Page County board hears update on road restoration efforts following wind turbine construction

(Clarinda) — Page County officials have opted against a fee reduction for some of the patchwork that was conducted due to the Shenandoah Hills Wind Project construction.

At its regular meeting on Tuesday morning, the Page County Board of Supervisors directed County Engineer JD King not to offer a fee reduction to MidAmerican Energy for a second round of patchwork that was done on J52 west of Coin. As part of the county’s road use agreement for the project, the developer is required to assist with the restoration of roads along the project’s “haul routes.” King says two rounds of patchwork were needed along the portion of J52 deemed a “haul route” during the project’s construction.

“For the first set of patching, the patching itself was $174,410 done by Denco at $119 per square yard and that was paid,” said King. “Recently, we sent (MidAmerican) another bill for $532,394 and Mid-Am thinks that’s pretty high. I agree that it’s pretty high, but it’s what we had to do to get the road to where it could remain open to traffic.”

MidAmerican Energy officials announced at a supervisors meeting in December that the over 50 turbines that straddle the Page-Fremont County line south of Shenandoah had been erected. While acknowledging the cost of the second round was high, King says the work was necessary to ensure the road was safe for travel.

“We all know that J52 west of Coin is not a new road and not in the best shape, but on the other hand,” he said, “it wasn’t falling apart the way that it did during turbine construction. So, I am not in favor of a reduction.”

Supervisors Judy Clark and Todd Maher agreed that, while the board didn’t need to make a formal motion, they were not in favor of offering a fee reduction to MidAmerican Energy for the second round of patchwork.

“I’d say that if you had to pay it, which you have, in this amount,” said Clark, “then there should not be any reduction.”

“I don’t know that you need a resolution or vote on it,’ Maher added. “But you have our complete support to make sure that they repay us what they owe.”

However, King noted he did not think a letter from the county attorney on the matter was necessary at this time. A spokesperson from MidAmerican Energy was not in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.