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Cass County Supervisors approve bridge project & MH/GA Director wage adjustment

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May 6th, 2014 by Ric Hanson

The Cass County Board of Supervisors today (Tuesday), approved the plans for a bridge replacement project located about one-eighth of a mile east of 648th Street, on Jackson Road (the Landfill Road). Cass County Engineer Charles Marker said bids for the project will be let on August 19th. Marker says the bridge, which is being designed in-house, will be an 80-foot long, triple-span structure that’s 30-feet wide.

The current bridge is only about 24-feet wide. Markers says the new structure will allow bigger pieces of equipment to move across the current two-span structure. Marker said also, a request for a public hearing on the vacating of a long section of 740th Street in the Massena Township has been withdrawn, because the person making the request had second thoughts on the matter.

With regard to the level B, or dirt roads in the county that get torn-up by fun seekers in 4-wheel drive vehicles after it rains, Cass County Attorney Dan Feistner said citations have been issued to those who knowingly and intentionally cause damage to those roads. Feistner said the culprits were cited for either Failure to Maintain Control or Criminal Mischief for “What appear to be clear acts beyond the norm of – the use of the road – where they’ve gone out and torn roads up.”

Feistner said he’s working with the Secondary Roads Dept. to come up what amount of restitution the perpetrators might pay to repair the roads which have been too badly damaged intentionally. Feistner said Criminal Mischief is a Simple Misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $65. He said the intent is to send a message to those who would purposely tear up the county’s roads, that you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

In other business, the Cass County Board of Supervisors approved a wage adjustment increase of $4,000 (to $45,000) for newly appointed full-time Mental Health and General Assistance Director Deb Schuler. Last week, the Board had discussed moving her wage up to that which was last paid to the former MD/DD/GA Director, but they felt the adjustment which was approved was more equitable. The Board also voted to place ads in the paper and elsewhere for the position, the vacancy term for which expires on June 30th.