A road resurfacing and repair project for a portion of Royal Oaks Road near Pauls Valley got some new traction Monday, as the Garvin County Board of Commissioners voted during their regular meeting to apply for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the federal government to help fund the project.
If awarded, the $300,000 grant would be used to resurface a 5-mile section of Royal Oaks Road in District 2, starting at Indian Meridian Road and moving west. The county will be required to contribute just over $51,000 in matching funds, as well as in-kind contributions of labor and equipment.
County Commissioners Mike Gollihare, Randy Chandler and Tom Pyle conducted a short public hearing on the grant application process, as required, before taking up several items related to the grant including a resolution authorizing the application and approval for the Southern Oklahoma Development Authority (SODA) to administer the grant, if awarded, for an 8% administrative fee.
District 2 Commissioner Pyle said it will likely be May before county officials know whether they are awarded the grant. He said the road resurfacing project has been planned for a while but has been delayed as county crews have been working to repair damage from storms and higher- than-normal rainfall across the county in 2025.
“We’ve just had some things that had to take precedence over the last year,” Pyle said.
Eligibility for the CDBG opportunity is based in part on the number of low-to-moderate income citizens who will benefit from the project. The grant funds would allow the county to conserve existing county resources for use elsewhere, but Pyle said the Royal Oaks Road resurfacing project is not dependent on the grant award.
“Regardless of whether we get the grant or not, we will be doing that road,” Pyle said Monday.
Commissioners also heard from Emergency Management Director David Johnson, who updated the board on measures emergency management and county officials are taking to mark the exterior tops of county road equipment, often used to create firebreaks and offer other assistance during wildfires, with identification that can be seen from drones or aircraft overhead. Johnson said he has also located handheld radios already owned by the county and capable of communicating with first responders, that can be kept at each county yard, to be used during wildfires. Johnson advised emergency management has purchased two new drones to replace recently retired units.
In other business during Monday’s meeting, Commissioners:
•Approved the lower of two bids received for a new overlay on the existing roof of the Hennepin Fire Department.
•Approved interlocal agreements between the Garvin County Board of Commissioners and Katie, Elmore City, Maysville, Paoli, Wynnewood, Pauls Valley, Foster, Lindsay and Stratford.
•Approved multiple road bore permits with deviation addendum in District 1 for Dobson Fiber, as well as a road bore permit in District 1 for Rural Water District 6.
•Convened a short executive session to discuss “the sale, purchase, lease, acquisition or appraisal of real property in District 2.”
Upon returning to open session, the board approved a motion to “continue negotiations.” The board did not identify the real property under discussion.
This article has been updated to correct the county district for the Royal Oaks Road resurfacing project, which was misidentified as District 3 in the original.