Vanport County commissioners on Sept. 2 recorded receipt of $1,122,000 in flex fund dollars and approved a budget amendment to reserve the amount in the highway account for two county priorities: Legal Drain 4 (construction estimated 2027) and a proposed intersection improvement at US 2 and County 5.
County engineering staff presented a slate of transportation projects for possible flex fund or state grant applications. County staff said the projects align with state priorities and that the county’s willingness to provide local match can affect grant ranking: proposals with a 50% or greater local match are given higher priority than those with lower or no match.
County engineer Nick West (identified in the meeting as the lead county engineer) described projects the county submitted for grant consideration, including five county bridge replacements; a Manville Avenue concrete pavement preservation project (seeking full grant funding and letters of DOT and municipal support); an application related to Pacific Avenue in Thompson with several cost‑share scenarios (80/20 and 50/50 splits) that the commission tabled to await Thompson’s decision; a County Road 5 flood‑mitigation project focused on a two‑mile northern segment to keep that stretch open during moderate floods (proposed 80/20 cost share); and a township‑road minor‑structure replacement application covering 16 locations across 11 townships with an estimated total project cost of $1.8 million (county share proposed at 20%).
The board approved the budget amendment to reserve the flex funds and took action on several applications: it authorized staff to apply for the Manville Avenue project, approved submission of the township minor‑structure application and the County Road 5 northern segment application, and asked staff to seek municipal concurrence and letters of support where needed. The Thompson Pacific Avenue project was tabled to the Sept. 16 meeting to coordinate the county’s cost‑share position with the city.
Commissioners also asked staff to coordinate with the Water Resource District and the Red River basin authorities on the larger County Road 5 hydraulic solutions and to present a plan for coordination and cost‑sharing. Several projects were approved by voice vote; specific engineering scopes and final match amounts will be confirmed in follow‑up meetings if grants are awarded.