At their meeting on Monday, McCulloch County Commissioners devoted an hour to the question of which Commissioner should be responsible for maintenance of a section of County Road 472. Appearing before Commissioners, resident Kristy White outlined on-going problems with maintenance of the road and the frustration of not knowing which Commissioner to call on to try to get it resolved. That frustration grows out of the fact that in that area, the boundary line between Precinct 3 and Precinct 4 runs down the middle of the road, although Precinct 4 is assigned responsibility for the CR 472 in that area.
Appearing on KNEL’s Morning Program Tuesday, County Judge Frank Trull noted the condition of CR 472 had been an issue for a number of years and spanned the terms of at least three Commissioners. And, while little had been done to fix the problem, he said the Court now agreed there is a need to take some action to help alleviate the problems residents face, especially when rain makes the road virtually impassable.
During the discussion of the problem, current Precinct 4 Commissioner Don Bratton argued that precinct lines should be used to determine responsibility for the road, rather than an arbitrary determination some years ago as to which Commissioner should take care of it.
All the Commissioners agreed there is a need to do something now to improve the road, and all also agreed to help in making that happen in the near term. Commissioners voted 3-1 to leave responsibility for that portion of County Road 472 under Precinct 4 for the time being, and to include it in discussions of the budget for next year. Commissioner Bratton voted against that motion.
In other action, Commissioners addressed issues involving two planned large subdivisions, and held two executive sessions to cover them. The first was for discussions with County Attorney Gregg Torres and Attorney Bruce James to discuss litigation against Silver Creek Ventures and Ranch Enterprises to consider settlement negotiations and a final compromise settlement agreement. Following the executive session, Commissioners voted to not approve the proposed settlement, and the issue will continue to be negotiated.
The second executive session involved a request for variances to subdivision regulations by The Ranches at Buck Ridge subdivision. McCulloch County Commissioners held a Special Meeting last Wednesday from The Ranches at Buck Ridge Subdivision to review of the preliminary plat for the planned subdivision. Following the review, Commissioners discussed their request for a variance for road construction within the subdivision and aa request for a variance for a road bond. Following the executive session Monday, Commissioners took no action on the variance requests.
