Cole County commissioners voted Nov. 26 to accept an offer from Boone County to transfer $50,000 in federal 'soft‑match' credit to Cole County for use on the Sturbridge Bridge replacement project.

Public works staff explained federal rules (cited from the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act language) allow agencies to receive soft‑match credit for locally funded bridge replacement or rehabilitation. Boone County reported it has surplus soft match and offered to sell $50,000 of that credit; the presenting staff asked commissioners’ permission to purchase the credit at a reported cost of $32,500, which staff said would reduce the county’s local match requirement by $17,500 on the project.

An auditor present told commissioners the accounting approach was acceptable. Commissioners moved to authorize the county to sign a letter directing MoDOT to process the transfer; the vote carried.

Public works staff said the signed letter will be sent to Boone County and MoDOT to complete the transfer. The commission approved the transaction during the meeting.

Next steps: public works will submit the signed transfer request to Boone County and coordinate with MoDOT to apply the recycled soft match to the Sturbridge Bridge project.