Despite facing a legal battle on the process the county uses to pave roads, the Warren County Commission is proceeding with this year’s scheduled upgrades. Last Tuesday, commissioners voted to award the paving contract to N.B. West Contracting. The contract, to pave Shetland Lane, Shepard Glen, Royal Drive, Pendleton Cut-Off Road, and South Rock Church Road, will cost the county $408,978.95. The second-lowest bid, $508,733.84, was submitted by Pace Construction Company. A third bid was received from Mid River Asphalt Inc. The county also received bids for paving North Rock Church Road, but at this time the commission has no plans for proceeding with the upgrades. The overall road improvements will cost substantially more as each of the roads are prepped by the county. Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said county officials have estimated it costs $164,000 per mile to prep and asphalt a road. The county estimates it will receive $800,000 in sales tax revenue for the road improvements. “I think the (bid) pricing was pretty good,” Kluesner said. This is the first full year the county is receiving funds from the continuation of a half-cent capital improvement sales tax. County voters in February 2008 approved 70 percent of the sales tax revenue being allocated for road maintenance with the remaining 30 percent going for other capital improvements. The continuation of the sales tax went into effect July 1, 2010. The county used the funds collected last year to pave Schreckengast, Town Branch and Bluff roads. Commissioners have commented repeatedly that the roads being paved first are ones where adjacent property owners are willing to give the county a 10-foot easement on each side. Earlier this month, county resident Wanda Thomas filed a petition in mandamus asking a judge to compel the commission to form a county highway commission pursuant to state statute. The petition stems from an ongoing debate between Thomas and the commission on the manner and process the county used to pave roads with dedicated tax money. Thomas feels a highway commission is needed to assist the county commission in determining future road improvements. More heavily traveled roads, she said, should be more of a priority for the commission since the sales tax went into effect. “If (property owners) work with us, we try to get their road paved,” Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage said when asked if the legal action would halt the paving projects. “They are taxpayers too and gave us the easements.” There is the potential that some of the road upgrades could not happen this year. For example, improvements to Pendleton Cut-Off may have to be delayed if unrelated work to install a nearby waterline is not completed. Also, cold weather could hamper or slow some of the work later in the month. The paving work must be completed by the end of October before the weather turns too cold. In the meantime, it has yet to be determined what order the roads will be paved. Commissioners said they are leaving that decision up to the contractor. Engelage also complimented Dan Hampson for his work in obtaining the necessary easements. Hampson acknowledged it has been tiresome at times convincing property owners, some who live out of the area, to sign the easement.