The Pierce County Board of Commissioners met in special sessions on Oct. 17 and again Tuesday to address road improvements and other topics.

The commissioners received an update Tuesday after holding a conference call with North Dakota Department of Emergency Services representatives on Oct. 17. FEMA will provide $132,000 toward a project in Hillside Township. The project will add an alternative road to Stanley and Travis Peterson’s properties. Water on their property has taken over the current road to the land. The water has been rising for more than a decade and school buses, emergency vehicles and farm equipment can no longer safely travel the old road.

The issue created headaches for the property owners and the board, which approved a bid for the project as a 16-foot gravel road top with two-foot shoulder.

A bid of $190,475 was approved for a contractor from Edinburg. NDDES informed the commissioners that an environmental assessment is required before a road wider than 14-feet (with one-foot shoulders). The commission was informed that the 14-foot road would have to suffice for the winter, but transfers of disaster funds at $108,000 should cover any widening of the road in the spring.

The board planned to discuss the update with the contractor, Rendezvous Region Construction, about the project’s changes.

“This has to be done right away,” District 5 Commissioner Dave Migler said. “What if there’s a snow storm or a fire?”

The board expects the new road to be widened in the spring.

Other updates

The commissioners voted Tuesday to approve adding the Knox Road to the federal assistance list and removing the York Road. District 1 Commissioner Joe Bohl proposed the change, saying the Knox Road receives more traffic.

The board approved the purchase of a 2015 Ford Expedition from M.J. McGuire Company for prisoner transport at Heart of America Correctional and Treatment Center. The vehicle costs $22,500. HACTC traded in an older transport van, valued at $13,000.

The board approved a deed for Edwin Pfeifer to repurchase his land.

All five commissioners signed a letter at Tuesday’s meeting voicing their opposition to state Measure No. 5. To read the letter, submitted by the North Dakota Association of Counties, see page 4.