Church Street improvements draw closer in Cypress

By Deborah Buckhalter

Published: May 29, 2008

Jackson County commissioners on Tuesday took another step toward improving Church Street in Cypress.

The board awarded the $2.6 million resurfacing and widening project to Anderson Columbia.

The improvements are partially funded through a Small County Outreach Program grant (SCOP) from the Florida Department of Transportation. DOT is picking up $1.7 million of the cost and the rest, $869,146, will come out of the county’s one-cent sales tax revenues.

The county awarded bids on several other projects Tuesday, and started the bidding process on some as well.

With one fiscal year ending in a few months and another beginning, commissioners will start the weeks-long budget-setting process soon. In preparation for that task the county is looking for prices from the suppliers who will keep the local government in the materials that will be needed on a regular basis during the coming year.

For instance, commissioners authorized county Purchasing Agent Stanley Hascher to put out a request for bids on a yearly contract to stripe county roads and parking lot.

He also got approval to request bids on the purchase of various sizes of grader blades that will be needed by road and bridge in the coming year.

Hascher was also authorized to seek bids for an infrared camera needed to determine heating and cooling loss and moisture levels in homes that could be eligible for weatherization assistance next year.

Commissioners authorized Hascher to seek a supplier for the county’s yearly supply of various sizes and types of culvert pipe needed by the road and bridge department.

On the flip side, the board also authorized Road and Bridge Superintendent Al Green to find a buyer for a stockpile of used and unneeded culvert pipe. Green told commissioners that, because of its volume, it is becoming “an eyesore” in the road and bridge yard.

The county isn’t quite through with annual purchase contracts – an important one is coming up in July. That’s when Hascher anticipates seeking bids for the county’s annual fuel supply. The county buys regular gasoline and two types of diesel fuel to keep its vehicles on the road.

— See more on this story in an upcoming edition of the Jackson County Floridan.