Polk County appropriates finish-up funds for EMS and road projects from property-sale proceeds

At its April meeting, the Polk County Quorum Court approved requests to appropriate remaining sale proceeds and accrued interest to complete construction and finish-up costs on the county’s new EMS facility and on the county road department site, Judge Ben Cross said.

The move uses funds the county received from last year’s sale of two county properties and the interest those deposits earned while held in county accounts. Treasurer Larry Homan told the court the county deposited about $2,440,000 in December 2023 and that holding those proceeds has earned roughly $164,000 in interest to date. Homan also reported that gross sales and use tax collections for March were $459,001.82 and that year-to-date receipts are slightly above projections.

Why it matters: county leadership said the money covers remaining construction invoices, furnishings and unanticipated site work while keeping the county debt-free on the projects. Judge Ben Cross said the approach—leaving proceeds in the fund until vendors cash their checks—lets the county accrue additional interest and have funds ready as final bills arrive.

Details and remaining gaps Judge Ben Cross provided a budget update for the EMS project, saying the construction bid at the point of award was $7,778,363.91. Cross said the project has additional line items—architectural reimbursables, fixtures/furnishings/equipment (FFE), and a contingency—so closeout costs remain. Cross told the court he anticipates further small requests to finish furniture and other items but said the county expects to finish the projects without long-term debt and with surplus funds returned to county coffers after closeout.

Cross and other speakers described several site-specific outliers not included in the original construction contract: a perimeter/security fence for the road department site that will enclose about 20 acres and require roughly a mile of linear fencing, and a separate fuel-island installation for county fueling that Cross said is a stand-alone expense approaching a significant six-figure amount. Cross estimated the county would still have more than $1 million in net surplus after paying all obligations, once sales proceeds and federal funds are reconciled.

Sale and grant funding Court discussion referenced federal recovery funds described in the meeting as "American rescue" funds and the proceeds from the sale of county property; speakers said those sources, combined with the property-sale proceeds, will cover both projects. The transcript did not provide a single line-item reconciliation of every dollar; Judge Cross and Treasurer Homan said detailed spreadsheets exist and can be shared with auditors or emailed to members.

Votes and motions The court took voice votes on the requests after discussion. A motion to appropriate the EMS finish-up funds was made and seconded; the second was identified as Will Banks in the transcript. Members voted "Aye" on a voice vote; the transcript records the outcome as approved but does not record individual numeric tallies.

What was not specified The transcript did not record precise final totals for every contingency line, an exact final closeout amount, nor an item-by-item reconciliation of the reported federal funds. When exact numbers were unclear in the discussion, speakers referred members to the accounting spreadsheet on file.

Next steps Judges said they expect to return with any final finish-up requests in May or June if needed, and Cross said he will likely bring a separate request next month for a polymer overlay and restriping of the courthouse parking lot before anticipated tariff-driven material cost increases. Treasurer Homan and staff will continue to track collections and report back at future meetings.