Magoffin County awards $55,050 contract for storage tank to expand chip-seal road program

Unidentified Speaker (Magoffin County Fiscal Court member) told the court that a single bid of $55,050 was received from Equipment Marketing Company (Cloverdale, Indiana) for a 6,000-gallon automated storage tank put out to bid at the prior meeting. The court discussed how pairing that tank with an oil-distribution truck will allow county crews to perform chip-seal operations in-house rather than buying coal packs, and the court approved the contract.

Court discussion linked the purchase to a multi-year maintenance plan: once gravel roads are chip-sealed they can become eligible for resurfacing funds. The Unidentified Speaker described chip-seal as cost-effective compared with full blacktop and said a county official from Knox County estimated chip seal costs of about $20 to $25 per ton. "Once we get this in place, we'll really be able to start improving our roads that are alligatored," the Unidentified Speaker said, referring to badly cracked gravel road surfaces.

Supporters noted the item had been bid previously and that used equipment was not available at the scale required. The court voted to accept the bid and enter into an agreement for $55,050. The speaker estimated that installation and preparatory work would take much of the summer before county crews could start regular chip-seal operations.

The contract award is intended to reduce recurring purchases of materials and enable a more sustained program of road improvements; the county said further scheduling and procurement details will follow once vendors confirm installation timelines.