Polk County Court on May 2025 amended and approved an appropriation for the county road department, cutting a previously proposed $370,753.75 to $236,277.75 after several justices questioned the cost and long-term value of an asphalt overlay and a parking-lot resurfacing item.

The ordinance originally appropriated $370,753.75 from the road fund, including a grant portion from the Armstrong Game and Fish area to help fund resurfacing of a county parking lot and a two-mile road project on Twin Docks Road. Justice Jamie Jackson moved the ordinance with Justice Jordan Sowers seconding; the court voted to strike a roughly $141,126 line item and adopt the amended appropriation.

The amendment passed with one abstention from Justice David Ivy on the amendment roll call; the final vote to adopt the amended appropriation was recorded as affirmative by the justices present. Clerk Cole Roe conducted roll calls during both votes.

During discussion Justice Doug Skelton questioned the overlay cost and said it “seemed pretty pretty expensive,” suggesting the court consider a full concrete rebuild as an alternative. Skelton said a total rebuild might cost about $320,000 and noted that the overlay estimate of about $140,000 (the line item removed by amendment) seemed high for the courthouse parking lot. Court members also discussed that the overlay material is relatively new technology used on bridges and overpasses in the last three years and that there is no warranty; the longevity of the product was described as not yet established.

Justice Jackson described the larger road project as an approximately two-mile job: “overlaying a mile with asphalt of an already chip-and-seal road on Twin Docks Road, and then bridging in a mile from dirt up to chip and seal.” He said the whole job is expected to cost about $500,000 and that about half of the cost would be funded by the Game and Fish grant. The court noted the grant portion would be reimbursed to the county after work is completed.

Clerk Cole Roe called roll for the amendment and the final ordinance. The amendment vote recorded Justice Jackie Hefflin, Justice Jamie Jackson, Justice Suzanne McCall, Justice Margaret Motley, Justice Lane Scott, Justice Doug Skelton, Justice Jordan Sowers, Justice Bill Sparks, Justice Blake Tarpley, Justice Tim Wittenberg, Justice Ronnie Wilbanks and Justice Philip Haney voting yes and Justice David Ivy abstaining. The final vote on the amended appropriation was recorded as yes by the justices present.

The court did not take further public comment on the item during the meeting. The ordinance as amended funds asphalt resurfacing and related roadwork on Twin Docks Road and removes the previously proposed parking-lot overlay line item.