Holmes County commissioners adopt five‑year mitigation strategy, approve infrastructure contracts and proclaim Building Safety Month

The Holmes County Board of County Commissioners on May __, 2026 adopted the county’s five‑year Local Mitigation Strategy, approved several construction and inspection task orders, and unanimously adopted a proclamation recognizing May 2026 as Building Safety Month.

County management staff presented the Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS), calling it the county’s primary planning document for projects seeking state or federal funding. "A lot of projects… that are funded with dollars from the federal or state government have to be mentioned on that LMS plan to ever be considered for funding outside the county," staff member Bradley said, and asked the board to adopt the plan for the next five‑year period. The board moved, seconded and approved the resolution adopting the LMS.

The board also approved a construction engineering and inspection (CEI) task order for the Old Mill Road project. Staff said the design by All Day Howell has been approved by the Department of Transportation and that construction bids are due June 18.

On a Community Development Block Grant project, county staff reported only one bid was received and recommended awarding the contract to US Mobile Homes. The transcript records the bid amount in a garbled form (listed as “$1.94 $3.86”); staff told commissioners there were sufficient budgeted funds to cover the project and the board approved the award on motion and second.

The commissioners also approved a change order for the Bonifay Brittany phase 2 road project to address sub‑base failures; the change order was presented as approximately $73,000. County engineers explained the work involves stabilizing about 2,500 square yards of sub‑base and installing geogrid before base rock placement.

Separately, staff reported a notice from the water management district that the state will no longer perform annual inspections of the Dogwood Lakes dams. A consultant estimated the county will need to hire an engineer to perform the inspections and draft reports; the figure discussed on the record was $3,000 per dam per year (county discussion referenced $6,000 for the first year). The board approved securing an engineer, with the first‑year cost to be covered from the current budget or contingency as needed.

The board read and adopted a proclamation designating May 2026 as Building Safety Month. Holmes County building official Keith Bennett summarized the purpose of the observance and Commissioner Earl Stafford read the formal proclamation text.

What’s next: staff will post the Old Mill Road construction bids (due June 18), proceed to secure an engineer for dam inspections within the 14‑day notice window required by the water management district and implement the adopted LMS for project eligibility going forward.