BEDFORD – The Lawrence County Commissioners Tuesday approved Tim Morrow’s request to host the Freedom Constitutional Rally on the courthouse lawn the afternoon of July 10.
Marrow shared there will be several guest speakers, bands, and vendors during the annual event. The event organizers will release more details closer to the event.
In other business:
The commissioners appointed Commissioner Dustin Gabhart to the Region 8 Workforce Board.
Sheriff Mike Branham reported there are currently 144 inmates in the jail. Of those 119 are males, 25 females, three Level 6 felons, eight Department of Correction holds and one parole hold.
Branham said he will be getting together with Lawrence County Highway Superintendent David Holmes to begin doing traffic studies on several county roads.
Sheriff Branham also reported two officers received promotions. Travis Sanders is being promoted to major and Tyler Ogden to sergeant.
Highway Superintendent David Holmes reported highway crews are out mowing and patching potholes.
Milestone Construction will begin paving county roads in mid-June.
“They will be out in full force once they begin,” said Holmes.
The proposals for bridge inspections are out and bids are due in June.
Work on area bridges are in progress and on schedule.
Butler, Fairman & Seufert, Inc. completed the bridge design for Bridge 138 on Oolitic Road. Holmes will be submitting it for the second round of the Community Crossing funds. The total cost to replace the deck of the bridge is estimated at $750,000.
“Hopefully we will begin construction in late fall, but people are not going to like that because we won’t be able to fix the bridge while school is not in session There is just no way to avoid it,” Holmes added. “We can’t just close one lane at a time because you can’t jack up a concrete bridge.”
The county received $552,240 in federal transportation funds to replace road signs to meet the latest national retro-reflective standards set by the Federal Highway Administration. These funds will not replace road name signs. The project in District 1 is completed. Now Holmes is going to work with the City of Bedford to work on getting signs replaced in both the city and in District 2 and District 3.
The City will pay for their sign replacement and the county theirs. But the two are hoping to receive lower prices if they get the signs replaced at the same time.
The commissioners were also concerned about the numerous missing county road name signs.
“That is our biggest and weakest point,” said Holmes. “They are stolen and get knocked down. We are going to do a concentrated effort to get them replaced.”
Emergency Management Director Valerie Luchauer requested permission to do a feasibility study to improve communications with volunteer fire departments.
The study will be paid for with 911 funds.
