The third time’s a charm for Henderson County Engineer Nick Stallings, who for the past two years was denied federal road improvement grant applications, but this year has secured a $3.3 million award.
It was announced in Tuesday’s Henderson County Fiscal Court meeting that the county had won the grant.
Stallings learned on Sept. 5 that the county would receive the grant from the Safe Streets and Roads For All Grant Program, which was established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The previous two years he had applied to the program but didn’t get the award.
Stallings said the county’s plan for the funding must first get approved before any work can start. Once approved, the work—which must be finished in a 3-year timeframe—would be completed first on the county’s dime before being reimbursed through the program, he said.
Stallings said the money will be used for several road improvements to reduce injuries and fatalities.
He said the accidents that occur most often, according to data, are when vehicles run off the road, and cars crashing into trees near the roadway causes many deaths and injuries. A big portion of the grant will be used to remove trees close to county roadways, he said.
Additionally, Stallings wants to widen shoulders and push ditches back from roadways. He said that will give drivers an additional 5-8 feet to turn back onto the road.
The grant could also be used to conduct a road sign audit, allowing officials to know what to do to improve signage. And he said the program could allow for striping to occur on the edge of roads, another safety measure to help drivers stay on the road.
In other Fiscal Court news:
- The Fiscal Court approved the conditions of an agreement for the county to pay Kenergy the same percentage of $4 million American Rescue Plan Act funds as the percentage of county residences with access to high-speed internet connection completed by the company by Dec. 31.
This is an agreement initiated by the county so that work could be sped up, Judge-Executive Brad Schneider said at a previous meeting.
Travis Siewart, Kenergy’s vice president for accounting and finance, said currently about 38% of the county has access to high-speed internet. Siewart said Conexon, a company contracted to get the fiber lines in place, began work in the west of the county and has worked east. As of Tuesday, workers were in Niagara and soon to move to Zion. Once connections are available for Zion residents, he said the county will be at 75%-80% access. Siewart said the goal is to get 100% access by Dec. 31.
A caveat to the payout is that each customer who schedules a service connection before Dec. 1 but isn’t connected by the end of the year will count against the percentage of the $4 million that will come to Kenergy, Schneider said.
- Carrie Gentry, the Recovery Resource Club of Henderson manager and community addiction awareness director, told the Fiscal Court that children as young as second and third grade have been caught with vapes at local schools.
Tuesday, Gentry was giving an update on the programs she oversees to the Fiscal Court, which funds half her yearly salary.
She said the problem is something that all Hendersonians should be aware of and get angry about.
“It’s in our house,” she said. “We are Henderson County, so these are all our kids.”
She also said that companies put out cotton candy-and Skittles-flavored vapes for children.
“Our kids are being marketed to,” she said.
Children can smoke vapes that contain THC and nicotine, as well as fentanyl, she said.
Gentry, in partnership with Henderson County Schools, will host a Parent Safety Summit at the Recovery Resource Club of Henderson at 437 First St. It will be 5:30-7 p.m.
