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Board says riprap bank repair is too costly for county budget
Summary
Perry County parks officials were told riprap bank stabilization could cost roughly $20,000 for materials alone plus excavation and soil-disposal costs; members said the county budget cannot cover the project and no formal action was taken.
Perry County parks officials were told at their meeting that installing riprap to stabilize a riverbank would be expensive and beyond current local budgets.
Board members reported that a consultant’s estimate placed the riprap material cost at about $20,000, not including excavation, the cost of removing and hauling away excavated soil or the geotextile fabric and installation labor. Members said digging for the riprap would require deeper excavation (estimates discussed ranged from about 12 to 24 inches) and that contractors would charge for truckloads of removed soil (participants referenced roughly $150 per truckload as an illustrative figure during the discussion).
The board framed the project as a safety and maintenance issue — workers must sometimes operate mowers on the riverbank, which board members said increases risk and causes heavy wear on equipment — but concluded the county’s current maintenance budget cannot absorb the full cost of a full riprap installation. Several members said the cost–benefit did not support moving forward immediately.
Given the expense, board members did not authorize work or a procurement process at the meeting; no formal motion to fund the riprap passed. Members discussed prioritizing replacement equipment or other immediate fixes instead of large bank stabilization this budget cycle.
Next steps: the board did not adopt a plan at the meeting; members said they would revisit options if a donation of land, outside funding, or a lower-cost engineering solution is found.
