Pocahontas County board accepts $416,156 road contract after 4-1 vote; tables five-year plan

The Pocahontas County Board of Supervisors accepted Peterson Contractors Inc.'s low bid of $416,156.05 for DOT Contract 76-C076-078, Project BROS-C076(78)-8J-76 after Engineer Tate Schmeling presented the March 17 bid results. The motion to accept the bid passed 4-1; Supervisor Peter Seehusen cast the lone dissenting vote.

Schmeling also asked the board to approve an Independent Contractor Agreement for Gary Atherton for a six-month term, which the board approved on the same 4-1 margin. Schmeling presented the county's DOT FY27 budget and the board approved that budget unanimously.

The board voted to table final approval of the DOT five-year program after Schmeling said there were minor changes that need review. The supervisors likewise tabled a decision on whether the county will subsidize landowners' dust-control applications this year; Schmeling was asked to check prior-year spending on the subsidy before the board takes up the matter again.

The supervisors authorized two providers—Pro Co-op and Deno's Dust Control (which replaced Wessel's)—to perform dust-control work on county roads. Schmeling presented a 2026 crack-sealing quote from Bargen Incorporated; after removing the line item for N57 the board approved the remaining Bargen quote for $421,788.00. Schmeling said the county will also test a self-application method using equipment borrowed from Palo Alto.

The board's transportation decisions reflect a mix of routine maintenance planning and short-term contracting; the split votes on the contract and the contractor agreement indicate at least one supervisor was inclined to restrain road-related spending. The board did not set new policy on the dust-control subsidy and deferred larger planning for the DOT five-year program to a subsequent meeting.

The board first considered these highway and maintenance items during the March 24 meeting of the Pocahontas County Board of Supervisors; next steps include staff follow-up on prior-year subsidy expenditures and the revised five-year program before final approval.