County discusses Brantford Road

At the Eddy County Commission’s regular meeting on Tuesday, April 2, commissioners reviewed a few options for the Brantford Road project.

The commission has been planning to fund improvements to the road, which known formally as County Road 10, for some time. However, they learned on Tuesday that the project’s cost won’t be easy to afford.

The first option they reviewed involved a complete overhaul, including a full-depth reclamation, reshaping of the base course, new pavement and a chip seal coat.

An estimate for that option reviewed by commissioners on Tuesday projects the cost per mile to be over $1.1 million, bringing the price tag for improving all seven miles of County Road 10 to over $7.8 million.

An informational packet presented to the commissioners states that getting a loan for that option would require an annual payment of $662,496.87 over 10 years.

Currently, the county levies 10 mills to go towards the county’s roads and bridges, nowhere near enough to cover the annual payment.

The county is allowed by law to levy up to 30 mills for roads and bridges. Should the county choose to increase the number of mills levied, however, it would require a majority of Eddy County voters’ approval on the ballot.

At around $16,000 per mill, increasing the number of mills levied to 30 would only equate to about $320,000, not even half of what’s needed to cover the annual payment. Commissioners also agreed that the shortfall would likely be too large for the Bank of North Dakota to lend money.

Commissioners then moved to the second option for Brantford Road improvements. This option would involve grinding up the pavement down to the subgrade and adding a double chip seal over the top.

The estimate for option two came in at approximately $4.5 million to do the full seven miles of County Road 10. The annual payment on a 10-year loan for that option would be $386,456.50, still too much to cover with mills alone.

Commissioners also expressed skepticism that the public would even be willing to support a levy increase at the next election.

However, Commissioner Dave Gehrtz suggested putting the question to voters anyway, saying this is the taxpayers’ money that they'd be using, and therefore the voters should have a say in how it’s spent.

Ultimately, no final decision was made regarding the Brantford Road project or whether any option would appear on the ballot.

It was agreed instead that State’s Attorney Ashley Lies and Eddy County Interim Auditor Becki Schumacher would do more research into funding options and relevant processes before moving forward, and that discussions would continue at the next regular meeting in May, or potentially at a special meeting if necessary.

Also at the commission meeting on Tuesday, the second of two public meetings was held regarding the proposal to change the auditor and treasurer positions from elected to appointed.

No members of the public appeared at the meeting, and only one individual, George Ritzke, appeared at the first meeting on March 26. Commissioner Glenda Collier said Ritzke discussed the qualifications required for any future appointed auditor or treasurer, and that the commissioners agreed with his suggestion to ease some of the previously stated requirements, such as having a CPA license.

The next regular meeting of the Eddy County Commission is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7 at 8 a.m. in the basement of the Eddy County Courthouse.