Pressure on county road budget is causing county supervisors to look for roads that can have lower levels of maintenance

Winneshiek County's road maintenance fund is financially stressed.  The combination of static revenues and rising costs has left county officials looking for every single possible way to save money.

On Monday county supervisors discussed a proposal to reduce the level of maintenance on a half-mile segment of 110th Street in Jackson Township.

County engineer Lee Bjerke called the road "a glorified driveway," saying it gave access to farmland but not to any houses.  But neighboring property owner Jerry Schultz opposed the request and asked that the road "stay as county-maintained."  Schultz said he is considering using the property he bought for a hog-raising operation.

County supervisor Bill Ibanez supported Bjerke's proposal, saying the reality is that the county needs to spread its budget across all the roads in the county.  "The decision is totally economic," said Ibanez.

County supervisor John Logsdon suggested an alternative, however: posting the road as "no winter maintenance" for now, then seeing whether Schultz comes back to the county board next spring with a proposal for a hog raising complex on the property, which would require a normal road for access. Logsdon's proposal passed unanimously.