Administration of town road improvements under the local roads improvement program. (FE)

This bill provides additional details related to the administration of LRIP. First, the bill requires DOT to establish a statewide town road improvement committee (statewide town committee) made up of 15 members appointed by DOT, at least 12 being town officials. The statewide town committee is responsible for 1) establishing criteria for the selection of town road improvements to be funded under the discretionary and supplemental grant components of LRIP, 2) recommending projects for funding under those components, and 3) contracting with persons to act as project facilitators for projects under these components. Second, the bill requires the creation of county-level town road improvement committees (county-level town committees) consisting of a maximum of five town chairpersons or their designees in each county. These county-level town committees are responsible for the ranking of town road improvement projects for the county for which funding will be requested under the discretionary and supplemental grant components of LRIP. They also determine whether to use project facilitators provided by the statewide town committee or county highway commissioners for project facilitation. Third, the bill also establishes in each group of towns located in the geographic area of each Wisconsin Towns Association District a regional town road improvement committee consisting of the chairperson or designee of the chairperson from each county-level town committee located in the district. These committees are responsible for ranking the town road improvement projects in the district for which funding will be requested under the discretionary and supplemental grant components of LRIP.

The bill also sets a variety of deadlines, including:

1. No later than August 1 of each odd-numbered year, for release of application materials by DOT.

2. No later than November 15 of each odd-numbered year, for towns to notify county-level town committees of the projects selected for funding consideration.

3. No later than January 1 of each even-numbered year, for each county-level town committee to select projects for the entitlement component and rank projects fo the discretionary and supplemental grant components.

4. No later than January 15 of each even-numbered year, for the county-level town committee to provide completed applications for funding and grants to DOT.

5. No later than March 15 of each even-numbered year, for the statewide town committee to select improvements for funding under the discretionary and supplemental grant components.

6. No later than March 15 of each even-numbered year, for each town to enter into an agreement with DOT regarding improvements funded under the entitlement component.

7. No later than April 15 of each even-numbered year, for each town to enter into an agreement with DOT regarding improvements funded under the discretionary and supplemental grant components.

Current law limits improvements eligible for funding under LRIP to improvements with a projected design life of at least 10 years and provides additional limitations on funding double seal coat projects on town roads. This bill eliminates the additional limitations on funding double seal coat projects and provides that, in determining whether a project has a projected design life of at least 10 years, DOT may not rely on any categorical determination or generalized assumption regarding the performance or useful life of any paving material or construction method and may not determine that a project for which reimbursement is requested has a projected design life of less than 10 years unless the determination is based on a review of the particular project by a registered professional engineer or county highway commissioner.

Current law limits the town road improvement projects that may be performed by a county under LRIP. Among other requirements, such projects may only be awarded to a county upon receipt of insufficient bids from noncounty bidders. This bill also prohibits counties from 1) contracting for a town road improvement if the written and sealed estimate for that improvement was prepared by that county, 2) preparing a written and sealed estimate for a town road improvement in another county, and 3) commencing a town road improvement unless the town has made certain required notifications. Also under this bill, if a county violates any of these prohibitions or if a county enters into a contract with a town for an LRIP project and the county contracting requirements are not followed, the county is prohibited from performing LRIP projects for towns for two years.