Presiding member (Speaker 1) opened a planning-session discussion on selecting next year’s projects, telling members the county must prioritize ‘‘short projects, short roads, something that we can afford.’’ The committee emphasized limited funds and asked members to flag roads they encounter that could be completed within the county’s budget.

County staff (Speaker 3) told the committee that engineering requests for proposals were issued and opened about two weeks earlier and that the selected engineer will prepare bid documents for contractors. ‘‘We had engineers, request for proposals out to engineers, and we opened those, 2 weeks ago,’’ Speaker 3 said. Staff said they expect the engineering firm to begin work after the council’s January meeting (the transcript references the second or third Monday in January) and that bid documents will follow.

Staff described an approach to contracting designed to reduce costs: instead of separate contracts for small jobs, the county aims for one contract covering multiple CTC projects and parking-lot work so one contractor can complete all the asphalt work. ‘‘Our intent is to have 1 contract that has all the, CTC pro projects in it as well as some parking lot projects so we get all our asphalt done by 1 contractor,’’ Speaker 3 said.

Near-term projects funded by the county’s 1¢ penny sales tax were identified. Speaker 3 listed two quick-start projects: work at Argent and an intersection improvement at John Smith and U.S. 278 that the transcript says receives some developer funding through the city. Staff also noted state work at Exit 8 will add lanes and that the county has an agreement with the city of Pardeeville to extend three‑lane design back to Hospital Drive so the corridor remains consistently three lanes.

On the Honey Hill site, Presiding member (Speaker 1) said the county had received a letter from the state approving the request tied to tree clearing and pavement work. County staff added that the council had the Honey Hill contractor approval on its agenda for Monday the fifteenth and hoped the council would approve the contractor so work can begin quickly.

A community speaker raised a local drainage concern on a roadway transcribed as "John Smith Rowe;" the transcript does not clarify the exact road name or which jurisdiction will handle repairs. The planning discussion otherwise focused on prioritizing projects the county can complete within its limited budget and on pursuing single-contract approaches and engineering selection to speed delivery.

The session concluded with a motion to adjourn; the end-of-meeting outcome is not recorded in this transcript.