Council ponders potholes

By

Local News

May 9, 2019 - 10:42 AM

Wet weather has taken a toll on area streets like this one in LaHarpe.

LAHARPE — Crumbling streets, exacerbated by chronic wet weather, has LaHarpe City Council members wondering how to tackle the problem.

The Council discussed their options at their Wednesday meeting, with no clear answer emerging.

The issue, City Clerk Michelle Altis noted, is that while the city has funding in its budget to fix a number of potholes, the city is wary of doing too many cold patch repairs because county crews may be in town at some point this year to resurface the roads.

Problem is, the county has a lot on its plate because of the wet weather, Altis said.

And, with the county’s rock crusher in need of repairs, getting rock to help rebuild some of the road bases may not occur anytime soon.

Plus, the city has several ditches that do not properly drain, which means some repairs may be for naught, Councilman Danny Ware added.

“The county’s not promising they can do anything this year,” Altis said.

Still, Crowell expects the city to discuss the matter further with county officials in the coming weeks to get a better handle on the street repair schedule.

 

ON A DECIDEDLY more optimistic note, Councilman David Lee pointed out that with the recent wet and stormy weather, LaHarpe has avoided other troubles, such as power outages.

That lies in large part to the recently completed electrical upgrade, which included a massive tree trimming effort.

It would be in the city’s best interest, Lee noted, to stay on top of the practice to keep power lines clear of potential damage.

The other Council members agreed.

In a related matter, the Council held a public hearing to formally close the electric upgrade effort, which was funded through a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant, and another $400,000 or so in USDA loans.

 

Related