Carroll Fiscal Court on Tuesday approved the sale of its Ohio River mineral rights — permission to dredge the county’s portion of the river bottom for sand and gravel — to Nugent Sand Company.
Nugent President Tom Nugent, Vice President of Operations Damon Hughes, Operations Manager Clay Ferris and attorney Ruth Baxter were at the court’s regular meeting on Tuesday to answer questions about the proposal to mine sand and gravel, which the court agreed to advertise for bids on Nov. 14 after being approached by the company.
The county advertised for bids on a 10-year lease to dredge minerals with options for two additional 5-year periods. The winning company would also have to conduct a required mussel study prior to any dredging.
Although the bid process was open to any company interested in the mineral rights, the only bid received by the deadline was submitted by Nugent. Baxter said although Nugent was the only bidder the company considered the bid a competitive offer based on the value of the minerals and the costs associated with dredging over the life of the lease. She said the same bid had been submitted to and accepted by Oldham County under similar circumstances.
Read the full story in the Carroll News-Democrat.