At a Madison County project closeout meeting, officials reviewed the final punch list, warranty items and closeout deliverables and agreed next steps for inspection, documentation and final payment.

Speaker 3 opened the meeting and introduced the first agenda item: "First thing on the agenda is final punch list items." Speaker 4, who prepared the field report, told the group he had conducted an on-site punch-list review on Aug. 26 and identified four remaining punch-list entries (listed in his notes as items 206, 208, 218 and 219) and two outstanding warranty items: the porch coating and a plant-replacement task. He described the remaining items as minor but said the project could move to final closeout once those items are resolved.

Speaker 4 described the porch issue as isolated cracking and a dozen small blisters in the traffic coating on several porches; he said the installer initially characterized the problem as a surface traffic-coating issue rather than a substrate failure and planned to inspect the work and recommend either patching or replacement. Multiple participants raised concerns about patching visible traffic coating so soon after installation; Speaker 1 said, "I don't want it patched...I think they need to replace it," while Speaker 3 warned the surface coating is not permanent and would likely need replacement on a periodic basis. The group agreed to wait for the contractor's written determination after an inspection planned for the coming week.

On landscaping, participants agreed to identify specific shrubs and plant material that need replacing before a local Covered Bridge festival in the second weekend of October and to confirm which replacements are within the project's scope and which would be extra work for the county to authorize.

The meeting spent substantial time on decorative sheet metal. Speaker 4 presented photographs and a field report, saying he visited the site multiple times in July and August and had the contractor rework one area twice. He said much of the new work corrected previously identified problem areas on north and south facades, and that the contractor performed additional corrective work where practical. Speaker 4 acknowledged visible dents, rivets and some gaps where new materials meet existing ones but repeatedly characterized those as "acceptable" for performance and not compromising weather tightness. "None of these conditions are any concern about water," he said, noting many observed blemishes reflected the condition of existing materials brought together with new work.

Speaker 4 reviewed the closeout sequence and dates in his report: he said that substantial completion had been established in project records and that site-work and remaining dates (as he listed them) would be included in the final closeout package, which will contain operation-and-maintenance manuals, product warranties, contractor affidavits, a surety's consent for final payment and the final pay application. He told the group he intended to submit his recommendation for final closeout and the signed pay application to the board the following week.

Participants discussed timing for formal approval and payment. Speaker 3 and others said the board would consider the closeout recommendation at the next regular meeting and that any final payment would be included in the claims list approved at a subsequent meeting. Speaker 4 said the firm had not billed for every remaining item and reported a hardware credit: the project owed the county a $5,100 credit for specified hardware (operators, panics and key switch). After applying that credit, Speaker 4 proposed issuing a $4,080 check to close out the contractor's account, and he said he would include that documentation with his closeout recommendation.

Before adjourning, participants confirmed they wanted both paper binders and at least one digital copy of warranties and closeout files. The meeting ended after a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote.

Next steps: the contractor will inspect the porch coating this week and return a recommendation; county staff will identify which plants to replace before the festival; Speaker 4 will finalize and submit closeout documents and the signed pay application so the board can consider final approval at its next meeting and include any final payment on an upcoming claims docket.