Landowner Wants Old 169 North of Grant City Closed

Joe Davis, a landowner north of Grant City, asked about getting the process started to close Old 169 north of Grant City. He said he wanted it closed in part because it had become a dump site and he had to run would-be dumpers off. There would need to be easements granted to allow landlocked owners access to their property. Clerk Roberta Owens and commissioners explained the process; a lawyer would have to draw up the appropriate papers and they would have to be publicized over a period of time. There would be an opportunity for other landowners to object to the proposed closure. There is a big difference between abandoning and closing a road; abandoning a road is when the county no longer maintains it due to excess brush and other problems; however, the county still owns the road. Closing a road requires a formal legal process. In the case of Old 169, commissioners said that easement issues would have to be resolved before that road can be closed.
The new rope and pulley for the Courthouse flag arrived; commissioners were going to strengthen it before putting it up on the Courthouse.
Gina McNeese and a group of youth volunteers worked on painting the benches red to match the rest of the Courthouse. Gina and Craig McNeese then finished up on the project. The county got some positive comments about the improvement of the Courtyard’s appearance including a thank you letter from the Extension office.
While on vacation last week, Clerk Roberta Owens said that she saw the devastation of the Joplin tornado and Commissioner Rob Ruckman said that TV cameras would not do it justice.
Collector Julie Tracy explained to the commissioners that she could not give people tax receipts for proof of payment until all taxes were paid. She said that she would have to research how a charge would become a tax as far as counties were concerned. Currently, the county is seeking to enforce a voter-passed brush ordinance by sending brush letters to landowners and then doing the work or having it done and assessing costs to the taxes of landowners who repeatedly fail to comply with the letters. The county resolved one brush situation with one landowner agreeing to have needed work done after a conference call with Jim Fletchall and commissioners. Fletchall gave commissioners a few more spots which needed brush letters.
Commissioners have cited lettered roads as a major issue for the DOT; Route AA has been resurfaced; however, there are still chunks of that road that are breaking away.
Commissioners explained the procedure for employees handling county invoices. All tickets must be signed so that the county can match tickets to the appropriate fund.