At the work session the county’s road engineer, Heath Sexton, outlined several near-term and budget-year road projects and financing items that the commission will consider at upcoming meetings.

Sexton asked the commission to approve a state construction agreement to install guardrail at four sites along County Road 54 and sought approval to pay an ALDOT invoice dated Dec. 11, 2025 for inspection assistance. He also distributed the fiscal year 2025 Rebuild Alabama annual report, noting revenues of $1,483,000 and expenditures of $1,464,174 tied to project RACCP 1167525.

On equipment financing, Sexton said the county solicited lease-purchase financing quotes for new dump trucks and recommended moving forward with a quote from Trustmark, which met terms and was the lowest at 3.75 percent.

Sexton and commissioners then discussed pavement failure on County Road 131 (about 1.7 miles). The engineer recommended milling and re-compacting the worst sections as an immediate winter solution and reserving full reconstruction or chip-seal in the 2026–27 budget. Commissioners debated whether to leave a privately paid 0.3-mile paved segment in place; staff advised that leaving it could require returning later for a full, bonded rebuild.

Commissioner Childers described safety concerns on County Road 114 near Champ Concrete and Alabama Bridge Builders, where heavy truck traffic uses a narrow roadway. Resident Stacy Childress has offered roughly 1,700 feet of land to widen the road. Sexton said the road department has placed temporary markers for a survey and will seek survey quotes and a right-of-way agreement; the attorney will prepare a standard agreement. Childers asked for a resolution to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph for the roughly three-quarter-mile section and to approve right-of-way agreements at the next meeting.

Next steps: commissioners asked staff to return with survey estimates, financing resolutions and draft right-of-way agreements for formal action at the regular meeting.