Commission considers road tax proposal

The Stutsman County Commission briefly discussed the possibility of placing the road tax measure that failed in the June primary election back on the ballot in November during its regular meeting Tuesday.

“The road measure went down by 299 votes,” said Dale Marks, county commissioner. “We still need the funding and people are telling us that we need to keep bringing it up.”

The commission took no action but did recognize that the deadline for placing an item on the November general election ballot is in August.

“We’ve talked about tweaking it a little by dedicating 2 mills to the townships so they can pay off their debts to the county,” Marks said. “Two mills over 10 years would about retire their debts, if we had no more disasters.”

The 2 mills would furnish about $120,000 per year to the townships. The township debt to the county for road work and snow removal currently totals about $1.3 million.

Marks cautioned that other tax measures may be on the ballot.

“The library is aiming at a measure too,” he said.

In other business, the county heard a report on the completion of the recycling project for Old Highway 10 east of Jamestown.

“The reclamation is complete as of last Thursday,” said Jerry Brickner, project supervisor. “There are some surface irregularities and we’re working them with tight blading.”

Brickner said the goal is to produce a smooth road.

“Right now it is smooth after we work it but with traffic and compaction you get irregularities,” he said. “That is what we’re trying to eliminate.”

Commissioners looked at the project as a success.

“We don’t have to restrict weights and people can drive 55,” said Mark Klose, chairman of the commission. “That’s a major improvement.”

The commission was also informed of the retirement of Jan Thompson, county treasurer, effective at the end of the year.

Thompson started at the county as deputy treasurer in November 1984. She was elected to the treasurer position in 1998.

“I’m very much looking forward to retirement,” she said. “We love doing so many things but mostly we’ll get to spend more time with the grandkids.”

Sun reporter Keith Norman can be reached at (701) 952-8452 or by e-mail at knorman@jamestownsun.com