County Commission split on issue to extend maintenance on Bunch Standridge Road

The Stephens County Board of Commissioners was split 3-2 on an issue during its meeting Tuesday.

The issue stemmed from a citizen’s request that the county start maintaining a larger portion of Bunch Standridge Road.

County Administrator Phyllis Ayers says from years past the county has only maintained a portion of the road.

“On August 28, 2018, we made a motion for the entire road to be maintained by the Stephens County Public Works to begin the right-of-way deed process,” Ayers said. “In the agenda packet, there’s also an aerial view where from Holiness Church Road to from where I have written ‘BS’ and ‘Stop.’ This is where the road department has historically maintained and we only have ditch to ditch off of Holiness Church Road. You’ll hear during the citizens’ comment or if our Chairman wants to hear them now, there are some folks here to discuss this.”

Darren Sheriff was the first resident to come before the commission.

He spoke for Martha Aldridge, who’s property stops at the section of un-maintained road. He says that he’d prefer the county maintain the road as they have in the past.

“I know y’all surveyed it and all that stuff, but we want it left just like it is,” Sheriff said. “We want it maintained and y’all have always maintained it. She’s (Aldridge) been living there for about 70 years. Kelly and Corey Buckner, we sold them 10-acres of land, is what it amounts to, on out past Martha’s house on the right there. And when we did that, all the years that she’s been there y’all have maintained the gravel and the ditches right before you get to their (Buckner’s) house because there use to be a gate there.”

Corey Buckner’s property is located across from Aldridge.

He says he wants the county to maintain the road without the property owners losing any land to the right-of-way.

“I’m the one that has started all this mess. The only thing I did was call the county, first, and just asked ‘is there anything that we can do,’ because they stop, literally, 100-yards from my driveway. When the house was built, so it was understood, it was a county maintained road to where the driveway was going to go in. Well, the gravel stopped 100-yards from our driveway. If we had known that we would have repositioned it. I don’t want asphalt. I don’t want anybody to lose any land…The only thing I want is the gravel to come another 100-yards, so that I don’t have to pay for three loads of gravel out of my pocket.”

However, after further discussion from the board, County Attorney Brian Ranck advised the county, at the very least, request additional easements.

“Typically we’ve deferred to the road department and say ‘how much room do you need in order to maintain this road in a safe manner and turn your equipment around,’” Ranck said. “You could request an easement, that’s always an option, then they’re just giving an easement to the county. We don’t prefer that but it is an option.”

Chairman Michelle Ivester made an initial motion to deny the request, but, with only Vice Chair Dean Scarborough voting in favor of the motion, the motion failed.

Then, Commissioner Stanley London made a motion approving the request under the condition that the county receive written approval from both Buckner and Aldridge.

Commissioner Debbie Whitlock seconded London’s motion.

Commissioner Dennis Bell voted in favor of the motion and was the deciding vote, after Ivester and Scarborough voted against the motion.

The motion passed 3-2.