County will purchase road striping equipment

Mason County commissioners are set to approve almost half a million dollars for the purchase of a road striping machine after "contractors failed us," leaving miles of county roads without new paint in 2024, according to Commissioner Randy Neatherlin.

Commissioners will vote on the proposed $410,626 paint striping truck Jan. 21 at the regular commission meeting.

Mason County Public Works Director Loretta Swanson and County Engineer Mike Collins briefed commissioners Monday and also Dec. 16 about the issue.

"This purchase would eliminate the need for an annual contract," Collins said.

At the Dec. 16 briefing, Commissioner Kevin Shutty, who has since left to become the executive director of the Economic Development Council of Mason County, and Neatherlin said they had received emails and phone calls from residents about the striping.

Shutty said one resident voiced "concerns about the visibility of lines on McEwan Prairie and out in Agate."

Neatherlin said he had been tagged in "numerous posts" on Facebook regarding the condition of county road striping.

"We have contracted striping out forever. We use the same companies as the state does. This year, the contractors failed us," Neatherlin wrote in a Facebook post, saying the contractors completed a small amount of striping and many roads were "untouched."

He asked Swanson about the contractor at the Dec. 16 briefing.

"Was there an issue that occurred?"

"Absolutely there was an issue that occurred," Swanson replied.

She said half of the county gets striped every year, so every two years the whole county will be completed.

"There are only so many striping companies available to do this work." Swanson said.

"This year, the striping company was basically not able to complete what was in the contract and our crew actually was out on what I would best describe as a lawnmower, striping. And they striped 50 miles," she said.

County crews used equipment that was designed to stripe parking lots, she said.

"We did as much as we could," she said.

Swanson told the Journal in an email that the contractor completed some of the striping, but not all.

"One of the challenges the contractor had was waiting for a delayed paint order. Keep in mind there are only so many contractors providing this service, and cities and counties all need striping to occur during the same, short window of time," Swanson wrote.

Swanson and Collins told commissioners the contractor was only paid for completed work.

"Do we have any recourse against this company?" Neatherlin asked.

"We do not under the contract," Swanson said, explaining that the company was only paid for the work it completed, but there were no penalties for not finishing the job.

"We've had no need necessarily for that in the past," she said.

Collins said striping is temperature and weather dependent and usually takes place in August or September because the surface needs to be 60 degrees and dry.

Shutty asked what the lifespan was for the paint striping.

Collins said it depends on the traffic and the winters.

"If you have a lot of snow, salt, ice, sand, snowplows ... that kind of activity," he said.

Collins said glass beads on the paint could also get scratched off and the paint will still be there, "it just won't reflect."

"Glass beads are small glass spheres used in highway markings to provide the necessary retroreflectivity. The beads are dropped onto the wet marking material immediately after it is applied (drop-on beads) or premixed into the wet marking material. Proper installation of glass beads is critical to achieving good pavement marking retroreflectivity. Each glass bead works like a light-focusing lens, reflecting light back to the driver. Glass beads are embedded into the pavement marking material; for optimum performance, the bead is embedded between 55% and 60% of its diameter," according to a WSDOT striping design manual.

Swanson told the Journal purchasing the truck would be beneficial because the cost of striping has dramatically increased.

"During the past five years bids have nearly doubled, and contractors have not always been able to complete striping before wet weather sets in," according to Swanson.

"That's exactly why we're buying the striper. Control of our own destiny and cost," she told commissioners.

"It will pay for itself in a couple of years," Collins added.

Public Works has already budgeted $450,000 for striping in 2025.

The paint striping truck costs $410,626, "with $200,000 allocated from the 2025 striping program for the vehicle and $250,000 for the purchase of the paint," according to the proposal.

The money would come from the roads fund, Collins said Monday.

The truck comes with free delivery, a five-day training session for staff and a full service and parts manual, the proposal states.

Neatherlin was concerned that crews would be pulled off road maintenance to perform striping work.

"At what point do we consider bringing on a few more staff because we're taking on a lot?" Neatherlin asked.

Collins said a driver and two painters are needed and also one or two people in a "follow rig" behind the striper. The work can be completed in about three weeks, he said.

"We're doing quite well with the staff that we have," Collins said. He said the department is focusing on "permanent maintenance," instead of coming back repeatedly for repairs.

"We don't have to come back and fix that spot again," he said.

"I'm very supportive of getting this done," Neatherlin said at Monday's briefing.

"It's the beginning of us taking control of our own destiny," he said.