Covington County engineer warns Senate Bill 110 would accelerate road and bridge damage; commission approves personnel, licensing and procurement items

Covington County Engineer Lynn told the Covington County Commission on Tuesday that Alabama Senate Bill 110, as written, would increase allowable axle-load percentages by 10% and effectively raise the practical commercial limit from 40 to 44 tons, a change he said would speed deterioration of county roads and bridges and increase repair costs.

Lynn said the bill would not change gross vehicle weight but would raise what a single axle can legally carry, placing more wear on pavements and structures. He cited a handout distributed at the meeting that estimated hundreds of additional bridges could be posted and said the change could require roughly $150 million in additional statewide maintenance spending; Lynn also told commissioners that Covington County operates with roughly a $10 million annual shortfall to maintain existing infrastructure.

The engineer urged commissioners and residents to contact their state representative and senator. "I just, really, really express I can't express enough how much important it is to vote no on this issue," Lynn said, calling the proposal "a big deal" for rural counties with large inventories of unpaved roads and many bridges.

After the engineer's report, the commission moved through a set of routine and administrative items, approving a personnel reclassification in the road and bridge department, continuing its alcohol-license levy at the maximum allowed by the state, approving a restaurant retail liquor license for the Twisted Turnip on Highway 84, authorizing out-of-state travel for one sheriff's office training (and holding two other travel requests), soliciting bids for hot-mix asphalt, declaring specified equipment surplus for sale at a J.M. Wood auction in March, and adopting a resolution seeking local legislation to impose a 5% increase on currently unregulated alternative nicotine products and certain synthetic THC products.

Votes at a glance

- Reclassify one road-and-bridge position from "road and bridge superintendent" to "road and bridge foreman." Motion carried; mover: Tommy (first name only in record), second: Robbie Weaver. The reclassification was described as covering a vacant slot that could be filled by transfer or new hire and will be reflected on the department's organizational chart.

- Continue county alcohol-licensing levy at the state-allowed maximum. Motion carried; mover: Robbie Weaver, second: Tommy.

- Approve a restaurant retail liquor license for the Twisted Turnip (Highway 84). Motion carried; mover: Robbie Weaver, second: Ben (first name only in record).

- Approve out-of-state travel for sheriff's staff to attend the Kimbell conference (one of three requested trips); the commission voted to hold off on the other two pending additional information. Motion carried; mover: Robbie Weaver, second: Commissioner Leonholm.

- Solicit bids for hot-mix asphalt under an annual indexed contract tied to the asphalt price index. Motion carried; mover: Robbie Weaver, second: Ben.

- Declare surplus three Kenworth trucks and three Caterpillar backhoes for sale at the J.M. Wood spring auction (March 18—6). Motion carried; mover: Ben, second: Tommy.

- Adopt a resolution requesting local legislation to impose a 5% tax increase on currently unregulated alternative nicotine products and certain synthetic THC products; if adopted at the state level, regulated medical marijuana products would be excluded. Motion carried; mover: Robbie Weaver, second: Ben.

- Approve use of commissioners' contingency funds to support the Pleasant Home girls softball request. The funding amount discussed at the meeting was not specified in the minutes packet; commissioners agreed to provide support and to split the contribution as needed. Motion carried; mover/second not clearly identified in the transcript.

Context and supporting details

Lynn's remarks occupied the largest portion of the staff reports. He said the current statewide legal limit is 40 tons and that the bill under consideration would raise per-axle allowable loadings by 10%, which he said would magnify pavement and bridge wear. Lynn told commissioners that Covington County is "one of the most rural" counties in the state in terms of miles of unpaved roads and a large bridge inventory; he said the county's budget and population ranking mean local funds do not match infrastructure needs.

Commissioners did not take a formal vote on the bill itself; Lynn and other commissioners urged residents to contact state legislators to express concerns. The commission instructed staff to forward the local-resolution paperwork to Matthew Hamill for the local-legislation process and to advertise the proposed local legislation as required (a three-week local-advertising step was mentioned).

Other staff reports and clarifications

- Finance/collections: A staff member identified as Chuck reported 24,955 payments totaling $17,093,764.86, with about $877,000 still being collected during the reporting period.

- Hot-mix asphalt: Staff said the county's annual asphalt purchase will be an indexed bid (prices tied to a published asphalt index) and will comply with state and local bidding laws.

- Surplus auction: Several highway vehicles and backhoes will be declared surplus and offered at the J.M. Wood spring auction in March; staff said replacement dump trucks and lowboys are already being procured or prepared.

What the commission directed next

Commissioners approved routine procurement steps (bid solicitation) and surplus disposition, completed several license and travel approvals, and adopted the resolution seeking local legislation on nicotine and synthetic THC products. They also heard the road department's warning on Senate Bill 110 and agreed to outreach to state lawmakers.

The commission's next steps on the nicotine/THC resolution include routing paperwork to Matthew Hamill and complying with the local-advertising requirement before pursuing local legislation.