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Over the past several years, local apple growers have been buying up land in Badger <br />Pocket expanding apple growing operations. Most of the recent agricultural impact has <br />gone unmitigated owing to existing land use development requirements. The net impact <br />is additional wear and tear on county roads with increasing congestion for area residents. <br />Impacted roads include: Kaynor, Harold, Lawrence, Payne, Dodge, Denmark, <br />McDowell, Vanderbilt, Badger Pocket, Orchard, Fourth Parallel, and Thrall. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />Public Works has been gathering road data for the past couple of years preparing to <br />address growing congestion associated with new apple growing operations in Badger <br />Pocket. Identified issues include; restrictive right of way widths, impacts to existing <br />irrigation franchises, poor roadway geometries and poor roadway construction. Right of <br />Way acquisitions will significantly prohibit significant congestion improvements. <br />Following this briefing and with Board concurrence, PW will begin public outreach <br />efforts. <br />FISCAL IMPACTS: <br />Given the scale and scope of apple growing impacts on rural residential county roads, <br />PW anticipates a multi-year program rehabilitating, improving and re -constructing <br />numerous residential roads in Badger Pocket now being impacted by apple growing <br />operations. Two major growers are driving apple production expansion: Zirkle Fruit, <br />Chiawana Orchards and Columbia Reach. Anticipated costs are over seven million <br />dollars from preliminary assessments. Given the current financial project forecast, the <br />Department is on schedule to exhaust fund reserves in 2023. <br />ATTACHMENTS: <br />Exhibit 1: Proposed six-year transportation improvement plan <br />Exhibit 2: Map showing impacted roadways <br />Page 2 of 4 <br />PUBLIC WORKS BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />