Pulaski Council Tables Road Paving Request

  
 
The Pulaski County Council at their meeting Monday night tabled a request from Mark Fox to pave a gravel road, County Road 950 South, because residents had been complaining of gravel dust because of frequent truck traffic. Fox said he would like to use some CEDIT money to fund the project, since the first quarter-mile of the road had been paved 3–4 years ago using the funds and now the residents on the road would like to see the rest of it paved as well, approximately three-quarters of a mile.

Auditor Shelia Garling said the funds are available in CEDIT, which currently has a balance of nearly $1.7 million, but she would have to make an additional appropriation.

However, Nathan Origer, the executive director of the Pulaski County Economic Development Commission, spoke up from the audience and said that spending nearly $54,000 to pave a gravel road that only seems to affect two residents doesn’t seem like a good investment. Rather, the CEDIT funds, he said, would be more effective and better suited being spent on real economic development expenses. He said paving the road would cost a lot of money, especially when it only affects two county residents.

To add another complication to the matter, Fox said he is not sure whether the road is owned by the county or if it is a private road. Until that question could be answered, the council tabled the matter to allow time for Fox to determine who truly owns the road.