Chairperson Harney called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 1:32 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

County Engineer Al Miller said the reason for this meeting is to make a distinction between the North Corridor Feasibility Study and the 5-Year Construction Program because they are not the same and there has been a lot of confusion about this issue. Miller explained that Secondary Roads would like the Board to give them recommendations on where they want this to go from here. Miller said the purpose of the North Corridor Feasibility Study is to evaluate the existing infrastructure in the North Corridor area and complete a location study report with recommendations for infrastructure improvements. Right now, he explained, they have some options on where they would like to go with this. One option is to do nothing. A 2nd option would be to finish the report on the entire study area. He said that in the report there would be a map showing the recommendations for infrastructure improvements, cost estimates for each segment of road, preliminary plans for each alignment and the supporting data used to form these recommendations. The 3rd option could be to have a certain portion of the study area concentrated on. He said that when they put out the map last fall, it became apparent that they would be lucky to have the infrastructure improvements done in 20 years. He said that there are a couple of segments of road that are so far out there that it would be difficult for the Board to give a good recommendation on how to proceed because the likelihood of it getting built is too far out. He said the Board could elect to tell them to finish the report on Newport Road, East Overlook and that portion of Sugar Bottom Road up to Jordan Creek. He said they would leave the last priority projects off of the report.

Miller said that the map in front of the Board is conceptual and they wanted to see if there is support for what is on the map. He said that there are a half a dozen different alignments that could be chosen for each portion. He said that there are areas that have generated a lot of concern from people. He said that there are numerous options that they could take across each area. Miller said that final report would be an evaluation of all the different options and a recommendation on the one selected. He said it would include cost estimates for each portion of road, as well as preliminary plans. He said that they would like to finish the plans enough to show what their right-of-way needs would be and the supporting used to arrive at those recommendations. Lehman said they want to get from point A to point B, but the actual route is not laid out. Miller said there is a concept there. He said the biggest concept is not taking the existing alignment out of Newport Road in the first project. He said there are multiple different alignments that they could take in that same conceptual map. Lehman said that once they begin, they would want to have an idea of where they are going to end up. Miller said that the more they work on it, not only do they have more staff time but they need additional information. He said they want to make sure that they don’t go too far down the road if there isn’t support for it.

County Engineer Mike Gardner said that with the 2 areas on Newport Road where they are going off of the existing alignment they have requested some additional data when they have flown it. He said they are waiting for that to come back. He said they are already looking at some alternate alignments with that. He said that it hasn’t been done yet because they haven’t received the information back from Aerial Services, but it is in the process. Stutsman asked if a decision has been made on that. Gardner said no, originally they had this flown and the information hadn’t been received back. Miller explained that multiple photographs are taken from an airplane and then survey information on the corridor is asked back. He said the more area they cover the more it costs and they are trying to keep the costs down. He said that each request costs Johnson County money and they want to make sure that what is being done is what the Board wants to be done.

Stutsman suggested going through the 3 options and discussing what support there is for them. Miller said that the do nothing option would be because there isn’t any desire to have the road segments on the construction program. He said another reason for doing nothing would be because the Board doesn’t feel that having more information would be valuable in their decision making at this time. Stutsman asked if this also means that Newport Road would be taken off. Gardner said it means that with the Feasibility Study, they have everything they need to make their decisions. Miller said doing nothing would mean not doing any more work on the Feasibility Study. He said that if they don’t feel like they want to have any additional information right now, then Secondary Roads would quit working on it. Stutsman asked if there is support from the Board to do this. Lehman said that the public would like to see some other options with possibilities of alternative routes. Miller said that if they want the report finished then they would have to do additional work. Lehman said that doing nothing would not accomplish that. Stutsman said there is support from a lot of residents in that area to do nothing. Harney said he personally feels that they need to come up with some sort of plan for the future. He said they are burying their head in the sand if they think that the North Corridor is going to go away. He said that they need to look at alternative plans, work with the neighbors and residents and try to decide where the possibilities could be for a road that would benefit the growth of that particular area in the long run and the long term. Stutsman said doing nothing is not one of the options at this point then.

