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Supervisors approve Oak Hill box-culvert plans, OK temporary construction easements
Summary
The board approved plans to replace large culverts on Oak Hill Avenue with box culverts under FEMA repair rules and authorized three temporary construction easement purchases (set at the county minimum). The board also authorized the project to go to bid.
The Osceola County Board of Supervisors on March 25 approved plans to replace two large culverts on Oak Hill Avenue that were washed out in 2024 flooding and authorized the county to seek competitive bids and acquire needed temporary construction easements.
The county engineer told the board the road ordinance requires replacement of pipes 54 inches or larger with box culverts and that the culvert replacements will reduce the risk of debris blockage. One culvert will be 16-by-4 feet, the other 8-by-5 feet, and material orders are under way.
"We'd like to go out for bid on these and have approval of the plans," the engineer said. The board moved to approve the plans; a motion by Supervisor Schulte with support from Supervisor Loring passed with the board signaling "aye." The board discussed that FEMA is assisting with project replacement costs because the failures resulted from the 2024 flood.
As part of the work, the county must secure small temporary construction easements from adjacent landowners. The engineer described the county's method for valuing small easement acquisitions (using recent ag-land sales, discarding outliers, and a $100 minimum payment for very small parcels). Three of the easement purchases were ready for approval; one parcel required additional steps because of a maintenance agreement with a homeowners' group.
The board approved the three temporary construction easement purchase agreements (each set at $100) and supported proceeding to bid and construction scheduling. The board also approved staff recommendations to use the DOT valuation approach for these small take easements.
No roll-call vote listing individual votes was recorded in the minutes; the board signaled unanimous approval during the meeting.
