Reference no: EM133284608
Transportation Improvements
Polk County is the largest county in the state, yet it is one of the most sparsely populated. The fairly mountainous terrain is home to a number of lakes and forests, which provide great fishing and hunting for many of its residents as well as for visitors. Winters can be pretty rough. Both the average age of its population and the percentage of people over the age of 65 are substantially higher than the state statistics.
The county seat, Mainville, is located in the eastern side of the county. With a population of 15,000, it is the largest town in the county. Most of the people from Mainville work for the hospital, the town school system, the town government, or the Big John's superstore just outside the town limits. The largest employer in the county is the state correctional institution for female offenders located in the southwestern part of the county.
A three-member board of commissioners governs the county. The current members are Commissioners Thomas, Richardson, and Harold, all from remote regions of the county. Each receives a minimal stipend for serving on the board and travel to Mainville once a week for the commissioners' meeting at the county office budding. Commissioners Thomas and Harold are retired. Commissioner Richardson lives on the western edge of the county and is a foreman at Ye Olde Saw Mill in the adjacent western county.
JR is the supervisor for the county Transportation Department; he lives in Mainville. Most of the department's budget is used to clear and salt the roads during the long winters, and for minimal maintenance. Until about five years ago, when Mainville resident and state senator Joe Schmooze passed away, the Transportation Department received a special allocation of state funds. JR worked for Joe, the prior supervisor for the county Transportation Department, and they became friends. Joe, after years of being reelected and gaining seniority in the Senate, was named the head of the Transportation Committee. With his position, Joe was able to make sure funds were available each year for Polk County. The new state senator representing Polk County is focused on economic development for the county, not on transportation.
Without the special state allocation, county roads have progressively deteriorated. Several critical projects need to be done: the entrance to Big John's superstore, Elk Mountain Road, and ab ridge on County Route 1045. With the budget situation, JR is worried that none of the projects may get done. The commissioners will not be willing to raise taxes, but they may allocate funds from another department's budget to pay for such projects. The final decision is to be made by the commissioners at their September 15 budget meeting.
JR is working with his summer intern, Zachary, a resident of Mainville, to pull together information about each of the projects by August 15. Zachary is starting his senior year as a civil engineering major at the state university this fall. JR is worried if he does not present a good case for at least one of the projects, then the commissioners probably will not fund any of them. He isv ery concerned that all three are disasters waiting to happen.
"Why don't the commissioners just give you the money for all three projects?" Zachary asked JR.
"I wish it was that simple," replied JR. "They don't want to raise taxes, and even if they did, we are a poor county and the people probably wouldn't have the money to pay any more taxes anyway. They also have other budgets to think about besides just the Transportation Department.
I'm sure all the other county departments would like more money, too.
"Zachary, I'm hoping that some of what you learned at that university is going to help you put together what I need-a priority ranking of the three projects and the information on each one tob ack it up. I know the commissioners are going to ask a lot of questions, and I need to be prepared.
If we're lucky, they'll approve the project we recommend. If we don't have a good story to help them with a decision, they may just argue about it and deadlock with no decision. And we won't get any money for any of the projects. Yep, I think this will give you an opportunity to get a different kind of education than you get at the university. Why don't we get together next week, and you can give me your ideas about how you'll tackle this? This may be a bigger job than yout hink. I want you to work on it full-time for the next two months. This is very important, and I want to have a thorough job."
Zachary pulled together the following information for the meeting with JR about the three projects. Zachary realized that he had a personal connection to each.
The first project, the entrance to Big John's superstore, is off a two-lane highway at the base of the hill. It is difficult for cars traveling in one direction to see cars traveling in the opposite direction until they come over the crest. This makes it difficult for the cars turning left into the store and for those pulling out of the parking lot. A number of accidents have occurred. Just months ago, Peggy Sue Suite, one of Zachary's best friends from high school, was seriously hurt when a pick-up truck struck her car from behind as she was waiting to turn left into the store's entrance.
The number of cars traveling on the road has increased over the last three years since the store opened. Several residents have raised concerns at the commissioners' meetings in the past. The commissioners just said people have to be careful. JR had approached the store manager about helping to pay for the road improvements to widen the road to add a turning lane or install a traffic light. JR is concerned if something is not done, someone will get killed there eventually. The manager replied, "Big John's superstore has been a good community citizen for the county because it has created jobs, kept its prices low, gave discounts to senior citizens, and donated a percentage of is sales receipts to various charities and fund raisers in the county. We are barely making a profit. If we don't make a profit, corporate headquarters will close it down, and a lot of people will lose their jobs." The manager did sympathize with JR about the highway safety issue. Zachary also learned that many people go to the store because there are no other shopping malls in the county and that Commissioner Thomas's wife works at the store part-time.
The second project is to widen and repair Elk Mountain Road in the northwest part of the county. The winters have taken their toll on the road and left it with large, deep potholes. The increase in unemployment in the county has led to an increase in independent loggers using the road to bring logs from Elk Mountain to several sawmills, including Ye Olde Saw Mill in the adjacent county. The lack of repair over the years and the heavy trucks are causing the road to deteriorate even faster. Both Commissioners Thomas and Richardson have seen the worsening
conditions of the road; they use it frequently to go hunting and fishing on Elk Mountain. Each has received an earful of complaints from friends who use the road.
Zachary knows how bad the road is from personal experience. Last week, he had had to wire his car's muffler and tailpipe to the frame because the bracket had rusted. While driving up Elk Mountain Road, Zachary was nearly sideswiped by a logging truck that was much bigger than his little car; he was forced off the side of the road. The low-hanging tailpipe and muffler were ripped off Zachary's car as he hit a large pothole.
The third project, County Road 1045, is the main road to the state correctional institution in the southwestern part of the county. Near the prison is a bridge over Crockett Creek that barely passed the last state inspection four years ago. Each spring during the winter thaw, Crockett Creek threatens to wash out the bridge. If the bridge washes out or is closed, the detour would be nearly 15 miles for most of the people who work at the prison.
Commissioner Thomas suggested at a meeting last year, "Let's wait until the bridge washes out and then maybe the state will give the county money to build a new bridge. Besides, all thosep eople who work at the prison make a lot of money compared to all the retired people on a fixed income." Commissioner Harold, whose daughter is a correctional officer at the prison, was quite angry and got into a shouting match at the meeting with Commissioner Thomas. Zachary's brother is also a correctional officer at the prison. He has said to Zachary, "It is just
a matter of time until Crockett Creek bridge collapses or is washed out. I swear I can feel it shake when I go over it. I just hope that I am not on it or my girlfriend (Commissioner Harold's daughter) isn't on it at the moment it happens."
CASE QUESTIONS
1. What are the needs that have been identified?
2. What are the various objectives?
3. What are the risks?
4. What needs to be done before presenting the various cases to JR?
5. What criteria should Zachary use to evaluate the projects?
6. What assumptions should he make?
7. What additional data and information should he gather, and how should he go about gathering the data and information?
8. After he has evaluated each project against the evaluation criteria, how should he decide the priority of the three projects?
9. What are your initial thoughts and impressions when reading this story?