Shakopee Mdewakanton's $150,000 Donation Buys Scott County Pothole Patcher

It's going to be a smoother ride driving around Shakopee this summer.

Scott County is applying a $150,000 donation from the The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community toward the purchase of an automatic road-repairing machine called a "pothole patcher."

“I couldn’t even begin to estimate the number of potholes we fill every year,” Scott County Board Chair Tom Wolf said in a statement.  “This new machine will allow us to repair them more quickly, at up to half of the cost, with a technique that will extend the life of the patch by an additional three years.  That’s good news for the residents and visitors to Scott County, and we thank the SMSC leadership for their generosity.”

The $217,000 machine arrived at the end of April. Only one staff member is needed to run the machine, five fewer employees than were required to repair potholes by manually cleaning out loose debris and filling the hole with an asphalt/aggregate mixture.

“Being a good neighbor is very important to our Community,” said SMSC Chairman Charlie Vig in a statment.  “We are glad to help with the purchase of this equipment, which will help the County’s road maintenance department become even more efficient.”