Miller said the 2nd option would be to narrow down the study area and concentrate efforts on a smaller portion of the study area. He said to try to narrow things down to the point where they are serious about making some decisions that need to be made on what they want to do with this. He said they could finish up the study report on Newport Road and East Overlook. He said that when the first map originally came out, there was direction by the Board to have them look at Sugar Bottom Road up to Jordan Creek Road, but he doesn’t know if that idea has died. He said option 2 would be giving Secondary Roads direction on finishing the report in the areas including East Overlook Road, which would be Prairie Du Chien, the extension of that over onto Newport Road and out to Highway 1. He said that would probably be the 1st area that in his mind would be the first priority. He said the 2nd one would be Sugar Bottom Road from Newport to Jordan Creek. Stutsman said those are Phases I and II. Miller said that Phase III and IV are conceptual and they would need to have quite a bit more survey information and add a lot of cost to determine those routes. He said that would be something the Board would have to decide and let them know if they think it is important enough to try to nail something down as far as an alignment with the other 2 routes. He said it is going to be difficult to do unless the Board is willing to make some decisions on where they want to see those routes go with Phase III and IV. Lehman asked what the timetable workload is. He asked if Phase III is something they wouldn’t tackle if asked to look at I and II as far as trying to designate a route for 3 or 4 years out, or is it something they would like to accomplish and be able to accomplish. Miller said his thoughts would be to try to have the reports for Phases I and II completed by August or September. He said that he wouldn’t do any additional work on III and IV, with the exception that the map is going to be out there until they are told not to have it out there. He said that he isn’t going to order any additional survey information or do anymore work on those two phases.

Stutsman said that if they go with option 2 and start working on Phase I and II, then the Board is basically directing Secondary Roads to start contacting land owners and come up with a workable route for Phase I. Miller agreed and said that there are multiple routes that they could take and each one is going to have advantages and disadvantages. Stutsman asked if they would come back then and inform the Board of what they have worked through and ask if they should keep going. Miller said that each step of the project requires a decision to be made on where they want to go. He said the next step would be to contact individual property owners and determine all of the feasible routes having to do with the conceptual drawing. Lehman asked if they suggest having group meetings in contacting individuals to get a feeling beforehand. Miller said the meetings could be structured however they like. He said that if they were going to try to finish a set of preliminary plans, they would speak with each individual property owner and show them what they are looking at and how it impacts their property. He said they have informational meetings on every project that they do to bring everyone in the public in.

Lehman said that at some point they are going to have to look at cost. He said they have to arrive at a happy medium. Stutsman said that maybe part of the decision process wouldn’t all be cost and other things would be taken into consideration. Neuzil said they also have to take a step back and decide what sort of roads they want in this area. He said that if they want nothing but neighborhoods, then maybe they should be roads just for that, with curb and gutter and sidewalks or trails. He said they could use the existing roads with stop signs just like Court Street, 1st Avenue or Friendship Street. Lehman said that is where they get into funding. Neuzil agreed.

Stutsman said she thinks they need to move on to step 2 so that everyone knows where they are at and can make some decisions based on that. Neuzil said that step 2 is important because these roads are still on the 5-Year Road Plan and it seems like there is consensus to keep them on the 5-Year Road Plan. He said as far as how those roads are going to look is another story. Stutsman said that if they adopted this approach, then they would be taking the extension of Prairie Du Chien off of the 5-Year Road Plan. Miller asked if she means from Newport up to the Corps property. Stutsman said yes. Miller said that is a 5-Year Construction Program decision to be made in the next month in order to get the program finished. He said that his recommendation is to not change the program, but keep it out there 3 years and then reevaluate it next year with additional information. Thompson asked if they would continue from Saddle Club Road all the way to the Corps property if they did Phase I or would they just not do the rest of that. Miller said he thinks they would probably upgrade that little piece. Thompson asked how far that is. Gardner said less than 1/4 of a mile.

