This section sets a month-by-month process for petitioning, reviewing, designing, executing, and accepting county road maintenance projects.
The following sequence dates shall apply to this part: (1) January: Petitions for road maintenance may be accepted by the county commission only during the month of January. (2) February: Petitions forwarded to the county engineer for analysis and recommendations. (3) March: On or before the last day of the month of March, the county engineer shall submit a prioritized list of roads submitted by petition to the county commission. (4) April: On or before the last day of the month of April, the county commission shall designate those roads which will be considered for addition to the county road maintenance system. (5) May: Prior to or during the first regular commission meeting in the month of May, the county commission shall assign consultants to prepare surveys, construction plans, and deed and easement documents. (6) July: The consultant designated by the commission shall have until the last day of July to prepare right-of-way deed and easement documents, as required. On or prior to the last day of the month of July, the county engineer shall notify the chair for each petition selected by the commission that the right-of-way deed and easement documents are prepared and request that the chair begin work toward the execution of the documents. (7) August: The consultant designated by the commission shall have until the last day of August to complete the design of the roadway improvements and the associated drainage improvements. On or prior to the last day of August, the county engineer shall notify the chair for each petition that the construction plans for the roadway have been completed and are ready for use in coordinating the relocation of utilities and the relocation of fences. The chair processes the right-of-way deed and easement documents and coordinates activities with the property owners. (8) September: On or prior to the last day of the month of September, all right-of-way deed and easement documents shall be executed and returned to the county engineer by the chair. (9) October: The chair shall work on the coordination of utility relocations and the collection of funds from the individual property owners for the purchase of driveway culvert pipe. (10) November: On or prior to the last day of the month of November, the chair shall have reported to the county engineer that all utility relocations have been completed, that all fences have been relocated, and that all the funds have been collected and delivered for the purchase of all of the required driveway culvert pipe to the county engineer’s office. The county shall deposit the delivered funds for the purchase of driveway culvert pipe into an escrow account for this road improvement. (11) December: On or prior to the last day of the month of December, the county commission shall accept those roads on which the chair has met all the requirements set out in this part at an official county commission meeting and instruct the county engineer to place the roads on the county road maintenance system.