On Monday members of the Carter County Highway Committee heard an update from the county attorney on some pending matters that had been brought before the committee.
During a previous meeting, committee member Charles VonCannon had asked County Attorney Josh Hardin to look into a concern regarding a road located in the Central Heights subdivision, located in the Central Community. VonCannon said some of the property owners had expressed concerns that Haynes Street in the subdivision would be closed by the Carter County Planning Commission.
Hardin informed the committee he had personally gone out to view the area and had researched the matter. While the original plat for Central Heights subdivision included a road designated at “Haynes Street,” Hardin said he could find no proof the road had ever been opened or adopted by the county.
“I checked with Carter County 911 and they said there has never been a Haynes Street in the county,” Hardin said.
Hardin said from a legal standpoint, all of the residents in the area have access to their property via Plazz Avenue.
“As far as I’m concerned, there is no action for us to take,” Hardin said. “I don’t know why the county would want to close a road we never opened.”
VonCannon said some of the property owners were concerned about future access in the event some of the larger tracts of land were to be subdivided. Hardin said it would be a civil matter between the property owners because the road was never opened by the county.
During Monday’s meeting, Hardin also addressed some concerns that were previously raised regarding fences causing a possible obstruction on the county’s right of way access along Old Railroad Grade Road. At a previous meeting, members of the committee asked Hardin to look into the right of way issues and contact the owner of the adjacent property, a company called Wilderness Properties, and try to resolve the issue.
Hardin told the committee members on Monday that he had spoken with representatives from Wilderness Properties and they had all gone to the site to review the situation.
The county’s right of way along the road was deeded to the county by the railroad company which had previously operated a railroad line through the area. Hardin said the county’s right of way consists of 60 feet — 30 feet in each direction from the center of the old railroad bed — and follows the course of the old railway line.
“There was a tunnel the railroad went through,” Hardin said. “That tunnel is now collapsed and is impassable.”
The county’s right of way follows the old railroad line through the collapsed tunnel, Hardin explained.
“The road that detours around the collapsed tunnel is on private property and not on our right of way or the old railroad bed,” Hardin said. The fences which were in question as obstructions block access to that private property and private road and are not located on the county’s right of way.
“In my opinion, there is nothing up there obstructing our right of way,” Hardin said.
Members of the committee voted unanimously to drop the issue without further action based on Hardin’s advice.
During the committee’s November meeting, members voted to approve two requests from the community to name a pair of bridges after two late county residents — Pvt. Phillip Tolley, who was killed in action during World War II, and former Circuit Court Clerk John Paul Mathes. The committee then directed Hardin to draw up resolutions for the naming of the two bridges and bring the resolutions back before the committee.
On Monday, the committee unanimously approved the resolutions drafted by Hardin and will forward them to the full Carter County Commission for consideration.
In other business, the committee approved some corrections as well as three new additions to the county’s official road list for 2017. The county road list will be submitted to the full Carter County Commission for adoption during the group’s meeting later this month.