Harney asked if Phase III includes working with the residents. Miller said the 3rd option would be looking at the entire area, which would be priority project 3 and 4 on the map. He said that in order to meet and have a meaningful conversation with individual property owners, they are going to need additional aerial photography, which is going to add a lot of cost to the study. He said that with option 4, they are going to have individuals from the public requesting a wide range of different alternatives. He said that in order to evaluate them all and give enough detail they are going to have a pretty good sized area that needs to be mapped. He said his recommendation is to stick to a more focused thing for this year and revisit it again next year. Harney said he agrees, but he doesn’t want the next step to go away and not put plans in it. He said that if they are going to consider this in the future for long-term planning then they need to pursue an agreement as to where they think it might go. Stutsman asked if he is talking about studying the whole area. Harney said yes, in stages. He said he thinks they need to direct Secondary Roads to work with the residents in the neighborhood and try to come up with a route to come out up there. Stutsman said they would need to decide which neighborhood. Harney said steps 3 and 4. Stutsman said he is talking about having them work on the whole area and she isn’t. Harney said long-term and not necessarily right away. Thompson said she agrees, but asked if they think they should do the first part first. Stutsman said to do Phase I and II first. Lehman said they are all in agreement that there will be something up there since this is the North Corridor. Neuzil said they need to keep Phases III and IV on the horizon so they don’t run into problems in the future.

Thompson asked if they could save the right-of-way like they did with Oakdale Boulevard. Neuzil said that is what he is thinking. Harney said this is where the long range planning isn’t working if they are going to do that. He said that they need to sit down with residents and come up with a plan beyond steps 1 and 2. He said that there are now a couple of homes on Newport Road that were allowed to be built and if they hadn’t been built they could do some things on Newport Road. Stutsman said the alternative to that is to just not allow any more rezonings in 3 and 4 until they are ready to put that infrastructure in. She said that they would concentrate on 1 and 2 and then when that is nailed down then move on. Neuzil said that they already don’t allow for new zonings because the road is already at its maximum. Thompson said they would be planning for 3 and 4 while building 1 and 2. The Board agreed that this makes sense. Harney said he just doesn’t want 3 and 4 to get lost. He has some issues with 4 because he doesn’t like the idea of a collector street dumping right in front of the high school. Lehman said that all of this has to be done in stages because there isn’t the personnel, time or budget to do it all. He said that if they focus on 1 and 2 then they have a concept. He said that he thinks everyone is on the same path to work on 1 and 2 and when that is done then they could work on 3 and 4. Neuzil said he thinks that one of the options should be to continue to use the existing road and say that this is what it is going to cost and it might take more time because of stretching it out as far as possible. Stutsman said to make it a residential road with lower speed limits.

Stutsman asked if this gives Secondary Roads enough direction. Miller said yes and asked if they want to discuss a deadline. Miller said they sent out the questionnaire last year on the 5-Year Road Program in August. Gardner said they are getting into the start of construction now. Stutsman said that she wants them to give the Board a deadline that they are going to be able to keep. Miller said he thinks they need to give the report to the Board and have it out there when discussing the 5-Year Road program next year. He said that they have been starting in October.

Neuzil said one of the problems is the year 5. He asked if staff is going to be recommending a year 5 to get it on the list of State projects. Miller said that is up to the Board of Supervisors. He said that they laid it out there this year so that the Board could let them know what they want on there. He said the 5th year is still blank. Stutsman said it seems like year 5 is always subject to further discussion. She said they could put something to fill in the blank on the page, but she doesn't think it is in stone. Neuzil asked why the State wants a year 5. Miller said they want 5 years worth of planning construction projects for budget purposes. Gardner said it is also so that people are able to see what is on the horizon and get it started working in the direction toward completion. Lehman said they may find out it takes them 5 years to do all of 1 and 2. Neuzil said that they still have to put something on the list.

