Residents press commissioners for plan and funding to repair Goose Run Road

Several Goose Run Road residents spoke during public comment on Oct. 21 to press commissioners for a concrete plan and accountability after decades without significant resurfacing.

Resident Michael Mizell said Goose Run has been an issue for 21 years and requested documentation showing the county’s prioritization and expenditures for the road. County staff and County Engineer Kyle Lisserring (spelled in transcript as Kyle Lisserring) responded that the county uses a state-approved pavement-assessment system to rate roads and that funding for paving comes primarily from license-plate fees, gas taxes and occasional grants; property taxes generally do not go directly to road resurfacing. Lisserring said the last Goose Run resurfacing was in 1999 and that traffic counts are low (example: 42 vehicles/day at a midpoint count in 2019). He said limited annual funding produces a cycle that, without additional grants, could leave county resurfacing on a multi-decade rotation.

Staff said a roughly $1.5 million estimate was needed to fix a slip on Goose Run alone; the highway superintendent will request council funding for slip repair. Commissioners and staff explained the county must prioritize among many needs including bridge replacements and small structure repairs. The highway engineer offered to provide the county’s pavement assessment report and related documentation on request.

Why it matters: Residents said the road’s condition affects safety, property values and daily life; staff said available funding and bridge/structure needs limit how quickly the county can repave lower-volume local roads.