A local resident asked Page County supervisors whether the surfacing of J-52 will appear on the county's 2026 agenda, and County Engineer JD King gave a multi-part update on roads, equipment and the county’s fiscal reporting to the Department of Transportation. The public comment came from Mike Barton of Eighth Street, who said the area has been "without a hard surface road for quite some time" and asked whether the project would run “from 260th Street all the way to the Taylor County line.”

King told the board his crews have been blading gravel roads, addressing shoulder rock, mowing, performing spray patching where seal coats are failing and preparing equipment for end-of-season work. He said the sign truck has been built and is awaiting transport and that the county is evaluating a lease program that would lease a tractor while purchasing a pull-behind mower to reduce capital cost.

The engineer said the county mixed leftover salt with sand for winter material and that a transmission issue left one truck still in Omaha. King described ongoing site work on several bridges and roads, and said fog sealing on J-20 from Russell Corner east to Bethesda Corner was delayed by rain and rescheduled. He also noted crews were clearing Beaver Dam locations and doing service work at the shop.

On finance and DOT reporting, King told supervisors the county’s FY25 annual report to the Department of Transportation — which he said is due to DOT before Sept. 15 each year for the prior fiscal year — had been submitted in August, returned with a project omission, revised and approved. He explained DOT treats reimbursed expenditures differently: if the county writes a $2,000 check and is reimbursed $500, DOT’s reporting reduces the expenditure to $1,500 for DOT purposes, which differs from the county’s internal presentation. King said the department’s original 2025 budget estimated about a $2 million year-end balance; the county closed the year with about $2.5 million.

Board members asked questions about specific failing spots on J-52 and whether additional repairs are planned; King said crews will return to fix further deteriorating locations and that ongoing construction and truck traffic in the Shenandoah Hills area are contributing to new damage. No formal action was taken on the surfacing question during the meeting; the resident’s request was voiced during public comment and the board did not vote on routing J-52 to next year’s agenda.

The discussion also covered logistics: King said he and staff would attend a regional transportation meeting in Saint Joseph and that the county continues to gather paperwork for equipment purchases and lease proposals. He asked supervisors to review the FY25 DOT report package; a supervisor reminded colleagues that budget presentation and DOT reporting use different accounting conventions and that next year’s budget should reflect the recent outlays.