Stutsman asked when they are scheduled to talk about the 5-Year Road Plan again. Gardner said that they would have to take formal action on April 10th so that they could have it in by the 15th. Stutsman said she hates to get too far into discussion on the 5-Year Road Plan today because it's not on the agenda. Thompson said it does make sense that if they go with this plan for the Feasibility Study, then Sugar Bottom to Jordan Creek would be year 5. She said that there isn't anything in that year right now. Stutsman said that could certainly enter into the discussion when they make that decision. Lehman asked Gardner and Miller if they have enough of an idea of the different alignment options they would like to look at. He said that he knows they have had discussions with some of the property owners. Miller said there are enough options. He gave an example of the area between Prairie Du Chien and Newport Road where they are relocating the road and said that there are half a dozen alignments further south and north that they have information to look at without ordering $10,000 more of surveying. He said his plan is to do that and work with the property owners on what is going to meet the standards and where it would actually lay out. Stutsman said that at this point she is ready to delegate that to staff to work out. She said the policy has been set that they are going to seriously look at Phase I and II. She directed staff to work out the details and bring it back to the Board. Miller said the Board would have the option to say that an option isn't the most cost effective. Gardner said he thinks that they have had enough contact with property owners in that area up to this point to know what their feelings are. He said that they are definitely going to meet with them to find out what they are willing to look at as a possibility and also what they absolutely would not accept. He said he sees both individual and group meetings being held with property owners. He said that if there is an option that is going to affect a half a dozen people then they would try to get everyone involved at the table.

Harney asked Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak and Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore if they have anything that they would like to add. Moore said he feels that the Board is accepting the fact that the North Corridor is going to continue to be a growth area although they might differ some on how it should be developed. He said if this is so, they have to address the road infrastructure issue. He said that what they are doing now is keeping the Feasibility Study in place. He said that concentrating their resources on Phases I and II is a great idea. He said that Phases III and IV are in areas where they don't want to do rezoning or development according to the current policies. He said eventually they would be rezoned and developed, though, and they need to put those roads in before allowing development to happen. He said that if they don't then they are going to be stuck with Newport Road and Sugar Bottom like they are today and it is going to be costly to fix it after that. Harney said they do need to be very careful with 180th. He said they would allow building along that because it is upgraded, but they don't want to block them off from any locations or road that might be improved in that area.

Harney opened the meeting to public comment. Mr. Jacobsen asked questions regarding the map legend.

Tom Carsner asked if there is new information on the State's plan for Highway 1. Gardner said he hasn't heard anything. Harney said the last information that he had is that it is about 7 years out. Stutsman said that with their budget situation she wouldn't be surprised if it was further out than that. Carsner said that is part of his point. He said that Johnson County is making plans 2-4 years out and they don't know if or what the State is going to do with Highway 1. He said that what they are talking about with Newport Road is creating a parallel or shortcut route for people coming from the north to get into Iowa City. He said that combined with Iowa City's plans for Foster Road, what they would be creating is a cutoff road going down Newport to Prairie Du Chien. He said Foster Road is in the City's plans in the next few years. He said that a lot of grading has been done towards this. He said that coming down Foster Road takes you right to Dubuque Street, which is a busy street. He said they are creating a shortcut for commuters while also considering it to be a residential area. He said it is contradiction and they need to have a clearer sense of what they are trying to do in that area. He said commuters tend to take the route that goes fastest. He said that for those coming from the north it creates a little freeway to get to Iowa City. He said that this is why he is curious about what the State is planning for Highway One.

Carsner asked if they know the Secondary Roads budget yet for Fiscal Year 04 because last year they came up shorter than what they thought. Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said he doesn't have those materials with him but it would probably be about $6 million. Thompson said that it was enough to cover year one. Carsner said that last year they got to this point and realized that there was a great shortfall and they had to take a project off. Stutsman said that they are trying to coordinate the budget with a plan so that they are in sync and so that they don't end up at the last minute saying they have all of these great ideas and no money to fund it. Gardner said that projects get shifted all of the time and that isn't anything new.

