Commissioners approve two major drainage items, accept a preliminary plat with flooding concerns and adopt revised asphalt overlay specs

Liberty County commissioners on June 9 addressed multiple land‑use and transportation items, approving a drainage impact study for a large future development, accepting a preliminary plat application (subject to further drainage review), and adopting new asphalt overlay specifications to broaden repair options.

Tarin and Trails (Precinct 4): Permits & Inspections staff told the court it received a preliminary plat submittal for a development along County Road 311/311A. Staff and commissioners repeatedly warned that the area has chronic drainage problems and that several lots had already been sold without completed permits; one staff member said a sign on the property read "this property stays flooded." County Attorney Matthew Banker explained that accepting an administratively complete preliminary application starts statutory review timelines but does not equate to final approval. The court moved to accept the application for preliminary review;

Liberty Grand drainage impact study (323 acres, Highway 99): Brad Elmore of New Found Partners and engineers reported a multi‑year effort on drainage modeling, reviewed by LJA and other firms, that uses Atlas 14 rainfall data and is intended to produce a net improvement in flows to Cedar Bay. Engineers involved included BGE and FE & Nickels; the court voted to approve the drainage impact study as submitted.

Wet‑bottom detention variance: Commissioners approved a variance to allow a wet‑bottom detention pond (an amenity that remains filled) for another subdivision; staff noted LJA had reviewed the request and said maintenance and mosquito control would be handled by a POA to be defined later.

Roads and specs: The court rejected and authorized re‑advertising RFP #26‑07 for asphalt overlay to incorporate updated specifications. The court also adopted revised asphalt overlay specifications prepared with LJA that provide multiple approaches depending on roadway condition — from minimal mill/overlay treatments (estimated roughly $190–200K per mile) to full reconstruction (up to about $1.0–1.2M per mile) — giving precincts more options when programming work.

Next steps: Permits & Inspections staff will continue drainage reviews for Tarin and Trails; developers of Liberty Grand will proceed to design and construction phases under the approved drainage regime; county staff will reissue the asphalt overlay RFP under the updated specifications.