The McPherson County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved purchases of replacement culvert pipe totaling $54,598.80 and authorized a $6,300 tire purchase for county equipment, while public works staff said a Groveland Bridge bid opening is scheduled and a low-water crossing project at Roxbury was delayed.

Public works director David Bonham Bliss told the commissioners the county will open bids for the Groveland Bridge the following day and bring contractor recommendations to the board next Monday. He said the county will give contractors scheduling latitude because many bridge contractors are busy. Bliss also reported training this week on GPS surveying equipment to improve use of recently purchased equipment.

Kevin (public works staff) presented the culvert purchase request and said, “The total purchase of the pipes is gonna be $54,598.80.” He told commissioners that quoted prices will be locked by placing the order because vendor quotes are only good for 30 days. Kevin said some culverts originally planned for 2025 will be installed this year because of unplanned work from sinkholes and washouts.

A motion to approve pipe purchases split between McPherson Concrete ($19,001.76) and J & J Drainage ($35,004.21), for a combined total not to exceed $54,598.80, carried on an aye vote. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the minutes provided.

Fleet maintenance foreman Mike Evans asked the board to approve new tires for loader number 82. A motion to accept a quote from Smoky Valley Tire for $6,300 installed passed on an aye vote. Evans said the current tires were purchased in 2021, were swapped from another machine in 2022, and come with a limited workmanship warranty that would cover certain defects in the first year.

Bliss said the Roxbury low-water crossing work will be delayed because the site is too wet and the county plans to revisit options and may move resources to the Marquette project. He said the county is aiming to keep the low-volume road structure modest and try to stay under a $20,000 budget if a low-water crossing is built.

Bliss also reported a power outage at the asphalt plant that caused delivery delays and said he expects to return to the board with an updated recommendation on Roxbury and other road work next week.

The items were discussed during the public works section of the meeting; the culvert and tire purchases were approved as motions of the board.