Dick Gibson asked if the decision the Board made with moving ahead with the Feasibility Study addresses the fate and/or the situation regarding the connector between Prairie Du Chien and Newport Road. He asked if that is just another option or is that the determined alternative to be reviewed. Neuzil said it is an option. Gibson asked if the other option is not to build it. Neuzil said they could potentially use the existing roads. Gibson said that is the answer he is looking for. He said that Miller showed him how this would effect his place. Gibson said that Miller has an engineering solution that would take feet or more of forest ravine. He said that would be one implication. He said that it would take all of the screening away from his front yard that faces Prairie Du Chien. Gibson said he hopes that there is an opportunity to look at some less totally focused engineering solutions and look at some that would preserve the character of that neighborhood. Stutsman said that they might not take the cheapest route because they are more interested in preserving the ambiance out there.

Tom Gross said he is intrigued and somewhat surprised to hear of Neuzil's comments about using the existing roads and perhaps building more neighborhood roads as opposed to conduit and feeder arteries in that part of the County. He said the term is curbs and gutters. Gross said the community that has built their lives and plans around the existing roads would be far more supportive of upgrading the existing road beds than cutting through free standing farm ground.

Paul Stebral said he heard Miller talking about alternative routes on Newport. He asked if there are any ideas or suggestions. Miller said he hasn't planned on talking about any of the specifics of the Feasibility Study today. He said that he does have some additional survey information requested so that he is able to have something more specific. He said that they are in a contract with Aerial Services, so whenever they get him the information, he could get it on the computer. He said he would let him know as soon as he has it. Stebral said he hates to see it go through farm ground. He said that if there is any other way he would like for them to follow the existing Newport Road. He said it might cost a little more money, but in the long run they would have a better road and less roads to maintain. He said that if they realign Newport Road, then they are going to have another road to maintain. He said he thinks that they should consider staying with the alignment of the old road, regardless of cost. He said the other thing is that if they build a straight road then they are going to have speeding traffic there. He said he is in favor of designing a road with a 40-mile per hour speed limit, which he believes they could do using the existing alignment. He said that if they lower the speed limit then they could make a sharper curve, which means that they wouldn't have to split farms up and there wouldn't be extra roads to maintain.

Dennis Burnes said that he has studied this plan carefully and has a Masters Degree in residential construction. He said that as he looks at this area and the plans it baffles him. He said especially section 4 where they want to split right through a farm on Racine Avenue. He said it comes down to 180th Street by the new high school. He said he doesn't see the thought rationale of having it stop right by the school. He said the roads are being designed as arteries from Iowa City to this area with high speeds in residential areas. He said he also agrees to use the existing roads and to upgrade them.

Laurie Tulchin asked Miller if in any of this Feasibility Study he has considered designing a road to 45 miles per hour. Miller said yes.

Jacobsen asked about the North Liberty Road in regards to the plan. Gardner said it is going to be a project that North Liberty has on the horizon. Lehman said that it is presently in the County, but that their feeling is that by the time it is done it would probably be in that city and be their responsibility.

