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Why Governor Killed Dirt Road Bill
By Tiffany Craig Special Assignment Reporter
Published: Tue, April 08, 2008 - 5:53 pm
Last Updated: Sat, May 24, 2008 - 3:52 pm
Last Updated: Sat, May 24, 2008 - 3:52 pm
Tiffany Craig
Check out the picture attached to this story. The mud holes might be annoying parents but this 2nd grader decided to play in it instead.
A few hundred people live in the Grand Farms subdivision and use the road daily. The muddy mess is making it too hard to drive.
Neighbors have put up cinder blocks so drivers don't use their yards to get around the standing water.
By law, the county can't work on private roads and the people here are fed up.
Michael Mosley took his shoes off and walked right into a water hole to prove how frustrated he was. "It feels like I'm going in for a baptizing but I know it can't be because I'm in the middle of the street, the road we have to travel in everyday."
State representative Spencer Collier has introduced a bill that could help. It would give the county the legal right to work on private roads.
Commissioner Mike Dean represents the Grand Bay Area and has promised to help.
His spokesperson sent the following information about the issue.
1. This is a private road (basically the same as a driveway). By law, the county CANNOT do ANY work or spend any public funds on this road.
2. Commissioner Mike Dean did promise to help these people and he has. He has done a lot behind the scenes. He considered getting donated labor and supplies and looked at the possibly of using volunteer fire fighters to get the job finished, but ran into legal barricades.
3. Mike Dean is keeping his promise to help residents by working with Rep. Spencer Collier to pass a bill in the legislature that will allow the County to work on private roads and find money to pay for this work.
4. Mike Dean does not support using current taxpayer money to work on private roads because this could potentially triple the road maintenance expense for the County. There must be a revenue source attached to any new law concerning County maintenance of private roads.
“I sympathize with these residents and have worked for years to find a legal solution. If the legislature changes the law and supplies a revenue source, the County can help in this situation.” – Mike Dean, County Commissioner
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one word COUNTY? lol