Wright County boasts one of the state’s best county road systems. With almost every mile of road in the county paved, that comes with a price – both to build and maintain. At the Tuesday, Feb. 17, meeting of the Wright County Board, the commissioners unanimously approved the 2004 list of weight restrictions on county roads. As part of the resolution, the board authorized the highway department to put the weight restrictions into effect when it deems fit. “In a typical year, the weight restrictions are in effect from March 15 to May 15,” county highway engineer Wayne Fingalson said. “With the mild winters we had the last few years, those dates were pushed up as early as mid-February, but at this time, there is no immediate plan to put the restrictions on.” Fingalson said his department needs only three days notice to put the restrictions in place. He noted that thanks to recent construction, most of the five-ton limit roads have been eliminated, but some still exist – including County Road from Maple Lake to the west county line, County Road 33 from Buffalo to Rockford and County Road 12 for all but two miles from County Road 37 to Montrose. Copies of the official maps will be sent to all cities and townships and a copy of the map will also be posted on the county’s official web site. In other items on the agenda, the board: – Received an update from Chris Basgall, general manager of the Onyx FCR Landfill, concerning a recent citation from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Basgall said the landfill is working with the MPCA on what to do with 2,300 tons of smelter slag that was dumped in the landfill between November and January. Basgall said he is waiting for the MPCA to decide whether the slag, which is in the form of rocks that can leach out the hazardous lead inside, will be treated on site or if it will have to be removed. – By a 4-1 vote, approved a traffic control signal to be constructed at the intersection of County State Aid Highway 35 and Bison Boulevard near Buffalo High School. Commissioner Dick Mattson, who has consistently opposed the signal, citing a four-way stop sign as a much safer option, cast the dissenting vote. – Received an update on the county’s five-year road construction projects. Among them is a large project involving CSAHs 18, 75 and 39 near Monticello. The county’s share of the costs was originally expected to be $700,000, but new estimates put the county share at closer to $2 million, which could prohibit the county from participating. – Agreed to make a partial payment to Hennepin County for maintenance of three bridges on the Wright-Hennepin County line. Fingalson explained that previous bills for such maintenance were in the neighborhood of $10,000 a year, but, due to a clerical error by Hennepin County, bills were not sent for 2000, 2001 and 2002. The 2000 bill ($12,719) and the 2001 bill ($17,709) were deemed reasonable, but county money isn’t available to pay the $82,830 bill for 2002. While considerable work had to be done and was deemed “legitimate” by the transportation committee, the funds aren’t available to pay the bill. Fingalson said he will try to work with Hennepin County in hopes of having Wright County do road maintenance on County Road 139 to reduce or eliminate the $80,000 debt. – Approved seeking a state aid variance for the CSAH 9 improvement project in Waverly. The county is looking to have a curve on the project reduced to 20 miles per hour, which would require a variance. Variance proposals had to be submitted by Monday, March 1, which is why the matter was pushed up. The Waverly project has a price tag of $500,000. – Was informed that the county won’t have to be involved in the construction of a weather warning siren in Clearwater-Pleasant Park. Assistant county attorney Brian Asleson told the board that Wright-Hennepin Electric Cooperative already has an easement to the proposed site with electrical capability already in place. The board unanimously approved the county seeking a hold harmless agreement, which should end the county’s involvement in the matter. – Set a letting date of 9:30 a.m. at the Tuesday, April 13, board meeting for bids on replacing eight culverts in the county. Funding for the project, which is estimated at nearly $100,000, will have to come completely from local levy dollars, since MnDOT has removed those items from its own budget as part of the state’s balanced-budget problems. – Received an update on the courthouse construction project. It remains ahead of schedule and the anticipated completion date is still on target for the end of March. – Approved a request from Sheriff Gary Miller to fill a vacant deputy position. Miller informed the board of a third county deputy being called up by the National Guard for service in Iraq and that the latest call-up is scheduled to run through mid-2005. – Laid over for one week information provided by the 5-Star Restoration Program, which funds local programs for restoring lakes, rivers and wetlands. Applications for 2004 must be postmarked by Monday, March 1, so the commissioners were told if they knew of any groups wanting to apply that time was scarce. – Approved several agenda items for the next technology committee meeting. They include an update on the county’s record management project, discussion of a county technology fair and an update on the county’s geographic information system.