Douglas County Offers Dust Palliative Program
01/20/2006
The Board of County Commissioners of Douglas County, through the Public Works Department, is making available a "user fee" dust palliative program to interested county residents. The program consists of applying liquid calcium chloride or magnesium chloride to rock roads in front of houses in an effort to reduce dust created by vehicles. The cost of this program shall be borne by individual residents who request to participate. The fees have been adjusted this year to reflect the anticipated market increase of the dust palliative material as well as the actual cost for road preparation. The cost of material, labor, equipment, and road preparation is anticipated to cost $1.00 per linear foot of roadway treated. The administrative fee of $45.00 per location will remain unchanged. The cost of application includes a road preparation fee ($0.38/LF) to help the maintaining agency (Township or County) recover a portion of the costs associated with preparing the roadway prior to application of the dust palliative solution. The administration fee reflects the actual cost of administrating the program. The expected life of dust reduction by this method is about one year. Every reasonable effort will be made to obtain the best practical dust reduction. Many variables influence the effectiveness of dust palliative, and neither the County nor the Townships warrant the effectiveness of these treatments. No refunds nor re-treatment will be made for poor performance, nor for reduced performance due to required road maintenance. This year's program is similar to last year's program in that no refunds of excess fees will be issued to program participants. If revenues from collected fees adequately exceed the cost of the initial treatment, a second dust palliative treatment will be applied to all previously treated locations. This program is made available to all residents in Douglas County living adjacent to public roadways. Cooperation with the Township Board is needed to prepare the road prior to application and protect it from blading as long as possible after treatment. Any Douglas County resident wishing further information about this program should contact the Douglas County Public Works Department at 1242 Massachusetts Street or call (785) 832-5293. Applications are available at the Douglas County Department of Public Works and pre-payment must be received in the Office of the Douglas County Department of Public Works by 5:00 P.M., Thursday, March 2, 2006 in order to participate in this program.
Related Links:
Douglas County Website - http://www.douglas-county.com
Media Contact:
Keith Browning, Public Works Director
Public Works Department
785-832-5293
browning@douglas-county.com