Whitley County Fiscal Court awards FEMA bids

The Whitley County Fiscal Court approved six bids for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) projects during its Aug. 17 meeting.

The projects were a result of flooding in 2020. FEMA awards pay for approximately 87 percent of the cost of the repairs.

The court approved GeoStabilization International’s two bids for soil nail repairs on Dal Road.

The two bids came in at $57,457 and $133,113.

Soil nail repair involves digging out from underneath the road. It is usually used when there is not enough rock close to the surface to use traditional rail.

The court also approved King Crete Drilling’s bids for rail and cribbing repairs on Laurel Lake Fork E and Buck Creek Road. The bids came in at $41,890.59 and $172,844.82 for the projects respectively.

Rail and crib projects involve bringing in a drill to drill into rock to drop railroad steel in the affected portions of road. After the steel is in place, panels of metal are placed against the steel and then filled with rock to create a new road bed.

Rail and crib repair create a permanent solution.

Hinkle Environmental was awarded two rail and cribbing repair bids for Laurel Lake Fork B and C. The bids for those repairs came in at $35,728 and $57,547 respectively.

The projects were bid out because they were too large for the county’s maintenance equipment to repair.

In addition to awarding the bids, the fiscal court approved a resolution pertaining to flex funds for county road resurfacing.

The flex fund is a grant received annually for blacktopping. Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. said he signs a grant agreement each year for the resurfacing project funding. This year the county will receive approximately $375,000. With that funding the county will be able to resurface approximately 5 to 7 miles of the 700 to 800 miles within the county, said White.

The court also approved a resolution regarding the 80/20 bridge agreement.

The 80/20 bridge agreement is another grant that is available to counties for bridge repairs, said White. It is 80 percent state funded and 20 percent locally funded. The funds will be used for a bridge project in the Mulberry community in eastern Whitley County to take out a bridge and replace it with culverts as well as raise the road-bed, so that the community won’t get flooded and blocked in as has happened in the past during high water.

The board also unanimously approved the following during its meeting:

• A resolution pertaining to the authorization of premium pay allocation through the American Rescue Plan Act.
• The Whitley County Sheriff’s tax settlement and pay claim.
• The re-appointment of Teddy Dean Prewitt to a four-year term on the Cumberland Falls Water District Board.
• A petition to adopt Four Winds Road into the county road system.
• A petition to rename Frank White Road to Heartland Road.