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Commission reviews roundabout plan, road updates and major fleet options
Summary
County engineer briefed commissioners on proposed roundabout design for Limestone and Capshaw Road ($140,485.41), updates on paving and patching (Ingram Road, Lucas Ferry), and a detailed evaluation of fleet replacement options including auction guarantees and loan payoff estimates.
County Engineer Massey told commissioners at the Feb. 17 work session that staff is advancing several road and transportation items and asked for direction on fleet replacement options.
Massey presented an agreement proposal with Morrell Engineering for civil, engineering and inspection services to modify the Limestone and Capshaw Road intersection to install a roundabout; the figure cited on the agenda was $140,485.41. He also noted a separate agenda item to terminate a road maintenance agreement for Airport Road in Decatur.
On paving and maintenance, Massey reported no new subdivisions but multiple projects under construction and repairs underway (Rotek repair referenced). He said crews hope to begin work on Ingram Road pending weather and base conditions and are patching Lucas Ferry; crews plan to compact patches because of heavy traffic serving the asphalt plant.
Massey also presented a financial evaluation of options for the county truck fleet. He summarized three purchase options — buying all Kenworth units, buying all Mack units, or a mixed approach — and outlined trade-offs between paying to replace the trucks now versus keeping current trucks and incurring higher maintenance. He said the auction-guaranteed proceeds scenario after fees was roughly $2.425 million and contrasted that with an outstanding loan payoff in the ballpark of $2.537 million, noting that under some scenarios the county could face a small deficit if it sold and replaced the fleet immediately. Massey estimated worst-case annual maintenance costs at roughly $17,000–$22,000 per truck and flagged that new emission standards expected next year could change replacement timing and resale values.
Massey recommended the commission consider a modest budget revision (he cited about a 10% increase on the budgeted line in worst-case assumptions) to allow self-financing of a replacement if commissioners choose to proceed. The engineer asked commissioners to indicate whether they wanted the matter placed on the next meeting agenda for a formal decision.
There were no recorded roll-call votes on these items in the provided transcript excerpt.
Sources: Engineer Massey briefing and commissioners’ questions at the Feb. 17, 2026 Limestone County Commission work session.
