County work on roads delayed

Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 2, 2009

NATCHEZ — A countywide roadwork project originally scheduled to begin this month won’t likely get under way until mid September.

Adams County Supervisor Darryl Grennell said county officials won’t be able to meet with their financial advisor Demery Grubbs until later this month to learn more about the status of the bond acquisition that will be used to fund the project.

In June, the supervisors announced they would borrow no more than $6 million to repair roads across the county.

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At the board’s July 8 meeting, the board passed a motion that allowed Grubbs to let the bond out for bid so that the county could get the best possible interest rate on the money they plan to borrow, supervisor Mike Lazarus said.

Grennell said he has not been in contact with Grubbs and does not know if Grubbs will present the board with an opportunity to move forward on the bond issuance later this month.

“We just have to see what he’s going to bring to the meeting,” Grennell said.

Grubbs could not be reached for comment Friday.

And as the supervisors wait on word from Grubbs, Adams County Engineer Jim Marlow is putting the finishing touches on a roadwork list that will outline what roads need work and the amount of work needed on each road.

Marlow said he plans to have that report completed by the time Grubbs meets with the supervisors.

That meeting will likely be the second or third week of August.

Marlow said once he presents the supervisors with his plans, they will have an opportunity to prioritize the order in which the work will be done.

Grennell estimated that at least 80 county roads will be reviewed for repairs.

“But not every road will need the same amount of work,” Grennell said. “Some may need minor repairs and some will need a new overlay. But that won’t be happening in August.”

And while the supervisors plan to borrow no more than $6 million to complete the project, they won’t know exactly how much the work will cost until they have had an opportunity to review Marlow’s estimates.

And Lazarus said he is hoping more than half a million dollars of the project will be covered by a grant.

Lazarus said the board is applying for a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant to defray some of the county’s cost to repair the roads.

However, the county won’t know if they’ve been awarded that grant for at least two months.