County road reserves drop below $1 million

Reserves in the Stutsman County funds dedicated to road construction and maintenance have dropped below $1 million, according to information presented at the Stutsman County Commission meeting Tuesday.

The projections include about $3 million in road grade raises this summer. The county will be reimbursed 100 percent for these projects under the Emergency Road program. Currently, funding for the Emergency Road program has not been finalized by Congress.

Noel Johnson, chief operating officer of Stutsman County, said the county had recently received reimbursement for emergency grade raises done in 2009 and 2010. Those payments were factored into the projected available reserves.

The county rejected a bid for another grade raise during the meeting because the bidder had not included the proper bond. The project, with an engineer’s estimate of $260,000 will be rebid in the future.

Johnson said the county has about $2 million in reserves in other funds it could tap for emergency road maintenance or it could borrow money from the Bank of North Dakota, if necessary.

Sun reporter Keith Normancan be reached at (701) 952-8452 or by e-mail at knorman@jamestownsun.com

Tags: news, updates, road, county