By Sara Quam
Township road signs are an increasingly important issue in rural Rock County with all surrounding counties having similar signage in place.
The only factor that has so far prevented the county from completing the signs is cost - about $70,000 for the project.
The issue was addressed at a joint townships and county board meeting Friday, Dec. 8, with an informal tally resulting in an almost even split among those in favor of, against or undecided about signs.
Terri Ebert, Rock County Sheriff Department dispatcher, said that in her opinion, it’s a necessary expenditure.
Ebert said one cause for the need is that without rural addresses, US West doesn't give the sheriff’s office updates on its new customers' locations.
Just Tuesday, that situation came into play when a woman called 911 and the only information dispatchers received on their computer system was her telephone number. They received no location and no name, which would have helped dispatchers get help to her. In this case, the woman could tell the dispatcher where she was, but not all people who call 911 are able to do that.
"We have the computers and the capability; we just need the addresses," Ebert said. "We try to have directions ready, but the old system that went by those directions is obsolete."
If the county goes ahead with the signing project, rural route addresses would become street addresses with house numbers, and the dispatch mapping system would correspond with those.
Emergency crews responding to the dispatches now follow directions by a plat map with information on township, section numbers and other directions to the location. But in cases of newly located residents or children who can’t say where they are, that system may not work.
"We don’t want to be playing games when it’s people's lives," Ebert said.
Dispatchers aren't the only personnel looking forward to an organized numbering system to roads. Delivery companies, service workers and people trying to find a business or residence in rural areas usually find road signs more helpful than not.
A matter of cost
Township board members who said they weren’t interested in the project indicated they either thought it was unnecessary or too costly.
For those who thought it was a matter of cost, they learned most other counties have split the cost with townships. With almost 540 signs needed within the county, the cost to townships would be almost $5,000 each, which the county would likely pay for initially and then get reimbursed for.
County Engineer Mark Sehr has mapped a tentative numbering system that will match Pipestone and Nobles counties. He said he chose to use numbers instead of named roads because they are easier to follow as a driver and because signs with names are more likely to be vandalized or stolen.
The dollar amount townships may be asked to pay is the estimate if the signs are done this year. That could increase with each year the project is postponed.
The county would pay all the costs for the computer mapping system, but it is uncertain who would be responsible for maintenance.
The meeting with the townships was for information only, and no decisions were made. The county wants input from the townships, although their approval is not needed to go forward with signing the roads.