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Elbert County to seek contracted roadside weed spraying; Noxious Weed Board gives inaugural Gene Allen Memorial Award
Summary
The county’s Noxious Weed Advisory Board described outreach and an intended contract for roadside spraying to free up road and bridge crews. The board also presented the first Gene Allen Memorial Award to Marilyn Tyson for on‑ranch weed control work.
Members of Elbert County’s Noxious Weed Advisory Board briefed the commissioners March 12 on education, mapping and plans to contract roadside weed spraying, and recognized a local landowner with a newly established award.
Kevin Hall, chair of the advisory board, said the county will move toward contracting professional weed‑spray companies to treat county rights‑of‑way. “It appears as though we’re going to get contracting out for the weed spraying and the rights of way for private contractors, which will allow Road and Bridge to do their job much better,” Hall said. Road and Bridge and public‑works staff said county blade operators currently attempt to identify and record weed locations, but that mapping the infestations into the state’s database is time consuming and draws crew time away from maintenance.
Monty Hankins, public works director, said contractors will bring specialized equipment, dyes to mark treated areas for inspection and automated reporting that will feed the state database. He said the county issued a bid and expected a bid opening shortly; county staff said nearby counties already contract this work.
The board highlighted public outreach efforts—booths at fairs and county events, partnerships with CSU Master Gardeners and printed leaflets—and said the county allocates roughly $10,000 annually to the weed board for outreach. The board asked for continued administrative support from county staff to maintain outreach and data submission.
The board formally gave the inaugural Gene Allen Memorial Award for excellence in weed management to Marilyn Tyson and the late Rowan Tyson in recognition of their long‑running control efforts on their ranch. Commissioners thanked the board and praised community outreach.
No formal vote was required on the advisory board’s presentation; commissioners asked staff to report back on the contractor selection and performance metrics for roadside spraying.
