Montgomery County to seek bids for paint striping and hay harvest; road overlay scheduled on Tenth Street corridor

Montgomery County commissioners agreed to solicit bids for the county's 2025 paint-striping program and for a hay-harvest contract at the county landfill, and received an update on a planned asphalt overlay on Tenth Street Road.

County public-works staff said the striping work will cover roughly 33 miles in areas scheduled for chip seal and asphalting this year. "We're around 33 for the stuff for chip sealing and scribe," the staff member said. Commissioners agreed to open the paint-striping contract to bids.

The board also discussed reissuing a hay-harvest permit for land at the former county barn off Turkey Farm Road (County Road 2600). Staff said the property totals about 77 acres, with roughly 40 acres estimated as usable for hay. Commissioners approved posting the property for competitive bids and directed that the new contract be offered for three years, covering the 2025–2027 seasons. Staff said the county's prior agreement, which included fertilizer and lasted three years starting in 2022, has expired.

On road work, staff reported that crews began asphalting last week and placed over 500 tons while weather permitted. The planned Tenth Street Road project will run from Highway 166 south of Dearing north to the four-lane south of Independence, a distance staff estimated at 10.6 miles, and will be an inch-and-a-half overlay. The staff member said the contractor will work with traffic control and pilot cars so the road is not closed entirely: "They'll have to have ... pilot car. Let them around when they're working on 1 lane at a time. So it will be an inconvenience, but it won't be a total shutdown." Commissioners asked staff to provide public notice and timing when the contractor sets a schedule.

Commissioners discussed how long striping and overlays typically take; staff said overlay crews can often do multiple lane miles per day depending on the contractor. There was no formal ordinance or binding multi-year commitment associated with these directions; commissioners gave staff authorization to advertise the work and report back with bids and schedules.

Less urgent items discussed during the same public-works update included regular maintenance planning and continuing to monitor chip-seal schedules; staff said final completion could extend into early next week depending on weather and contractor availability.

The county did not record a separate formal vote on the paint-striping advertisement or the hay-permit term during the transcripted exchange; the minutes show commissioners and staff agreeing to proceed with bidding and to offer a three-year harvest contract starting in 2025.