Tulchin asked Miller if he has looked at designing any roads that don't have bike paths on both sides. Miller said the thing to understand about bike paths being on both sides is that they are required to have a 40-foot top on the road. He said that the only thing they have done is, instead of having an 8-foot shoulder that is rock, they have paved 6 feet of it. He said the paved shoulders don't reduce the amount of right-of-way that they need to acquire or reduce the grading that they have to do. He said that they just replace a portion of that rock shoulder with a paved shoulder for vehicle traffic. Tulchin asked what speed limit the 40-foot top is to have. Miller said it is based on the traffic volume. Tulchin asked if it is based on the standard. Miller said that for the road top it is not. He said that once they get up into the higher categories of traffic volume there has to be a 40-foot top on it. Tulchin asked if it has to have 16 feet of shoulder. Miller said yes, 8 feet on either side and two 12-foot vehicle lanes. Tulchin asked if that is based on 700 cars per day. Miller said the cut off is now 1,500 vehicles a day and above for the projected design vehicle count. Miller said they could rock the shoulder instead of pave it, but they still have to have the shoulder. Stutsman said that there is an unspoken policy that they aren't going to do dedicated trails. Miller said he thinks Tulchin is saying that she would like to have a 2-way trail on just one side. Tulchin said Miller always says the only option is to go back and have a road as wide as Highway One or Interstate 80. Miller said the top width on Highway One is not the same width. Tulchin asked if he means as Prairie Du Chien Road. Miller said yes. He said the pavement width on Prairie Du Chien Road, since they have paved a portion of those shoulders is wider than Highway One because they have paved an area for people to bicycle or run. Tulchin said she thinks it all comes down to the fact that nobody in the North Corridor wants to see a series of roads wider than Highway One winding through that area because there has not been any compromise on the design of it. She said that if there could be a way to compromise on the design, she thinks he would find it to be a lot easier to work with the public. Harney said Miller explained that the only reason it is wider is because there is a bike path or path for people to walk or jog. Tulchin said that it doesn't have to be that way. Harney said they don't have to have the bike path. He said they could just do gravel. Stutsman said that then people would be complaining because people are jogging and riding their bikes on the road. Tulchin said that when Herbert Hoover Highway was redone it wasn't as wide as Highway One. She said it was just paved over the top. Miller said the shoulder width is rock and the top width is the same as the roads that they have been putting in. Gardner said that from Interstate 80 into Iowa City it is a 40-foot top. Neuzil asked what the other roads are like at Prairie Du Chien, the other section or Newport. Miller said probably 24-26 feet at the most. Neuzil said it is about the same then, except that they would need extra space for shoulders. Miller said those roads don't have shoulders right now.

Mike Dooley said that in order for Prairie Du Chien and Newport to be connected, the road would have to come through his land, whether it is on an alternate plan or the existing plan. He said he likes a lot of what he has heard at this meeting and would like to hear some alternatives. The way he sees the plan right now and the way it is drawn out on the map, with the dotted line going through his property is really the worst way that it would affect him. He emphasized that he would really like to see some alternatives. He said that Miller has been out to his property to look at it. Dooley said that he is not beyond compromise on this. He said the best thing he would like to hear is that they stick with the residential concept, but failing that he would like to hear some alternates on that. Harney thanked Dooley and said that they are looking at some alternates.

Jacobsen asked what the cost difference is per mile with the curb and gutter. Miller said that by curb and gutter they mean a city type looking street with curbs on it. He said that there doesn't have to be as much right-of-way. He said that it is possible to get through areas of the existing 66-foot right-of-way without purchasing any additional if the grading works. He said the downside is that it is going to cost more because storm sewer and intakes have to be put in. He said it also means concentrating storm sewer flow in one particular area instead of dispersing it through ravines and the ditch network that is on a rural type cross section. Miller said that if it is concrete, like Prairie Du Chien is, he doesn't believe that the paver would add anything to pave curbs or just pave a normal rural slab without curbs. He said the cost is in the storm sewer and the intakes. Jacobsen asked how much the difference is per mile. Miller said he isn't able to answer that. He said a storm sewer is expensive and it depends on how much drainage they have to collect on the roadway and how big the pipe has to be and how much pipe has to be run. Stutsman said that this is the type of information that Miller is going to bring back by October in order to compare and make decisions accordingly.

Harney said that Secondary Roads is going to be doing Phases I and II and try to lay a plan out. He said the other parts are going to be in the future where they would come back with something and there would be public hearings and input on those and then make a decision about them. Lehman said that a separate issue is the 5-Year Road Plan, set for March 27th on the informal. Harney thanked everyone for coming and adjourned the meeting.

Adjourned at 2:40 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary