Commissioner Bohannon complements highway dept. Councilman Harman discusses pothole machine

County Commissioner Jesse Bohannon addresses Highway Superintendent Jason Peters during the commissioner’s meeting on Monday, saying, “I want to thank you and your team. I texted this to you over the weekend, but I don’t think most people in the public appreciate the sacrifice that you guys make.  You guys are first responders.  Any time that we’ve got a snowstorm, any time we get the kind of weather we had Friday night.  Whatever you guys are doing, if you're out to dinner with your family or whatever, you get that call, and you’re out there on the road making sure that our people are safe.  Thank you for that.” 

The commissioner’s comments continued when he said he and Councilman Brandon Schadak recently drove a selection of roads in Union, Polk, North, and Center Townships that were repaired in the last 5 years to get a sense of the quality of work being done.  They looked at chip-and-seal roads, double chip roads, and roads that were reclaimed and chipped.  He said out of the 12 or 13 roads they looked at, “the work was good and holding up was good and we were encouraged.”   They did have some concerns about a section of Upas Road north of State Road 10.”  Bohannon said it looks like a preventative single chip over a rough road, which didn’t fix the road to a good standard.

Peters told him that what it boils down to is a quick maintenance project done to give the road an additional 3 to 5 years before they must reclaim the road and resurface it after it sits for some time.       

The commissioner said there are still a good number of roads that the county needs to get to, but the constraints are time and budget.  He said, “It’s not that you guys lack the skill or quality of work, we just have to get you more money and more time.” 

Following Commissioner Bohannon’s comments, the President of the Marshall County Council, Tim Harman, stepped forward to speak on Commissioner Bohannon’s comments.  He said the data from L-TAP showed in 2023 that 56% of the county’s roads were rated good to fair, and two years later, in 2025, that number increased to 74% because of the investment the county has made in its roads.

Harman encouraged the commissioner to continue “thinking outside the box.”  While the commissioners were supportive of purchasing a new $100,000 pothole patching machine for the highway department and paying for it by selling a piece of equipment that isn’t used anymore, the council denied the request. 

Harman stated that the commissioners are the managers of the highway department, and it’s on them to improve the roads.  He applauded the efforts of the new administration in looking for new ways to improve the roads, and said he felt the new equipment was needed and could be used as a backup to an older piece of equipment the county has.

Commissioner Stan Klotz said it is still the intention of the commissioner to obtain that piece of equipment and that he understands the council’s concerns. He said he’s looked at this for 2 years, and will try to raise the money for a new pothole machine, but he didn’t know the timeline.

Bohannon said it was suggested to him to approach the Elkhart County Highway Department and see if the county could borrow one of their pothole machines until we can purchase our second one.