Walker County approves $105,000 invoice to U.S. Forest Service for forest-road maintenance; splits funds by precinct mileage

Walker County commissioners on May 19 authorized county staff to invoice the U.S. Forest Service for $105,000 in funds and approved splitting the money among precincts based on road mileage, the court decided.

The move lets Walker County seek reimbursement from the Forest Service for eligible maintenance and repair work on roads that run across or benefit Forest Service land. Brandon, a county staff member, told the court that ‘‘what they told us is we could go back through 2023’’ when documenting receipts for the funds.

The allocation formula approved by the court divides the money by road mileage: Precinct 2 will receive 14.2 percent, Precinct 3 10 percent and Precinct 4 75.8 percent; Precinct 1 had no eligible miles on the list presented to the court. The court’s motion to invoice the Forest Service for $105,000 and allocate proceeds using those percentages passed.

Why it matters: the funds reimburse locally incurred costs to maintain routes the Forest Service still owns or where county maintenance benefits federal land and residents. Commissioners flagged a larger, separate need on one route: Bill, a county official, said county staff estimate it would cost about $208,000 ‘‘to do the paperwork’’ — studies and right-of-way work required under federal processes including NEPA — to widen or formally secure right-of-way for Gus Randall Road, a narrow, single-lane road into the Wildwood Shores area that sits on Forest Service property.

County staff and commissioners discussed which roads appear on the Forest Service list and how the county’s prior ‘‘joint use’’ or easement arrangements affect eligibility. Brandon told the court that the Forest Service indicated the county may invoice the agency for work already done, supplying receipts, and the agency would reimburse the county. He said some roads on the list are fully on Forest Service land while others merely benefit Forest Service parcels. The list includes roads and sites such as Cotton Creek Cemetery, Bath Lane off Cotton Creek, Buck and Bull (Fuller’s Dairy) and others staff said are eligible.

Discussion vs. decision: the court formally approved staff to prepare and submit an invoice for $105,000 and to allocate funds by the approved mileage percentages when the funds are received. Commissioners recorded no roll-call vote totals in the meeting minutes excerpt; the chair announced the motion carried.

Next steps and caveats: staff said they will prepare the invoice and distribute reimbursed funds according to the mileage split. Commissioners and staff noted that larger projects (for example, widening or formalizing right-of-way on Gus Randall Road) will require additional environmental and permitting work with separate budgets and federal approvals. Joel, referenced by county staff as the Forest Service contact, was cited by staff as the source of guidance on invoicing and eligibility.