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In an effort to communicate with the people of District 2, Commissioner Pearson sends out updates about issues in the District.

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Logan County Commission District 2 Updates From The Commissioner

Commissioner Pearson writes updates on the matters he believes are important to Logan County residents such as news concerning road funding or construction updates. Here are some of his past updates.

In the future, if you would like to have these updates sent to you please complete the form on the left hand side of this page.

How Grants are Obtained
Aug. 3, 2010
The last update we sent out listed some of the grants District 2 obtained for paving roads. Responses to that update included not only positive comments, but questions about why other roads were not scheduled for paving.

To qualify for grant funding, roads have to meet certain criteria. It would be great to be able to pick the roads which need repair the worst and apply for money, but that is not always how the system works.

Some of the more common factors essential in obtaining grants are:
*Road count
*Population of the area
*Federal functional classification
*The Oklahoma City Area Regional Transportation Study (OCARTS)

Some of the key factors in preparing roads and bridges for funding are:
*Putting it on the county’s five-year plan
*Getting the project engineered
*Getting Oklahoma Department of Transportation clearances

One of the secrets to being successful in getting projects funded is to have them “shovel ready” so that when the right funding becomes available, it can be applied for. This was the process which Commissioner Pearson followed in getting 4 miles of Douglas funded from Waterloo to Forrest Hills; 4 miles of Midwest from Waterloo to No Name and the 1 mile of No Name from Midwest to Pine.

Engineering plans have just been completed for repaving Pine from Waterloo to Simpson. A Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) grant contract was signed July 30, 2010 for partial funding of 2” of asphalt on Pine from Charter Oak to Simpson. If there are no delays, this should be completed this fall. By having engineering plans in hand, Pearson will be looking for a grant to fund 5” of asphalt the full 3 miles from Waterloo to Simpson.

In the spring, Pearson submitted an application to the Federal Highway Administration to reclassify Charter Oak from Pine to Westminster, and Westminster from Charter Oak to Waterloo, as a major collector road. Indications are that this request will be approved. After that, Pearson will have the road engineered, furthering the process of preparing it to qualify for funding.

Getting money for roads is a competitive process and the resources are not large enough to meet the needs. Even when a grant has been awarded, it can take as long as 5 years to see a project through to completion. This requires patience, but each step completed in the process moves us closer to tangible improvements. Considering all of these factors, Pearson has been very successful in starting the flow of money towards District 2, something that has been needed for a very long time!

Maintenance and Project Update
July 26, 2010
The weather is enabling District 2 to catch up on routine maintenance and to prepare for some special road projects. Roads are getting graded, tin horns are being installed, shale has been hauled to roads which were washed out in the June 14th rainstorm, and we are mowing right-of-way. Also, as a safety precaution, the headwall of the bridge on Peebly, south of Triplett, is undergoing replacement.

Besides these routine tasks, major road projects are being pushed forward. The road surface of Midwest from SH 105 to University has been ground up, graded and compacted in preparation for two layers of chip seal. Funding will be in place within several weeks to go out to bid for the project.

Tree removal from the right-of-way on Pine, from Seward to Camp, and on Camp, from Pine to I-35, is almost completed. This has been done in preparation for repaving one and one-half miles with 5 inches of asphalt. Due to the amount of material required to build up the road base, it will be several more months before this goes out to bid.

More tree removal will be done along Pine from Charter Oak to Simpson. If conditions cooperate, Commissioner Pearson hopes to regrind this road, re-establish the base and go out to bid for a 2” lift of asphalt sometime this fall.

All of the environmental and right-of-way clearances from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation have been obtained for new pavement markings on Seward from I-35 to Douglas, Douglas to Forrest Hills, and Forrest Hills to Westminster. This project is being funded by the Surface Transportation Program Urbanized Area (STP-UZA). The funding was originally scheduled for 2011, but there are indications it may be moved up to 2010. Commissioner Pearson is hoping that Highway Income to the county will be substantial enough over the next couple of months to be able to finance crack-sealing this stretch of road before striping is applied.

With the safety of citizens in mind, last year Commissioner Pearson applied for a Rural Economic Action Program (REAP) grant to purchase two early warning sirens. In January of this year, he was notified that his request had been approved. As soon as the grant contracts are finalized, the county can go out to bid for the equipment and installation costs. One siren will be placed at the intersection of Douglas and Charter Oak and the other at the corner of Midwest and Camp. The sirens will be connected to a computer operated by Logan County Emergency Manager, David Ball.

