Monthly PresidentIAL
& Vice President Update
August 2023 | Rich Sanders, P.E.
I want to start by thanking the NACE Executive Committee for appointing me for another two years as the NACE Representative on the NACo Board. Being able to sit and visit with County Commissioners nationwide about transportation issues and how NACE can be their transportation experts is fun and exhilarating.
To say things are heating up is an understatement. The NACE Executive Committee met at the NACo Annual Conference in Austin Texas, July 20th – 25th where the high temperatures were around 105 each day.
NACE was able to take two of its priorities and advance them within NACo and change them from a resolution to a platform item.
The first was NACo urges federal policy makers to implement long-term consistent measures that would eliminate regulatory impediments on Local and State sponsored federal aid projects to achieve our shared goals of strengthening transportation networks, improving public safety and advancing economic competition. NACo further believes counties should be permitted to make a distinction between products that are statewide and local in character, with requirements for local projects being much less complex.
The second being NACo believes Congress should directly allocate funding for maintenance and construction for highways and bridges owned and operated by local governments.
Both of these were brought forward by our Legislative Committee. Thank you, Luke McGinty and Wayne Sandberg, for getting this done.
The NACo Transportation Steering Committee approved seven other resolutions that will be available on their website soon.
Kevan Stone, NACE Executive Director and Brad Roseberry, Coalition Against Bigger Trucks gave a presentation to the committee on Heavier Trucks, Big Problem: Examining the Impacts of Heavy Trucks on Local Bridges - Federal bridge studies have traditionally focused on highways and major connectors, leaving out critical local bridges that also bear the impacts of heavy trucks and where resources to maintain and operate these bridges may be severely limited. Hear from our partners at the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks and the National Association of County Engineers who together recently completed a study that seeks to bridge this gap. Brad is hoping to get 1000 signatures on a letter to congress regarding this study and to prevent future legislation increasing Legal Gross Vehicle Weights from being enacted. If you wish to sign the letter, please contact Brad Roseberry or Kevan Stone and they will help you get signed up.
Mary Jo McGuire (Ramsey County MN Commissioner) is the new President of NACo. James Gore (Sanoma County CA Commissioner) is the new First Vice President and JD Clark (Wise County TX Judge) is the newly elected Second Vice President. They all will be great advocates of ours. The Honorable Eileen Higgins (Commissioner, Miami-Dade County, FL) was again appointed the Transportation Policy Steering Committee Chair. I will again be a Vice Chair on the Committee. Other Members will be listed on the NACo Website soon.
If you run into any issues that you feel rise to the level of a national concern, please contact Kevan, Luke McGinty or Wayne Sandberg to get it in front of NACE. Contact Jessica Jennings (NACo) or myself and we will make sure to get it in front of the NACo Transportation Steering Committee for their consideration.
.jpg)
