Clay County commission reviews $2026 road and bridge budget, seeks grant support as district payment ramps up

Clay County commissioners on Monday heard staff present the proposed 2026 Road & Bridge budget and the county’s five‑year capital improvement plan, which prioritize pavement preservation, bridge repairs and equipment replacement while warning of a growing sales‑tax obligation tied to a road‑district settlement.

County Administrator opened the discussion and described the budget packet as the year’s final presentation on road, bridge and five‑year CIP funding; he said staff from Road & Bridge, the county auditor and facilities were available to answer questions. The presentation listed the Road & Bridge fund at roughly $20 million with operating expenditures just over $16 million and reserves to cover capital needs.

Tom Dagonhardt, Road & Bridge director, outlined 2025 accomplishments — including bridge design work funded by MoDOT’s BRO program, replacement of crossroad culverts and several pavement treatments — and presented the 2026 preservation plan. The administration asked for $22,420,000 for asphalt overlays, $1,331,000 for microsurfacing and $800,000 for chip sealing; unit costs presented included approximately $131,000 per mile for a 2‑inch overlay and $197,000 per mile to convert a chip‑seal street to asphalt.

Dagonhardt also requested a $70,000 contract for a pavement‑evaluation service that uses lidar/radar to compute a pavement condition index (PCI) on a roughly three‑year cycle. He said the tool would provide objective PCI scores and degradation curves to help prioritize projects and refine the five‑year plan. Commissioners agreed the data could improve prioritization but noted the county would likely repeat the purchase in future cycles and asked whether the $70,000 covers consultant services (staff: yes; it would be a contractor‑provided analysis, not purchase of the survey vehicle).

On bridges, staff listed five 2026 projects — including Stockdale Road over the Canadian Pacific railroad, 210 Highway over Rush Creek and the Collins Road bridge over Camp Creek — and described typical grant support under MoDOT’s bridge replacement programs. Dagonhardt said most bridge projects are largely grant‑funded (cited reimbursement shares near 90% with county soft‑match credits) and that the county pays up front and is reimbursed when projects proceed. Collins Road bridge remedial work was estimated at $170,000 and included in county‑funded maintenance for the budget cycle.

Other requests included $25,000 for unexpected county curb repairs (focused on drainage and ADA ramp upgrades), a $25,000 starter fund for proactive guardrail replacement, and one equipment request for a modern reclaimer to improve in‑house reclamation and extend chip‑seal street life.

A recurring concern among commissioners was a settlement agreement that requires the county to remit $1 million in sales tax annually to road districts; staff warned the obligation will grow and said the settlement raises the county’s obligation to $1.5 million starting in 2027. Commissioners said the obligation will increasingly pressure county road revenues and urged staff to pursue legislative or regional solutions where possible.

Commissioner Lawson pressed staff on a proposed $2.7 million Salem Road stabilization and bike‑lane project, saying Salem Road is heavily used and dangerous and questioning the county’s willingness to spend unless the work is substantially grant‑funded. Staff said the project was earlier packaged for STBG/STP scoring (multimodal elements increase competitive score) and that stabilization needs drive the proposal, with bike lanes added to improve grant competitiveness.

Facilities Director Donna Koons said airport requests from the fixed‑base operator include a larger jet fuel tank and taxi‑lane improvements; Koons recommended prioritizing taxi‑lane work because current taxi geometry could create runway conflicts. Commissioners asked about timing and relative priority and were satisfied to defer the larger tank replacement while prioritizing taxi‑lane safety.

The presentation also outlined a five‑year CIP totaling an illustrative $106 million need across departments, with roughly one‑third allocated to road and bridge over that horizon. Staff noted use of ARPA funds to leverage equipment and facility replacements and emphasized that some projects will require multi‑year funding or successful competitive grant applications to proceed.

Votes at a glance - Motion: “Move to approve today's agenda.” Mover: Commissioner Johnson. Outcome: approved on roll call, 4‑0 (Commissioners Johnson, Lawson, Nolte, Thompson voting yes; Wagner and Carpenter not recorded voting).

What’s next Staff will finalize budget documents and continue grant applications for bridge and road projects. The Commission did not take additional formal action on the budget in the meeting and adjourned after staff answered final questions about personnel cost scenarios and software impacts on long‑range planning.