched by chip seal equipment was interstates 65 and 265.
Julian said, “that only proves my point that it isn’t whether or not chip seal is not the right thing to do, anybody can understand chip seal is the right thing to do specially with our budget. It’s a matter of it’s a personal vendetta from four people on that council against the county highway department and when they pull this stuff. I don’t care what their feeling is, it’s hurting the Scott County citizens.”
“That’s right,” agreed Prince, “and the other thing is, here we are trying to find out ways to save money, to pass these saving on that we know to benefit not only to our infrastructures but our tax payers as a whole. Jefferson County in this case, they understand that too, I mean they are looking at trying to save money and getting the biggest bank for their buck. Rural counties such as ours and Jefferson and some
other surrounding counties, we all struggle in some way or another and so transporting equipment back and forth to neighboring counties is not an issue in my opinion.”
Jones addressed the concerns that a council member brought up about the highway department not being able to run chip seal equipment with the employees that the department currently has which he said that when the state ran chip seal people traveled to help. He doesn’t see that not being the case because the highway department already is paving roads in the county also Jefferson County will bring people along with the equipment to be able to use the chip seal and help where people are needed.