The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1920-12-30
OUR SICK ROADS
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erly there is no conflict Of duties. The
superintendent is to outline the policy
and to recommend the construction
and repair and maintenance. The
board of commissioners are to ap-
prove, modify, or disapprove these pol
icies and recommendations and to give
instructions as to what work is to
be done. The board of commissioners
are required to provide the necessary
funds by levying taxes for the purpose
in the usual way, for doing this work.
The county highway superintendent is
to have charge of the work. The law
requires the board of commissioners
to elect a county highway superin-
tendent for a term of two years. The
board Of commissioners can discharge
the superintendent for cause, the state
highway commission can discharge
him for incompetency. The present
county highway superintendent was
elected June IA, 1919, and took office
July Is, 1919.
During the year 1920 $129,7S4.31
worth of bridge work was done under
the county highway superintendent.
OF this amount $50, 007.0 was on &C
count of contracts let by the board
of commissioners between July IS,
1919, and July 81, 1920, under COM
petitive bid for 80 jobs. Fourteen of
these were for new bridges varying
in span from so feet down to IA feet,
all having concrete floors. The other
is jobs were for more or less tx
tensive repairs and extensions. The
remaining 4 6,777.27 was spent on ac-
count Of the construction and repair
of bridges, culverts and spillways to
the number of 125 jobs, varying in
size from 3~steel beam bridges, 80
foot span, completely rebuilt, and one
46-foot span timber pile bridge down
to reinforced concrete culverts.
Twelve wooden pile bridges, II con-
crete spillways and so reinforced con-
crete culverts varying from IA feet
to 2 feet in span were built.
The law provides that the board
of commissioners a levy as much
as two mills for road purposes and
as much as three mills for bridge
purposes. Last September the com
missioners levied for the year 1921
0.57 mills for road purposes and 1.22
mills for bridge purposes making in
all for road and bridge purposes 1.79
mills. The total levy made by the
commissioners for the county was 3.3I
mills. This 1.79 mills for road and
bridge purposes provides $4,000 for
roads and SOS, 900 for bridges for 1921
However at the present time the coun-
ty bridge fund is more than $780, 900
overdrawn. The commissioners have
found it necessary on account of lack
of funds to instruct the highway
superintendent by resolution two or
three times since September 1, 1920,
to shut down all road and bridge work
for the season..
Brookings county is large when IN
considers the number of bridges and
culverts, road construction and re-
pairs required at the present moment
10 make travel even fairly safe. A
great portion of the counties of the
state have levied to the limit allowed
by law for road and bridge purposes;
whereas in Brookings county only 1.79
mills out of a possible 5 mills has
been levied for 1921. AS far as the
county highway superintendent knows
the levy made last September for 1921
is as large as any ever made in Brook.
ings county for road and bridge pur-
poses. He takes it for granted that
the board of commissioners did not
make a higher levy in order to keep
the taxes down, believing that the peo-
pie of Brookings county are opposed
to higher taxes.
The county highway superintendent
has been attending to his job since
he ooh office, and he intends to cor
tinue to do so as long as he is on
the Job; but the people of Brookings
county should realize that just as the
cashier of the bank is not alone re-
sponsible for the successful manage
ment and operation of the bank neither
is the county highway superintendent
alone responsible for the construction,