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Farm Bureau Inc. expresses concern over county roads
The county’s chief advocacy group for farmers is expressing concern over the state of local county roads.
On Monday, Putnam County Farm Bureau Inc. officers Ray Poynter Jr. and Steve Cash, along with other local farmers, attended the Putnam County Commissioners meeting to express their concerns.
Poynter outlined concerns that include tree overgrowth, lack of mowing, the depth of ditches and the width of roads.
Poynter, who owns a farm in Clinton Township, noted that in some places two passenger vehicles can’t pass one another, let alone what happens if a large piece of agricultural equipment were involved.
“Somebody’s going to have to back up,” he said. “We’re just here to try and come up with a solution. There are a lot of roads in Putnam County, I know that.”
Garrett Thompson added to this.
“When a passenger car’s gotta get off and can’t get off, something’s gotta give,” Thompson said. “Yeah, equipment’s getting bigger, but I think as a county we have to accommodate for that.”
Cash said he had been contacted by Terry Clifford, who drives a school bus for North Putnam, who said that they can take a brand new bus out and have scratches on it from overgrown trees on the first return trip.
“Do we not have roadside mowers and mowers that trim the trees? Why aren’t we using them?” asked Dan Fry, who was also in attendance with the group.
Commissioner Rick Woodall addressed some of these concerns. He noted that the county is working on buying a new mower, as the two old models currently in its possession are in disrepair.
“It absolutely stinks,” Woodall said. “I understand because I drive those county roads every day.”
Additionally, the Putnam County Highway Department has had trouble hiring and retaining employees.
“Part of it is because of manpower and part of it is because of equipment that just won’t run,” Woodall said.
The department has more recently been putting two guys on mowers part time, but that only takes away from the crews working on road surfacing.
County Highway Supervisor Mike Ricketts also explained that the new mower that the county needs comes with a price tag of $130,000.
Thompson asked if they had looked into outsourcing the mowing.
“It might be cheaper than buying a mower and that takes care of an employee or two employees you don’t have,” Thompson said.
While no solution came of Monday’s discussion, it hope seemed to be that it would open a dialogue between the county and Farm Bureau about possible solutions.
“As far as Putnam County Farm Bureau, we want to help in any way we can,” Poynter said.
Later in the meeting, Ricketts also gave some updates on other highway issues.
Among these, Bridge 172 on Poland Road may now take until at least the end of August to complete. He noted that this is really not the fault of those doing the deck work on the bridge, but the degree of damage to the structure.
“They’re trying to do it right and I think it’s worse than what they thought,” Ricketts said.
He added that this is the problem with federal aid projects, the county signs on for them but then the work isn’t performed for another five years.
Ricketts also noted that the extra time taken on the bridge will likely delay resurfacing work on two roads leading to the Cagles Mill Lake dam until next year, as there is limited access while the bridge is out.
One other federal aid project, Bridge 275 over CSX Railroad on Saddle Club Road, is inching closer to work in 2022.
Final drawings and cost estimate will be due soon, with letting set for either October or December.
The next meeting of the Putnam County Commissioners is set for Monday, Aug. 16 at 9 a.m. on the first floor of the Putnam County Courthouse.