As previously announced, funding has been obtained to repave Midwest from Waterloo to No Name, No Name from Midwest to Pine, and Douglas from Waterloo to Forrest Hills. This funding is on a five year plan, but there is hope that it can be expedited.

If you have questions or would like to discuss any of these projects with Commissioner Pearson, feel free to call him on his cell phone at 650-0384.

District 2 News Update
March 29, 2010
The past winter and beginning of spring haven’t been kind to Logan County. Weather.com lists last winter’s 10 worst weather locations in the nation and Oklahoma City ranked fifth. That is quite a distinction when you consider it is in competition with the northeastern part of the country.

Last week the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared the Dec. 24 blizzard a major disaster for Logan County. The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management held an applicant briefing in Wayne, OK on March 4, which representatives from Logan County attended. On March 31, FEMA will conduct a kickoff meeting to assess Logan County’s specific damages. District 2 has documented 59 road sites which were damaged in the Dec. 24 blizzard. Commissioner Pearson will pursue this FEMA funding in order to repair damages and supplement the district’s monthly income.

Due to the poor economy, the county’s monthly highway cash income, which finances road maintenance, continues to fall well below previous years. The average monthly income of what the county has received this year is 77.02% of the average it received in 2006. The average monthly maintenance and operations funding for 2010 in District 2 has been $21,023. This is 43.19% of the average received in 2006.

District 2’s allocation available for maintenance and operations for March was $17, 698. A major portion of this was used to buy fuel so road graders and other equipment can continue to operate. The cost of fuel in March was $14,467. This left a minimal amount for utility bills, equipment repair, tires and road materials.

Despite the monetary challenges, work continues as we repair bridges, improve drainage and provide roadway maintenance.

Plans are in place to pour the concrete decking on two new bridges next week. These are located on CR 76 east of Indian Meridian and on Peebly south of Simmons. The bridges are partially funded by FEMA from the 2007 storms and should be open for traffic the first part of April.

With the roads drying from the latest rains, graders are again back out smoothing roadways and the asphalt crew is repairing potholes.

Extraordinary Times
Oct. 30, 2009
According to mesonet.org, the record for the most rainfall since 1921 for the months of Aug., Sept. and Oct. in central Oklahoma was 20.76 inches in 1923. From July 28-Oct. 27 some of our area was drenched by 19.9 inches of rain. This has caused much havoc for our county roads. We have done what we could to keep the rain flowing off of the roads, but at times it seemed like a losing battle.

Thankfully the weather forecasters are predicting sunshine for the next several days. This will give us a chance to get all of our graders back on the roads repairing the damage. We have arranged for some grading to be done over this weekend.

While the rainfall has been up, funding for Logan County has been down. Statistics show that this year’s income since February has been less than anytime over the last four years. The Maintenance and Operation fund income for some months of this year has been less than half of what it was four years ago, and we are expecting November and December to be slim months. (We have posted financial graphs on our website at: commissiondistrict2.com as a District 2 Special Report.) We want you to know that this lack of funding will not decrease our maintenance of county roads. Our priority will be to have graders on dirt roads and eroding asphalt roads repaired.

I want to encourage everyone to stay in touch with us as we work our way out of these extraordinarily difficult times.

Road Conditions
Oct. 13, 2009
The rainy weather of the last several months has caused serious damage to county roads. There have only been a few days dry enough for grading roads, so we have been bringing in gravel from the rock pit near Cushing and hauling it to those areas most affected by the rain in order to keep them passable.

The rain has also accelerated the pothole problem. Winter will soon be here which will further erode asphalt roads. So as much as the rainy weather is allowing we are focusing on repairing the potholes and preparing the roads for winter. The smaller potholes will be filled with cold-patch asphalt and the larger ones with reground asphalt.

Reminder: State Representative Jason Murphey is bringing a town hall meeting to Logan Co., District 2. The forum will be held at the Woodcrest Fire Department, 11975 S. Douglas, on October 27, 7:00 p.m. I have been invited to attend and speak about current and future county issues. I hope to see you there.

