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Commissioner presses for invoices, details on $2 million highway garage loan and missing bays
Summary
A commissioner questioned transparency and accounting for a $2 million loan taken for a new highway garage and raised concerns about a $268,975.92 discrepancy and six missing bays from the building plan; staff said invoices are available at the auditor’s office and an audit process is underway.
Concerns about financial transparency and project scope for the county highway garage drew sustained attention during the meeting.
Commissioner S1 asked for an accounting of a $2,000,000 loan taken to finance the highway garage project and said he had tallied roughly $1,120,000 in payments and could not reconcile about $268,975.92 of expenditures. He asked why all commissioners were not seeing invoices and why routine claims had not been brought through the board's docket for approval in the same way as other bills.
County staff responded that loan draws and payments were processed as needed, that invoices were available in the auditor’s office, and that the State Board of Accounts had received documentation. Commissioners said detailed follow-up with project manager Paul Eckert was needed to explain scope differences and invoice allocations.
Separately, commissioners and staff discussed a reduction in the garage’s planned bays—the project was scaled from an earlier configuration to a smaller plan—and whether savings were used for other line items or property swaps. A staff member said some changes were driven by design choices and fire-marshall requirements; board members said they would ask Paul Eckert for clarification.
The discussion did not produce a formal vote; commissioners agreed to follow up and request documentation from the auditor and project staff.
