Like the sands around the unusually high water of the Great Lakes, summer is washing away before our eyes. From what I see on social media, it seems like many people are already sending their kids back to school. We Northerners hold off on school until after Labor Day, which is also when our Highway Department aims to have most of its mainline road construction done. 

Along with the NACE Executive Committee, several past presidents, and many other NACE Members, I travelled to Clark County, Nevada for the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference. Aside from surviving the 110°F heat, the general purpose of the visit was to participate in the Transportation Policy Steering Committee. NACE's presence on this committee has increased substantially over the years, and our members now make up approximately one third of the committee, the remainder of which is filled out by elected county commissioners and representatives. We are also lucky enough to have two of our past presidents serving in committee leadership. Richie Beyer is a Committee Vice-Chair, and Rich Sanders is the Vice-Chair of the Highway Safety Subcommittee. Dan Fedderly, Executive Director from WCHA, is also a Vice-Chair of the Highway Safety Subcommittee. Our aim in participating on this committee is to be recognized as the "Technical Experts on Local Roads and Infrastructure". When it comes to policy-making decisions affecting transportation, we want NACE to have a very important role.

Our members sponsored four of the 13 policy resolutions adopted by the committee. Significant focus was placed on the streamlining of federal aid delivery and finding a way for counties to spend this money with fewer strings attached. This continues to be a strong area of focus for NACE, whether dealing with NACo or our elected representatives in Washington, DC.

Read On