Committee approves $28,000 from county culvert-and-bridge aid fund for Town of Barton

At the Washington County Public Works Committee meeting on 2025-06-18, the committee approved a resolution to provide $28,000 from the county's Culvert and Bridge Aid Fund to the Town of Barton for bridge and culvert replacement work. Committee members voted by voice; the chair called for ayes and declared the motion carried.

The committee heard from Scott, a Public Works staff member, who explained the allocation and its consequences for the aid fund. Scott said that approving the request would effectively zero out the road-and-bridge aid fund for the remainder of 2025. He described scenarios in which a town could solicit funds for an emergency culvert replacement now but would not receive reimbursement until the next fiscal year if the fund is not replenished during the county's budget process.

Scott said Barton is seeking funds now because it is incurring engineering costs even though construction is not planned until 2027. He said the town has limited local funds and would like some of those engineering invoices paid from the county fund. Scott told the committee that if the county later replenishes the aid fund in the budget cycle, Barton would be first in line for additional funds.

Supervisor Mikulik asked about an apparent discrepancy in the committee report: one line listed the Culvert and Bridge Aid Fund balance as "$28.07 $94.39" and another line listed a different figure. Scott acknowledged the inconsistency and said the correct balance should be the roughly $28,000 figure reflected in the resolution. Scott and other staff clarified that the resolution amount will reduce the fund to zero if approved.

Scott also noted that recent federal bridge programs have covered some local bridges at 100% funding, but that the county still faces potential shortfalls in the aid fund and will discuss the fund's tax allocation and budget level during upcoming budget deliberations.

The committee approved the resolution by voice vote; the transcript records the chair calling for ayes, hearing ayes and declaring the motion carried. The resolution text attached to the agenda names the allocation to Barton and the $28,000 amount; no additional vote tally or recorded roll-call names were given in the transcript.

Staff said they will solicit updated inventories from towns to identify culvert needs and are working with GIS tools to help towns catalog and inspect culverts over the coming months. The committee scheduled budget discussions on the Department of Public Works budget in August.