The county board of commissioners, through the county highway department, has received a petition from Perham area residents calling for repairs of Highway 13 north of Highway 60.
This stretch of Highway 13, running north and south, is located in Corliss Township just south of the county line between Otter Tail and Becker counties. The roadway also is located north of Little Pine and Big Pine lakes.
County Engineer Chuck Grotte said the roadway is rated at 66 as part of the county's Pavement Quality Index (PQI). Repairs to these roadways are normally not made until the PQI decreases to a mark of 50.
However, area residents point to what they see as road crumbling in some areas along Highway 13.
Some county board members and county staff members planned to get a first-hand look after this issue was addressed at the county board meeting on Tuesday morning, April 2, at the County Government Services Center in Fergus Falls.
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Commissioners pointed that, in order to address all roadway repair needs, the county needs more financial assistance from the state and federal governments.
Otter Tail County has joined Minnesota's other 86 counties in pointing out a funding gap for the state's counties that has resulted in deferring basic road and bridge maintenance, delaying expansion projects and facing safety concerns.
County residents, as part of the annual county-wide tax levy, pay close to $3.5 million annually for road and bridge maintenance. About $14 million currently comes annually from the state of Minnesota.
Just under $1 million is provided to Otter Tail County from the federal government. The federal highway gas tax of 18.4 cents a gallon has not been raised by even one penny the past 26 years.
The county has a half-cent sales tax that yields about $3.8 million annually for roads and bridges. A fee of $20 per license tax renewal brings in $1.2 million on a yearly basis.
Otter Tail County is larger in size than the state of Rhode Island and paved roads total 1,062 miles.
"County residents, such as the petitioners in the Perham area, may need to help the county by agreeing to pay more taxes at the county level for roadway repairs," said Commissioner Wayne Johnson of Pelican Rapids.
"Right now we don't have the money needed to meet current requests from petitioners all across the county. Increased taxes for road projects may have to be part of the formula."
