County road changes lead Comm. agenda

• County road changes lead Comm. agenda

Changes to the county road system including the abandonment of one road and the re-designation of another were at the forefront of a regular meeting of the Shelby County Commissioners’ Court Wednesday, May 29.

Comm. Tom Bellmyer proposed the abandonment of CR4188 due to lack of use.

“Because of lack of activity on that road by the county is why I’d like to like to abandon it and get it off the books,” he said.

Bellmyer related that, according to several long-term employees of the precinct, the road in question had not been maintained in over 30 years, and that state codes allow the abandonment of a road if it has not been maintained for at least 20 years.

“All of the property that road is on is a single owner and they have gated the road … it’s no longer accessible to the public,” Bellmyer said.

County Attorney John Price said information necessary to file with the county clerk for abandonment should be completed. The court approved the abandonment with Bellmyer pledging to furnish the required information.

County Road Re-designation

Re-designation of county road CR 2706 to CR 2794 was needed to correct an oversight.

“About a year ago,” said Price, “The commission approved acceptance of a 0.65-acre area as a 40-foot-wide easement to replace two portions which were asked to be closed on 2794.” The commission approved the closing, which amounted to less than 0.657 acres, because the land owners involved had constructed a new road, which is the 0.657 acres discussed.

According to Price, it was later discovered there was already a CR 2706, necessitating the re-designation of the recently accepted roadway.

Following Price’s assurances that he had prepared the necessary paperwork to file with the county clerk’s office, the court approved the re-designation.

County Road Minimum Standards In another road-related matter, the need for a county policy on minimum standards for acceptance of a road into the county road system was suggested by Bellmyer. He reminded the court that accepting a road from a subdivider in Precinct 3 was recently discussed, and that there was a new subdivision being planned in his precinct, leading him to propose the county implement a policy to cover such situations.

Bellmyer stated that he had researched the subject and obtained a copy of a Hood County policy implemented a few years ago.

“It’s a one pager, pretty simple,” Bellmyer said. “I’d like to, with the approval of the court, work with the county attorney on trying to draft a similar document for Shelby County for the future of taking private roads into the county maintenance program.”

Bellmyer said he wanted to get the other commissioners to review it and the county attorneyrecommend what he feels is an adequate document. “We can hand them this document and say, ‘when you live up to these requirements, then we’ll consider putting you into our road maintenance system and become a county road.’ That way, we’re consistent to everyone,” he concluded.

The court approved Bellmyer’s proposal with documents to be presented at a later date.

Dodge Pickup Donation

Constable Josh Tipton submitted a request to accept a donation of a 2017 Dodge pickup to his office.

Tipton noted that the offer comes at an opportune time as one of the vehicles currently used by his office has 200,000 miles on it and has been needing frequent repairs.

After discussion regarding outfitting the vehicle for use by his office, the court tabled the item pending an estimate of that cost.

Other Business

In other business, the court approved an increase of $6,500 for additional electrical work and inside wall finishing for the new Precinct 3 county barn and paying the weekly expenses.