Pine/Camp Project Starting
Sept. 2, 2009
Major work will start tomorrow, Sept. 3, on Pine/Camp. This project entails a new asphalt surface on Pine St. from Seward Road to Camp Rd. and on Camp Rd. from Pine St. to I-35. The first phase to be accomplished is to remove trees from the right-of-way, reestablish ditches and replace tinhorns.

It will take a substantial length of time to complete this project and we apologize for the inconvenience it will cause local residents. Signs will be posted when work is in progress so you will be alerted and everyone can stay safe.

Should you have any questions, please contact my office.

Commissioner Michael Pearson

County Excise Board Meeting
Aug. 26, 2009
In an update on August 20 we informed you that the Logan County Excise Board would be meeting on August 21. One of the purposes of the meeting was to consider the commissioners’ request to put 50% of new growth property tax towards county roads. The board met as scheduled and the recently hired county accountant explained he had discovered a possible error in the budgets of the past. The accountant requested permission to further investigate the issue and find a solution. The meeting adjourned without any additional business being considered.

We will be sure to let you know when another meeting date has been set.

From Commissioner Michael Pearson
Aug. 20, 2009
The unexpected rains during a month noted for being hot and dry are a serious challenge to our district. Though drainage has been much improved in the last 7 months, there are a number of people who are having difficulty getting across muddy roads and washouts. As soon as the weather clears our road graders and gravel trucks will be out in force across the district repairing damage the rains have caused.

The disruption of work being done on Pottawatomie Road from SH 105 to CR 75 is a major problem. More than 2,200 tons of dirt were trucked in to this stretch of road over the last several weeks to build it up. The rains have come before gravel could be hauled in to cap it and make it stable in bad weather. The work on Roller Coaster Road of preparing it for paving has also come to a screeching halt, but will resume as soon as possible.

In the meantime, our district workers have been out unstopping tinhorns, re-establishing drainage ditches, repairing and doing maintenance on equipment and replacing street signs.

I have been working hard to repair and stabilize our roads so that rain and snow will not be as much of a factor. Replacing or cleaning out existing tinhorns, cleaning ditches when grading roads and using shale and gravel to cap the particularly bad areas insure higher quality roads. This hard work is paying off. The overall ability of our district’s roads to withstand bad weather has improved.

My plans include paving many roads. The rains have slowed our progress, but not our resolve, on paving/repaving a total of 2 3/4 miles before the end of the year. I am also in negotiations with the Iowa Nation to help finance the replacement of five bridges and pave 3 miles of road on the east side of our district. I have secured the funding to pave 5 miles of road in the south part of the district and am working on funding for 6 miles in the north part of the district.

In an effort to get more funding for all three districts I have succeeded in passing a resolution through our board of commissioners requesting the use of 50% of new growth property tax for the maintenance of county roads. The Logan County Excise Board will meet Friday, August 21, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the courthouse annex building with the county accountant. Hopefully a part of the meeting will be to consider this request. This is an open meeting and I encourage people to attend. Those who can’t make it will be able to read the minutes from the meeting on the website, commissiondistrict2.com under “District 2 Special Reports.”

I greatly appreciate everyone who has reported problems caused by the recent rains, and am very enthusiastic about our future growth.

Roller Coaster Road Project
June 9, 2009
Beginning Monday, June 15, Roller Coaster Road will be closed to through traffic. This will allow us to begin the process of clearing the right-of-ways, removing the existing asphalt, replacing tinhorns, re-establishing the roadbed and resurfacing it with asphalt. This is a major project and could take up to eight weeks to accomplish.

If you live on the road and have to go across it during the time work is being done, be extra watchful for workers and machinery so everyone can stay safe. If there are flagmen, be sure to follow their directions.

I appreciate everyone’s patience during this time of inconvenience.

Commissioner Michael Pearson

We're Coming
May 6, 2009
No one is pulling for the sun to shine more than the county workers in district 2. The recent rains have deteriorated the roads to the point that some of them are almost impassable.

During this rainy weather when it is counterproductive to get trucks and road graders on dirt roads, and it is too wet to fill potholes, we have been repairing equipment, opening up tin horns, digging drainage ditches, etc. We have also been hauling ground-up concrete and rock to our yard in preparation to repair roads.

So as soon as it dries up enough, you will be seeing dump trucks with aggregate, road graders and a crew with asphalt for potholes coming to your area.

I want to thank those who have called our office, or reported a road problem on our website, to let us know where the most critical areas are at.