Wadena County hopes to pass roads to townships PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by LOREN UNDSETH   
As part of their long range planning, Wadena County Board passed a resolution in 2007 to begin turning back low usage county roads to townships on an annual basis. Since that resolution was passed, 11 miles of roads were turned back to one township in 2008. No roads were turned back to townships in 2009.

Wadena County maintains 455 miles of roadways and 90 bridges with a staff of 19 full-time employees. The roadways consist of 222 miles of CSAH (County State Aid Highways) and 201 miles of county roads. The county receives money from the state to maintain CSAH roads.

The 2007 resolution recommended that all county roads with an average daily traffic (ADT) of 100 or less be considered as possible roads to be turned back to townships. These roads are typically gravel and must meet minimum conditions. Throughout the county, there are 160 miles of roads that have daily ADT below 100 out of the 201 miles of county roads. The county has roads that are measured under 100 ADT and under 50 ADT.

The county highway engineer initially decides what road(s) to turn back to a township, and then meets with township officials to get their input. Roads are not turned back until approval is received from the County Board.

Part of the condition for returning a roads to a township is that it be in good condition prior to a township accepting responsibility for it. Once a road is returned to a township, the county continues to maintain it for the next two years. The township can collect their state funding for the road during those two years. That is intended to provide an extra financial cushion to the township prior to their assuming the additional expense of maintaining the road.

The minimum conditions for a road to be considered for revocation to a township are: driving surface width or 24-28 feet; minimum of two inches of gravel; adequate drainage, including working ditches and culverts; signage that is current and adequate. 

The County does not receive any state funding for maintenance of county roads. In 2009, townships in Wadena County collected an average of $398 per mile for roads they maintain. That money comes from state gas tax revenues and is sent to the County, which transfers it to the townships. Currently, Wadena County has 367 miles of Township Roads. In 2009, the Township Road payment to the County was $144,401. If all 160 miles of County Roads of 100 ADT or less were returned to townships, the County could receive another $56,000 towards maintenance of those roads.

What a township is paid for road maintenance is calculated based upon population in the township and the mileage of the township roads. Each township that has taken back roads receives an additional mileage allocation for roads they have taken back since 1996, which is added to a certified mileage allocation and a population allocation. 

For example, Aldrich Township has a population of 415 and has 8.6 miles of township roads. In 2009, the township received $5,897, or $685.65 per mile. Compare that to Huntersville Township, which has a population of 132 and 8.87 miles of roads. Huntersville receives $2,870 or $323.60 per mile. The difference in payback is primarily because of the difference in population between the townships.

Based on 2009 mileage numbers for townships, Lyons, Aldrich and Huntersville have the lowest mileage of roads at 6.55, 8.6 and 8.87, respectively. The population of each of those townships is 173, 415, and 132.

The townships that maintain the most miles of roads are Thomastown with 44.21, Wadena with 37.69 and Blueberry with 37.46. The average mileage per township in Wadena County is 24.5 miles. The population of Thomastown is 771, Wadena is 954, and Blueberry is 725. There is a total of 15 townships in Wadena County.

Road maintenance would be an additional expense for townships. Beyond the State money they could receive, they would have to use township tax revenues to pay for road maintenance. One advantage that would have for townships is that they would be using the tax revenue they generate to pay for roads in their township. Tax revenue the county generates for road and bridge maintenance goes towards maintaining roads across the county.

Since 1996, over 45 miles of county roads have been returned to townships. Most recently, Shell River Township took back 11 miles of county roads in 2008, bringing the total they maintain to 33 miles.

Shell River Township Board Chair Melvin Kinnunen says that the township has one more year before they need to pay for year-round maintenance on those roads. He said that the roads the township took back were in “the best condition they had ever been in.” While he noted that the township will incur greater expenses with the additional snowplowing and blading, nobody has complained to him about the increase in taxes. While Shell River officials weren’t overjoyed at taking the prospect of taking the roads back, Kinnunen allowed that townships can maintain the roads for less money than can the county. He added that the town board works to keep the township in good financial position, stating, “We always figure out how to handle what comes along.”

Wadena County ranks fifth highest in the state in county road mileage, even though it is a relatively small county at just 543 square miles. Compared to neighboring counties, only Cass County has more with 233 miles of county roads and 863.7 miles of township roads in 66 townships in a county that covers 2,380 square miles. Otter Tail County has 133 miles of county roads and 2,278.5 miles of township roads across 54 townships and covers 1,962 square miles. The state average for county roads in each county is 168.9 and for township roads 631 miles.

During the summer of 2009, the Wadena County engineer estimated that it cost the county $1,600 per mile to maintain its county roads. That amount was based on the highway department having 19 full-time staff, five shops, plus the cost and maintenance of all equipment. Currently it costs townships approximately $90 per hour to hire out for year-round maintenance of township roads. 

Although turning roads back to townships may not significantly reduce the highway department budget, it would help to slow County spending. Whether low-traveled county roads stay the responsibility of the County or are turned over to townships, their maintenance will be paid for by local property taxpayers. The question may be whether it is more economical for taxpayers to have their townships take responsibility for maintenance or leave it with the County.