The Rodney Dangerfield of the labor market, in Teller County the
transportation department works behind the scenes, under the radar.
Sometimes the crews enjoy gratitude for their work; most of the
time they are ignored, sometimes vilified – especially after the
big snowstorms when clearing all roads ranks up there with
miracles.
“Our biggest complaints are about snow, but people also call
about washouts, mainly to let us know,” said Patti Alberts,
administrative supervisor.
Sometimes the crews can’t win no matter what they do, how hard
they work. “We have 50-50 here. Some people say their roads are too
dusty and want magnesium chloride,” Alberts said. “The next person
down the street will call and say ‘don’t you dare put that stuff on
my road. I’d rather have the dust.'”
Before the snow flies, however, the crews are hard at it,
racking up projects finished or about-to-be. This in spite of the
loss of their director, Curt Logsdon, who resigned in
August.
“We’re not doing anything differently now that Curt’s gone;
we’re going off the same plan,” said Brad Shaw, road and bridge
supervisor.
Shaw is modest. At the age of 33, he is heading up the projects,
receiving accolades for his work.
“He took over the projects in November. And this is one of the
hardest years because we have so much on our plate,” Alberts said.
“He was well-groomed by Curt.
On Thursday, Shaw was publicly lauded by his bosses, Teller
County commissioners.
“Brad has really stepped up to the plate recently,” said
commission chair Bob Campbell. “Without our director he has taken
over some responsibilities and shown initiative in improving the
situation we have in the department.”
Shaw joined the department 10 years ago, advancing in November
to road and bridge supervisor.
“I’ve grown up in the department,” said Shaw, accepting the
employee-service award. “I’m still growing up. I hope I’m here for
another ten years.”
Added Campbell, “We’re throwing him curves right now with the
management team of Mr. (Greg) Winkler and the administration. We
throw something at him every day. He cooperates with other groups
within the community, helps with the facilities (department).
Without a director, he is stepping up to the plate and handling
challenges.”
This year, for the first time, the crews are doing the work
in-house, rather than outsourcing to a private
contractor.
With an infusion of $381,850 from the Limited Gaming Impact
Fund, matched with $163,650 from Teller County, the department
bought its own equipment, chip spreader, roller, distributor and
sweeper.
“This is the first year for the chip and seal. We got all the
equipment last year, did .7 miles just to practice, went in full
boar this year,” Shaw said.
With 587 miles of road, gravel, dirt and hard-surface, to date
the department has accomplished under Shaw’s supervision:
* chip-and-seal applications on 9 miles of county roads 11 and
112, funded by a $225,198 grant from the Limited Gaming Impact Fund
for 2004.
* chip-and-seal applications on dirt roads: CR5 North Road, 4
miles; CR 22, 1.7 miles; CR231, .8 mile; CR51, 4.8 miles; CR 512,
between Golden Bell and Highland Lakes, which the crew rebuilt and
re-chipped. The projects, funded by the county, totaled $238,854
for gravel and existing hard surface roads.
* repaired damage caused by flooding on Trail Creek Road, CR
330, and Painted Rocks Road, CR78, due to the rainstorms of July
2004. The project was funded by a $200,000 grant from the
Department of Local Affairs; the county’s match was
$11,553.
* installed or repaired culverts throughout the
county.
* applied magnesium chloride on 36 miles of road for dust
control.
* maintained 500 miles of gravel roads.
* striped 63 miles of road.
“The guys on these crews are the most devoted I’ve ever seen,”
Shaw said. “I think we’re doing the best we can with what we got,
with the staff and budget we have. And we’re getting
thank-yous.”
Alberts added, “We have to all pull together to make this
happen.”
Speaking of staff, the department is always hiring. “We are
constantly going through people because we just don’t pay enough,”
Shaw said. “People can go on construction jobs and make more. But
you never know when you’ll get laid off. Security is a big thing
here.”
For Shaw, the rewards come with the job itself, the hours,
vacation time and the people.
According to Laurie Litwin, Teller County Budget Director, the
county’s road projects are funded by a combination of property
taxes, 10,5 percent; sales tax, 10.3 percent; highway users’ tax,
42 percent; and the remainder by gaming grants and grants from the
federal government.