Chairman Solmes called the regular meeting of the Barry County Road Commission to order at the Road Commission’s Board Room at 6:30 A.M.
Members present: Solmes, James, Knight, and Managing Director Jake Welch.
The agenda for December 16, 2025 was approved.
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Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to approve the following consent items:
- Minutes of Previous Board Meetings – December 2, 2025
- Payroll
- Bills
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
CHECK NAME AMOUNT
12/4/25 Barry County Road Commission Payroll $160,016.73
Bills:
12/4/25
| Check Number | Vendor Name | Check Amount |
| 48196 | Aaron Boeske | $941.88 |
| 48197 | Action Traffic Maintenance Inc | $818.00 |
| 48198 | Alec Belson | $80.00 |
| 48199 | Bert Keeler | $380.00 |
| 48200 | Black Gold Holdings LLC | $2,815.20 |
| 48201 | Brandy Casey | $308.51 |
| 48202 | Brian Donnini | $80.00 |
| 48205 | Capital One Bank | $26,310.65 |
| 48206 | Charles Benedict | $552.54 |
| 48207 | Chris BeBeau | $80.00 |
| 48208 | Christyl Burnett | $45.00 |
| 48209 | Culligan Water Conditioning | $65.00 |
| 48210 | D & K Truck Company | $7,024.09 |
| 48211 | David Liddell | $80.00 |
| 48212 | Delta Dental | $57.66 |
| 48213 | Detroit Salt Company LLC | $88,160.91 |
| 48214 | Dylan Kennedy | $260.09 |
| 48215 | Frontline Maintenance & Serv. | $2,380.50 |
| 48216 | Gary Vandecar | $552.54 |
| 48217 | Geiger Printers | $524.36 |
| 48218 | Hastings Ace Hardware | $267.50 |
| 48219 | Jake Welch | $300.00 |
| 48220 | Jonathan Norris | $787.43 |
| 48221 | Kalamazoo Valley Comm. College | $130.00 |
| 48222 | Kendall Pranshka | $276.28 |
| 48223 | Kent Rubber Supply Co. | $632.48 |
| 48224 | Key Cleaning Services, Inc. | $681.00 |
| 48225 | Kimball Midwest | $1,239.61 |
| 48226 | Lakeland Asphalt Corp | $23,457.50 |
| 48227 | Larry Maupin | $552.54 |
| 48228 | LRE Engineers & Surveyors | $22,037.55 |
| 48229 | Mark Weeks | $340.00 |
| 48230 | Mika, Meyers, Beckett & Jones | $170.00 |
| Check Number | Vendor Name | Check Amount |
| 48231 | Morgan Site Services | $921.00 |
| 48232 | Patricia Wolf | $276.28 |
| 48233 | Priority Health | $24,565.03 |
| 48234 | Reed & Hoppes, Inc. | $1,050.00 |
| 48235 | Ridderman Oil | $23,050.00 |
| 48236 | Robert Nagel | $276.28 |
| 48237 | Scott Bond | $80.00 |
| 48238 | Scott Schantz Jr. | $80.00 |
| 48239 | Shannon Elston | $45.00 |
| 48240 | Tom Chaffee | $276.28 |
| 48241 | Truck & Trailer Specialties | $5,198.29 |
| 48242 | UniFirst Corporation | $133.60 |
| 48243 | US Hydraulics LLC | $1,049.62 |
| 48244 | Valley Truck Parts, Inc | $3,938.99 |
| 48245 | Vork Brothers Painting, LLC | $24,540.00 |
| 48246 | Wayne Moore | $407.20 |
| 48247 | Wayne Roush | $276.28 |
| 48248 | Yellow Rose Transport, Inc. | $254,109.47 |
| Total | $522,662.14 |
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Managing Director Jake Welch gave the Board an update on the Road Funding and when the funding might be available. Mr. Welch also reviewed with the Board the adjustments to the list of projects and equipment the Road Commission is planning to do with this funding.
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The following bids were opened on December 4, 2025 at 10:30 A.M.
Spray Foam Installation:
| BID ITEMS | Devos Insulation | RAM Construction Services |
| Spray Foam Insulation | $198,805.60 | $299,875 |
Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to award the Spray Foam Insulation to Devos Insulation as low bidder.
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
Used Excavator:
| Bid Items | Units | MacAllister Equipment | Reco Equipment | AIS Equipment | Alta Equipment |
| Used Excavator | ea | $225,750.00 | $232,750.00 | $239,500.00 | $222,500.00 |
| Option #2 | $212,500.00 |
Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to award the Used Excavator bid to MacAllister Equipment for a 2019 330 Excavator for $225,750.
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
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Used Loader:
| Bid Items | Units | MacAllister Equipment | Reco Equipment | AIS Equipment | Alta Equipment |
| Used Loader | ea | $249,950.00 | $209,500.00 | $249,500.00 | $257,500.00 |
| Option #2 | $244,900.00 | $305,000.00 | |||
| Option #3 | $307,500.00 |
Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to reject all bids in the best interest of the Barry County Road Commission.
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
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Managing Director Jake Welch and Equipment Superintendent Scott Schantz explained to the Board that the Tar Distributor that was approved to be purchased at the November 18, 2025 Board Meeting for $444,343 was not available until after the sealcoat season next year. AIS Construction has a 2025 Etnyre Distributor through the MiDeal program that has upgrades and is available immediately for $469,998.00. The warranty would not begin until we started using the Distributor.
Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to amend the motion from November 18, 2025 Board Meeting regarding the purchase of a Tar Distributor. The revised purchase price through the MiDeal program is $469,998.00.
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to set the bid date of January 15, 2026 for IT Upgrades, Well, and Overhead Crane.
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
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The bids for Timber Harvesting in the Chaffee Pit were opened on December 12, 2025 at 11:00 A.M.
Bidder Amount
Benner Logging, Inc. $26,301.00
Buskirk Lumber $23,374.00
Northwest Hardwoods, Inc. $25,798.00
Quality Hardwoods, Inc. $25,441.00
Motion was made by Commissioner James and seconded to award the Timber Harvesting bid for Chaffee Pit to Benner Logging, Inc. for $26,301.00 as high bidder.
ROLL CALL: Yeas, Solmes, James, & Knight
Nays, None
Motion Carried
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Managing Director Jake Welch invited the Board Members to return at 1:00 p.m. today to attend a ceremony in which the Barry County Road Commission will receive the TAMC Culvert Award. This new award recognizes a program that documents the locations of culverts throughout the county. To date, 2,165 culverts in Barry County have been recorded, including their size and GPS location.
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Meeting adjourned at 8:00 A.M.
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Secretary Chairman
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