Fiscal Court tackles miscellaneous road issues July 10 By LARRY SEE JR, A portion of Lapland Road is now in the process of being abandoned, thanks to initial action taken July 10. Members of the Meade County Fiscal Court unanimously agreed to take the first of four steps necessary to abandon the road. Local attorney Steve Crebessa said the road would be closed through a portion of the Kimball property, but added since it would be gated, keys would be given to the affected landowners so they could continue access. The first step, according to Crebessa, was placing a notice in the local newspaper. Following that, the notice has to be posted at two public locations, Crebessa said, the Court has to appoint two viewers, with at least one being the county highway engineer, to ensure the road is safe to be closed and the final is to hold a public hearing. “The road in question is extremely difficult to maintain and there is a lot of garbage in the back,” Crebessa said. Crebessa alleged there are several drug crops in that section and police and fire departments have a difficult time accessing the area, due to the road’s deplorable condition. All residents along the affected stretch are in agreement with the proposal, Crebessa said. Magistrate Steve Wardrip asked if the affected landowners would have to be notified, via letter, of the public hearing, but Crebessa said the public notice and postings would satisfy that requirement. “There is no petition needed for this,” Crebessa said, in response to another question. “Once the public hearing is held, it is up to the Fiscal Court to decide what to do. The publishing and the posting meets the legal requirements.” Crebessa admitted Lapland wasn’t a dead-end road, having access from either end, and reiterated the fact all residents would have a key to the parcel in question. “This is basically a huge hill,” Judge Executive Harry Craycroft said. “There is not much of a way to maintain it.” Craycroft agreed to notify Crebessa once the process starts. In a related matter, members tabled action on amending the road ordinance requirements to make a road entrance 16 feet, instead of the required 18 feet. Suggesting the concept was Marion Whelan, who said traffic isn’t allowed to exit from another way, as there is only one entrance and exit. He also said nothing was in place to tie the interior roads together to make them a major thoroughfare. Magistrate Herbie Chism asked how it could be done, indicating the ordinance called for 18-foot roads. “You will have to amend the ordinance,” Whelan said. “You are going to have to put it in the ordinance like that. You people have the power to do that.” Following further discussion, it was determined one road in question was built prior to the ordinance revision, so it could be continued at 16 feet. The ordinance was revised in 1999. Whelan would be responsible for maintaining the roads in question, especially if heavy trucks damage them, until such time as the county takes them over. “I really think we need a work session to look at the road ordinance instead of tossing this back and forth,” Magistrate Mark Hubbard said. His suggestion was unanimously adopted. Craycroft indicated the matter would be addressed at a later date.
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