County approves $5 million waterline allocation for school area, OKs $725,000 park project

Carlisle County leaders approved moving $5,000,000 from the budget into a county account to begin planning and obligating funds for a waterline project intended to serve a school and nearby communities, and separately approved $725,000 in park project funding.

Unidentified Speaker 2 told the court the $5,000,000 is a line item the county may deposit into a county account to draw interest and begin project planning; discussion covered possible approaches — digging wells, purchasing water, or building a pipe to serve Milburn, Cunningham and Arlington — and emphasized that contracts and payments would be handled through the county. Speaker 5 asked whether the funding is simply passing through fiscal court; Speaker 2 confirmed the county will oversee contracts and payments and that the amount is a budget line item tied to SB 91.

Court members noted the project is likely to be complex and span multiple years. Speaker 2 said staff estimated it could be nearly a year before project work starts and that the county would have two years to obligate funds; members discussed options for reallocating or requesting additional funds later if needed.

Immediately after the waterline vote, the court approved a separate motion to draw down $725,000 for a park project; that motion also carried by voice vote. Both motions were approved without roll-call tallies recorded in the transcript.

The court asked staff to prepare further documentation; officials said they will set up a separate account for the waterline funds and follow state procedures for contracting under the cited program.