A special meeting of the Grant County magistrates on Sept. 22, 2025, approved a list of 11 roads to be advertised for bid and adopted Resolution 2025-08 to allocate flex funds for fiscal year 2025, both actions passed by a show of hands with all members present voting in favor.

The approvals are intended to meet an Oct. 1 deadline for submitting candidate roads to the transportation cabinet for possible funding. County staff said the bids will give planners a cost estimate for resurfacing work, but that final acceptance by the transportation cabinet and the timing of resurfacing may require rebidding if the work falls in a later fiscal year.

“The purpose that we put this out for bid is so that we can meet the October 1 deadline to submit these 11 roads with 2 other roads that we've already bid out, so we can request funding through transportation cabinet,” the Presiding Magistrate said during the meeting.

County staff member Shawna (last name not specified in the transcript) told magistrates the list was prepared after meetings with the road supervisor and reflects upkeep, maintenance and repair needs identified by the county. She said the county’s local engineer, Jerry Keith, will perform the formal scoring used by the transportation cabinet’s Local Assistance Road Program (LARP) and that candidate roads must score at least 10 to be eligible for this round of LARP funding.

“Ultimately, they’re the ones that make the decision,” a magistrate said, describing the cabinet’s role in ranking and selecting roads for funding, and staff added that the county submits recommendations and the cabinet’s local engineer performs the evaluation.

The magistrates also approved Resolution 2025-08 to use fiscal 2025 flex funds for road work. The Presiding Magistrate said the resolution may be modified because some paving work spans fiscal years 2025 and 2026 and an auditor had requested documentation to ensure funds are not double-counted for the same road. The magistrates approved the resolution as presented and a staff member said the county expects to return to a special meeting later in the week with additional documents and a possible amendment.

“I received an email Friday from Kelly Johnson ... she was needing clarifications for audit and make sure that they weren't using two years of funds for the same road,” the Presiding Magistrate said, adding that the county had clarified it would pave a portion of Napoleon Zion Station Road in the current action and use a mix of FY2025 and FY2026 funds across the three roads named in the request.

During questions from Magistrate Debbie (last name not specified), staff clarified the published list of 11 roads is not ordered by priority; staff and the road supervisor developed the candidate list and the transportation cabinet will determine which roads are most in need based on the engineer’s scores. Staff also noted that two additional roads — previously advertised with flex funds — will be included in the county’s submission to the cabinet.

Votes at a glance:
- Motion to approve the bid list for 11 roads to be advertised for bid: motion made and seconded on the record; vote: all members present voted in favor; outcome: approved.
- Motion to adopt Resolution 2025-08 (flex funds for FY2025): motion made and seconded on the record; vote: all members present voted in favor; outcome: approved. (Resolution text on file with the county; staff said the resolution could be amended pending additional documentation requested for audit.)

The magistrates recessed after confirming a special meeting to replace the Oct. 3 regular meeting, scheduled for 11 a.m., and noted another special meeting later in the week to finalize documentation related to the flex funds.

Notes: The county identified roads by local names during the meeting, including Kendall Road, Napoleon Zion Station Road (a portion), Case Lane, Sherman Newtown Road, and Reeves Road. Staff cautioned that when final resurfacing occurs in a later fiscal year the county may be required to rebid the work.