Monday's County business: Dump trucks, rock crushers and bids

Mar. 13—District 3 Rogers County Commissioner Ron Burrows has been pushing for a reclassification of dump trucks as more than just road equipment so he can pursue a lease-purchase option for a new vehicle.

His efforts were rewarded with unanimous approval Monday. Calling dump trucks a versatile tool, Burrows said they are not specific to one task, and should not be just another piece of road machinery.

"In putting together a list of all the things we use a dump truck for, it clearly demonstrates that these trucks are more than road equipment," Burrows said.

Assistant District Attorney Todd Wagner gave his nod of approval.

The move gives commissioners another option when looking at replacing or buying new dump trucks. In the past, due to the classification as road equipment, the state bidding process segmented a dump truck purchase into two steps. The cab and chassis were bid separately from the actual dump bed, which required a higher one-time cash layout. Under the new classification, turnkey dump trucks can be acquired through a lease-purchase agreement, spreading the cost over five to seven years.

The ongoing discussion about the purchase of a rock crushing machine was tabled again at Burrows' request.

Burrows said he made a trip out to the county-owned quarry with an expert in rock crushing, and learned an additional "rock muncher" machine would be necessary to fully mine the rock materials for county road use. The muncher is necessary to handle material larger than 8 inches.

Three utility permits for gas companies were approved during Monday's county commissioners meeting, one for Marathon Pipe Line LLC, a national company that transports crude oil throughout the continental U.S. and Alaska.

District 1 County Commission Chair Dan DeLozier said the Marathon Pipe Line project will involve tearing up the road, but the construction company has assured him the roadway will still be passable.

Marathon will be working on a 22-inch line that transports crude oil cross country. The pipeline parallels local East 290 Road, east of South 4280 Road.

Other permits approved included a road crossing for Chelsea Gas Authority on county South 4210 Road, .7 miles north of East 370 Road in District 1. The ONG permit approves work that parallels North 161st East Avenue and crosses East 81st Court North, 3.49 miles south and 1.52 miles east of the junction of Highway 169 and south Highway 20 in District 2.

Bids for another three-month supply of liquid asphalt used for county road repair and construction were tabled pending further review. Ten bids were opened and commissioners tabled them to allow time for creating a comparison spreadsheet. They expect to make a final decision at next week's meeting.

Also approved was the sheriff's office request for two transfers of funds to pay salaries and purchase new vehicles. County Clerk Jeanne Heidlage said a temporary transfer of $350,000 to cover jail employee salaries would be repaid to the sheriff's salary accounts within a week.

The sheriff will also be purchasing more patrol cars, with the approval of a transfer of Use Tax Maintenance and Operations funds into Use Tax Capital Outlay for $369,748.

Commissioners gave the nod to making application for an environmental grant, which provides $78,010 toward remodeling the newly acquired county office properties south of the courthouse. The funds could be used for such items as heat and air or lighting to promote energy efficiency.