After a major construction project last year at the Warren County Jail, the county commission said this year it has a number of smaller improvements planned in the county’s capital improvement budget. Separately, the county has allocated funding for three significant road projects in 2020.

Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said the county has over $50,000 allocated to improvements at the county courthouse this year. Among that, he said the largest expense is upgrading all the light fixtures in the courthouse to use LED bulbs.

“That’s got to go out for bid. That’s an estimate of about $32,000,” Kluesner said. “It’s not (just) light bulbs. Sometimes you have to change the fixture to accomodate  it.”

Other improvements include replacing a water softener, estimated at $9,000, and installing a new water heater, which would serve both the court and jail facilities, and could cost around $14,000.

A larger portion of the county’s capital improvement funds will go to pay for a project completed last year, the renovation and expansion of the county jail within the courthouse. In 2018 the commission approved $3.6 million in borrowing to fund the renovation.

Over $336,000 is budgeted toward payment on that project, according to a county budget summary. Kluesner said the commission could devote an additional payment in 2020 to pay off the project sooner. He said the exact amount would depend on what money is available in the capital improvement fund later in the year.

Capital improvements are funded in large part by a dedicated sales and use tax, which is expected to bring in $549,000 in 2020. Kluesner said any of the funding not dedicated to a specific project is left in the fund as a reserve in case of a major unexpected expense.

From the county’s special road and bridge fund, which is supported by its own sales tax and a portion of property taxes, the county plans to pay for two road overlays and several miles of new pavement.

County officials said they plan to pave Smith Creek Road from Highway 94 to Highway N, and do overlay projects on Mill Road and Pendleton Cutoff Road.

Road Department Supervisor Gary Ruether said an exact timeline for the projects won’t be known until a contractor is selected, but that all three should be done before the fall. He said requests for project bids have already been sent out, and all the projects will go to one contractor.

“By the first of April, we will know who the contractor will be,” Ruether said.

He added that the county road department is planning further preparation work in anticipation of continued paving in 2021.

Kluesner previously commented that the Smith Creek project will add about 4.5 miles of new pavement to the county’s road network.

“That’s about what we can actually afford in a year,” Kluesner commented.

Anticipated revenue coming into the road and bridge fund in 2020 includes an estimated $1 million in property taxes, $1.2 million from sales tax, and about $708,000 from state contributions.