Commissioners add Cessna Way and Cessna Drive to FY26 dirt-to-pave list, direct engineering for Melrose Landing

Putnam County commissioners unanimously approved the fiscal-year 2026 dirt-to-pave road list with two changes: adding Cessna Way and Cessna Drive near Melrose Landing and directing public-works staff to engineer Melrose Landing as an alternate to be considered depending on bid results.

Public-works director JT Stout told the board the program is averaging roughly $550,000 per mile for dirt-to-pave conversions and that designing adjacent roads while the crew is mobilized can reduce costs by lowering mobilization fees. "We're averaging about 550,000 per mile on dirt to pave," Stout said, explaining that design and grouping of roads can save on mobilization and ultimately lower bid prices.

Commissioner Grimes and others urged designing the wider Melrose Landing neighborhood so the county can weigh whole-neighborhood bids against selecting a subset of roads by cost; commissioners said if bids exceed available funds they would return later to add roads in a subsequent cycle. After a motion to accept the list with the Cessna additions and the Melrose design direction, the board voted "I," and the motion carried unanimously.

Staff said they will proceed with surveying and engineering the added roads and present costs for final budgeting and potential value-engineering options. Public-works staff also noted availability of reserve dollars that could be applied if needed.

The action provides staff direction to design the additional roads and to seek competitive bids; final construction depends on the bidding climate and the board's budgeting decisions.