Two walking bridges are planned for the walking trail at Canaan’s Ridge Park, and Webster County Fiscal Court is seeking grants funding to build them.
The court voted Monday on a resolution to allow Judge-Executive Steve Henry to apply for a recreation trail grant through Green River Area Development District.
The money will be used to construct a 50-foot bridge to an island in the lake, and a 65-foot swinging bridge along one of the walking trails. The total cost of the two projects is $253,997.28. The county will be responsible for $50,000, which will be paid with in-kind labor by the road department.
The bridges are some of the larger additions to the park, which has also seen the beginning of pavilion construction. The contractor was scheduled to begin the installation of the shelter this week.
Road department director Randy Norman said Monday the portion of the boat ramp that leads into the lake has been poured. The section on the shore will be done later this season, he added.
Henry said he did not expect the park to be ready to open by early summer, but a projected date for later in the year is more likely.
“The walking trails are a lot further along than the lake is,” he said. “We want to have everything ready to open at once.”
In other business, the court approved two secondary road projects through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
Regional manager Matt West told magistrates the state will resurface approximately two miles of KY 138 and KY 293 as part of the rural secondary road project. The total cost of the work is expected to be just over $538,000.
Portions of KY 138 between mile markers 26.2 and 28.29, and KY 293 from 2.2 to 3.9 will be paved during the summer. An exact date for the work will be set later.
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The court elected to retain the amount offered in the state’s Flex Funds program. Counties are offered set amounts by the KYTC each year to be used for county roads or to be returned to the state for repaving of another highway on the rural secondary list.
Instead, the county will keep the $226,000 in projected funds to use toward work on county roads. No specific projects were discussed in the meeting.
According to West, the state would have used the Flex money to resurface a portion of KY 120.
The branch manager also reported the expected reopening of KY 132 between KY 1340 and the Clay city limits. The work to replace three culverts within a three-mile section was estimated to take two to three months when the work began in early May.
However, the contractor on the job was able to complete the installations in just over three weeks. West said he believed the road would be open by Monday afternoon, or within a few days after that.
The court also accepted the January to April franchise tax settlement from the Webster County Sheriff’s Office for just over $600,000 due to various taxing districts.
The amounts due to each is: county government, $121,398.74; schools, $377,503.80; library, $61,344.11; health department, $32,286.37; extension office, $41,934.69; ambulance, $50,534.64; and Pittman Creek, $20.13.
The court also took under advisement numerous bids received for road department materials and fuel, and approved standing orders for payment of payroll, utilities, and a handful of Community Development Block Grants for fiscal year 2024.
Budget amendments for unplanned revenues were also approved, as the county received its first payment in the national opioid settlement. The funds for the first installment total $109,000. Other revenue came from grants for emergency siren repair and purchase of polling tablets. The county also received payments from govdeals.com for the sale of surplused vehicles.