Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1913-08-21
FOR GOOD ROADS
Suggestion to the People of Iowa
County.
S16,SOO DUE IN STATE AID
How this Amount Can be Returned
to the County. The Situation En-
planned,


planned.
To the Editor of The Democrat: The
state aid for roads and bridges available
for use in Iowa county next year will
be about Sl6,S00, requiring an appro
priation of like amount by the towns
in Iowa county if the full state aid is to
be available. The amount called for
work in 1913 was only IS ,925, indicating
that the towns must vote very much
larger amounts this year for work IN
1914 or Iowa county will lose to other
counties much of the state aid origin
ally allotted to it, As matter of fact,
indications are that the towns in Iowa
county will have voted not to exceed
$4,000 when the times for such votes
expires September lst, 50 that the loss
to the Iowa county will probably be
nearly $4,000.
There is only one further chance to
have returned to the county the full
state aid due it, and that is for the
county board to have a special meeting
some time in September and vote to
take up this state aid work as county,
the county paying two thirds of the cost
of the work and the state one third. In
other words, after the calls of the var.
ious towns are ascertained, the county
board at special meeting could vote to
raise twice this balance and expend it,,
together with the state aid drawn by it,
in the improvement of certain definite
roads in the country to be selected by
the county board.
We believe that it would be possible
for the county board to select for i'm
provement certain number of roads
in the county starting from some of the
principal cities and villages so that the
expenditure of this money would give
general satisfaction to the whole people
of the county and in fact, probably
better satisfaction than the present
method in vogue in the county OF hav-
ing each town in the county vote and
locate it's own improvements without
any special reference to the Importance
of the road to the county. l believe
that the road between Mineral Point
and Dodgevllle, and between Dodge
vile and Spring Green, Dodgeville and
Barneveld, and Dodgeville and Mont
fort would be of general benefit to
the whole county, and that with a
proper selection of roads and distribu
tion of money between them great
amount of good could be accomplished.
l trust that your paper will take up
the campaign for such action by the
county board. If all of the state aid is
taken by the county, it will result in
the expenditure of $4,000 for perma-
nent roads and bridges in the county
next year, which should make con
siderable showing. If you will look
over the enclosed list showing the
amounts available in each county and
the amount called for 1913 work, you
will be struck by the fact that in ac-
cordance with its valuation. Iowa
county is doing less state aid work than
any other county in the southern part
of the state, and less than almost any
other county of equal valuation in the
state. | believe that if Iowa county
will give the state aid plan a fair trial
under conditions that will make success
reasonably possible, it will be just as
well satisfied with permanent roads as
are all the counties surrounding it.
We take this method of drawing it to
the attention of the people of Iowa
county, simply from desire to see that
the county gets what it is entitled to
receive, as its neighboring counties do.
Yours very sincerely,
WISCONSIN HIGHWAY COMMISSION, |,
By A. r. HIRsT,
State Highway Engineer
Madison, August 49, 1918.