Published: May 15, 2009 10:48 am      

Borden road work sparks debate

Quarrel surrounds fixing holes on private road

Clark County Commissioners were at odds with each other Thursday about whether the county should offer to pave potholes on a privately owned road near Borden.

Commissioner Mike Moore said that the bottom portion of Cabin Hill Road is so bad that school buses will not drive on the road when it becomes slippery. He worries that the condition of the road will continue to deteriorate and wants the county to fill potholes until the commissioners can review the possibility of paving the road.

The county already helped finance a project to pave the top section of the road. The unpaved section of the road is about seven-tenths of a mile long and is owned by Indiana Land, a developer.

“It’s privately owned property. It would be like patching a driveway,” Commissioner Ed Meyer said. “I don’t think it’s fair to other developers that do what they’re supposed to.”

Moore argued that it would not cost the county much money and said there would be 25 to 30 lots positively impacted by the improvements. With Meyer arguing that paving Cabin Hill Road could open the door for people to expect the county to pave all private roads, Moore asked for an estimate of how much it would cost to fill the pot holes.

“I might pay it out of my own pocket,” Moore said.

Commissioner Les Young said he would only support paving the road if the owners did more to bring the road up to county standards.

Commissioners’ attorney Greg Fifer warned that if the county does too much maintenance, it could become fully responsible for the road.

“The more you do, the more evidence that you’ve taken it over and are responsible for it,” he said.

The county already provides snow removal to the road.



IN OTHER BUSINESS

• The county might be moving closer to starting one of the long-awaited projects that could have a major impact on the Starlight area. The commissioners voted 3-0 to proceed with work for the right-of-way for Star Hill Road. Moore said he was recently told the cost of a project to build Star Hill Road will cost about $13 million — as opposed to the initially estimated $16 million — because of diesel fuel costs dropping.

The state will pay 80 percent of the cost, and another 10 percent will be covered by nearby property owners donating land. That will leave $1.3 million for the commissioners, and Moore suggested they look to the Major Moves account to find that money.

“I’d like to say this is our No. 1 priority,” Moore said.

Meyer disagreed and said the top priority should be the project for St. John Hill Road in Borden, which is expected to cost the county $800,000. Meyer said St. John Hill Road is an older project, but Moore said the Star Hill Road project is older.

“People up in Starlight would much rather have St. John,” Meyer said.

• Meyer asked Fifer and the attorney for the Planning and Zoning Board to review a 2001 ordinance that gives the county authority to demolish dilapidated houses. Last month, the commissioners voted unanimously to pursue enforcing the ordinance. Meyer said he supports enforcement but worries the ordinance might not be valid.

• The Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency rejected a request for federal stimulus money to use for the Perry Crossing Road project. It was estimated the stimulus money could save the county $600,000 to $800,000. Fifer said no reason was given for the rejection.

• The commissioners unanimously passed an amendment to an ordinance that is part of an interlocal agreement between the county and Jeffersonville for improvements to Waterline Road. The ordinance will give the county responsibility for replacing the guardrail along the road, and the city will set the speed limit. Construction crews hit a snag when they found the guardrail had lead paint, Fifer said.

• A 3-0 vote changed the time of meetings permanently back to 4 p.m. Moore had suggested moving the time to 5 p.m. to encourage more people to attend the meetings, but attendance appeared to remain steady even with the later starting time. Moore proposed the time change back to 4 p.m. starting in June. The May 28 meeting will be held at 5 p.m.