Pulaski County Fiscal Court approves bridge funding agreement, joins opioid settlements and schedules road hearing

Pulaski County Fiscal Court members on an unspecific July meeting approved a resolution to accept state funding for repairs to a bridge on Old Shuffle Road, voted to participate in several opioid-litigation settlement agreements, approved routine road and equipment purchases and scheduled a public hearing on removing 3,872 feet of Linwood Road.

The court approved a resolution to accept $886,635 from the state to repair a bridge below the elementary school on Old Shuffle Road and authorized the county judge/executive to sign required paperwork. The presiding official said the bridge has been limited to two tons and “no school buses can be on it,” and thanked the county’s state delegation and Sandra Girdler for securing the award.

The court later went into a brief executive session to discuss opioid-settlement funds, then returned to vote on three settlement items. The court approved participation in the Purdue Pharma/Sackler plan, approved a governmental-entity settlement agreement related to the litigation, and agreed to join a separate settlement involving additional defendants. Each of those motions passed by voice vote after the executive session.

On infrastructure and equipment, the court accepted a single rebid from Triple Crown for concrete materials, approved purchase of 4,000 gallons of patch oil and 6,000 tons of rock for road work, accepted the monthly road list, and approved the purchase of a lowboy trailer to haul an excavator with plans to sell the county’s current trailer in a trade. Road department staff said the lowboy’s lower deck and wooden surface will make securing a tall excavator safer than the existing metal‑deck trailer.

The court voted to advertise a public…