MILDRED — Road improvements, a proposed sales tax, and property values took center stage at a town hall meeting in the Mildred Store Thursday evening. Around 25 people attended to have their questions answered by county and state officials.
On hand to provide answers were Allen County Commissioner David Lee, Deputy Appraiser Danielle Louk, Interim Road and Bridge Director Jeremy Hopkins, Sheriff Bryan Murphy, Rep. Fred Gardner, and Senator Caryn Tyson.
West Virginia Road
Many had concerns with the progress of county road repairs and what they deemed as unfulfilled “promises” pertaining to the chip and seal of West Virginia Road. Hopkins acknowledged the delay and explained the cause.
“I know it was promised to get it done by Memorial Day,” he said. “I don’t see that happening with the weather and equipment.”
One individual noted, “Garnett already has its whole main street almost done,” they said. “Weather? I’m not buying it. We had promises made.”
A common complaint has been the excess dust. “Everything we own is covered in dust,” they added.
In regards to weather, Hopkins explained that the temperature has to be at least 60 degrees at night to complete chip and seal.
Several in attendance said they weren’t told the road would be chip sealed.
“We were told it would be pavement,” said one person.
Lee noted that sometimes people use the terms chip and seal and pavement interchangably, but the road was not going to be asphalt.
According to Hopkins, it costs around $30,000 per mile for chip and seal. Comparatively, it costs approximately $1 million per mile for asphalt. “You’re going to get the chip and seal because we don’t have those kinds of dollars to do asphalt,” said Lee.
In addition to weather delays, the county has been waiting on the return of its distributor truck to complete chip and seal projects. “The distributor truck was getting refurbished and they are waiting on parts for it,” said Hopkins. “It’s irritating for us, too.”
Hopkins doesn’t have a set date for when the chip and seal will begin on West Virginia Road, but said it would be the first one they’d get done once the distributor truck returns.
“Until we get the distributor, there is nothing we can do,” said Lee. “We’re waiting on a piece of equipment that’s been sitting in Joplin for the last six or seven months.”
