Clay County approves Rural Access Infrastructure grants for Pleasant Valley and Prairie Center

The Clay County Board of Commissioners voted to fund two township bridge projects from the Rural Access Infrastructure Fund, approving an award for Pleasant Valley and an award for Prairie Center.

County commissioners said the awards were chosen based on the program criteria in the state's handbook and visible public-safety needs at inspected sites. The motion approved Pleasant Valley’s application and Prairie Center’s application; Prairie Center’s request was described in the meeting as $43,000 and the Pleasant Valley amount was stated in the motion as “70 3 Thousand 3 Hundred And 2 18 Cents” in the transcript.

Commissioners discussed the handbook criteria (listed in the meeting packet) they said they must consider: traffic use of the highway (residential, commercial, recreational), length of detour if the project is not completed, number of residences/farms served, whether the highway terminates in a field entrance/single residence, public safety, hydrological impact, project cost, and the township’s contribution or local match. One commissioner said Prairie Center “certainly seemed to have some public safety issues” and noted the application listed about 20 residents affected.

Star Township representative Ron Peterson spoke during public comment to explain local work on a 3-ton timber bridge the township replaced with its own funds and asked the county to consider assistance for other local needs. “We put it in and, and you sound pretty favorable last year. We, as a board… decided that safety was just too high a concern. We spent our own funds to replace that structure with our own money,” Peterson said. Commissioners thanked him for addressing safety and noted that township and county roads are interconnected.

Commissioners discussed geographic equity and prior awards; one commissioner said Garfield Township received a very large award the prior year and that influenced the present choices. Commissioners also discussed the minimum 20% local match requirement for the program and the possibility that a grantee unable to meet the match could be required to return funds and prompt reallocation in a subsequent year.

After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to fund the Pleasant Valley application (amount recorded in the meeting as stated above) and the Prairie Center application at $43,000. The board voted in favor; the motion passed by voice vote. Commissioners noted the awards would use most of the available fund balance for this round and that roughly $4,000 would remain for the next cycle.

The board’s chair also encouraged support for state-level reauthorization of the program: a commissioner noted local state Sen. Sydney Davis had expressed interest in renewing funding and urged citizens to contact legislators if they want the program continued.

Next steps: staff will record awards and follow the guidance in the rural access handbook about documentation of local match and project eligibility. Unfunded applicants were told the county would hold their applications for future consideration.