Public-private cooperation in construction of county roads.

(1) If a county receives a proposal, solicited or unsolicited, from a private entity seeking to construct, extend, or improve a county road or portion thereof, the county may enter into an agreement with the private entity for completion of the road construction project, which agreement may provide for payment to the private entity, from public funds, if the county conducts a noticed public hearing and finds that the proposed county road construction project:

(a) Is in the best interest of the public.

(b) Would only use county funds for portions of the project that will be part of the county road system.

(c) Would have adequate safeguards to ensure that additional costs or unreasonable service disruptions are not realized by the traveling public and citizens of the state.

(d) Upon completion, would be a part of the county road system owned by the county.

(e) Would result in a financial benefit to the public by completing the subject project at a cost to the public significantly lower than if the project were constructed by the county using the normal procurement process.

(2) The notice for the public hearing provided for in subsection (1) must be published at least 14 days before the date of the public meeting at which the governing board takes final action. The notice must identify the project and the estimated cost of the project and specify that the purpose for the public meeting is to consider whether it is in the public’s best interest to accept the proposal and enter into an agreement pursuant thereto. The determination of cost savings pursuant to paragraph (1)(e) must be supported by a professional engineer’s cost estimate made available to the public at least 14 days before the public meeting and placed in the record for that meeting.

(3) If the process in subsection (1) is followed, the project and agreement are exempt from s. 255.20 pursuant to s. 255.20(1)(c)11.

(4) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this section, this section does not affect existing law by granting additional powers to or imposing further restrictions on local government entities.