The Alleghany County Board of Commissioners and the North Carolina Department of Transportation held a public hearing on May 17, 2004, at 6:30pm in the Conference Room of the County Office Building, 90 South Main Street, Sparta, NC 28675. This meeting was held to discuss the 2004-2005 Secondary Road Construction Program.

Present - County: Chair Eldon Edwards, Vice-Chair Warren Taylor, Commissioner Sandy Carter, County Manager Don Adams and Clerk to the Board Karen Evans.

Present - NC DOT: Mike Pettyjohn, Charles Reinhardt, Brandon Whitaker, Jim Sloop, Roger Todd, Carolyn Hudson and Teresa Woodle.

Chair Eldon Edwards called the meeting to order at 6:30pm and turned the meeting over to Mike Pettyjohn.

Mr. Pettyjohn introduced the NC DOT staff.

Mr. Reinhardt reviewed the guidelines on how the funding could be spent on secondary road construction. He stated the priority system is a list of the priority rating with all of the unpaved roads being re-inventoried in spring 2001. He explained how the priority system works. He stated that a new priority listing would be placed into effect July 2005. He reviewed how they count every facility on the road and issue points accordingly with the highest point roads being first on the priority list. He reminded everyone that North Carolina General Statutes freezes the next ten roads after this year’s program is completed. He reviewed the process if a right-of-way hasn’t been signed. He further explained that the roads with right-of-way problems are placed into a different grouping.

Mr. Sloop reviewed the anticipated allocation for FY 2004-2005. The 2004-2005 anticipated allocations are as follows:

Highway Fund $ 1,248,142

Trust Fund 698,277

Total Anticipated Allocation $ 1,946,419

Mr. Sloop further reviewed the program that will come into effect on July 1, 2004. He named the roads that would be graded, drained, based, paved and stabilized in FY 2004-2005.

Mr. Whitaker asked for questions from the County.

County Manager Don Adams asked out of the 31 roads how many has come off the list due to right-of-way problems.

Mr. Reinhardt stated that out of the 25 roads that has received funding, 6 have been placed on hold due to right-of-way issues.

Chair Eldon Edwards and Mike Pettyjohn discussed the procedure for handling right-of-way issues.

Mr. Whitaker stated that there are nine roads that are actively being worked on at this time.

Commissioner Sandy Carter Herndon stated that it is her understanding that when a road is coming off of the hold list because the right-of-way issues have been resolved, the road must be re-scheduled for funding.

NCDOT staff agreed that the road must enter into the next funding cycle before any work can be completed on the road.

Commissioner Warren Taylor and Mr. Pettyjohn discussed the County does not lose money due to right-of-way problems.

County Manager Don Adams asked how many roads are on the priority list.

Mr. Reinhardt stated that there were 91 roads on the 2001 priority list with 30 on the hold list.

Chair Eldon Edwards asked about the portion of funding for strengthening certain roads.

Mr. Sloop explained how the roads are strengthened and the purpose for strengthening the roads.

Commissioner Sandy Carter Herndon asked if the names of people who refuse to sign the right-of-way remain confidential and does DOT look at the number of school bus routes on the hold list.

Mr. Pettyjohn stated that the hold lists are public record. He further stated that they work with the Board of Education about getting the school bus routes when the priority list is created. He explained how the school bus routes change annually and DOT can’t adjust the priority list annually.

Commissioner Warren Taylor asked about DOT bonding the property owner in a right-of-way refusal situation.

Mr. Pettyjohn stated that the General Statutes does not give the Department of Transportation the authority to bond property owners.

Commissioner Warren Taylor asked about how much money a bond costs.

Mr. Pettyjohn stated that it is $2,500 per parcel. He explained the bonding process.

Commissioner Warren Taylor and Mike Pettyjohn discussed the amount of money for last year’s program and this program being about the same amount.

Comments from the public were received.

Clarence Crouse, SR 1416, stated that they are supportive of this program and their questions have already been answered.

Barbara Conrad, SR 1354 and SR 1317B, talked about the cemetery in Cindy Lane and not being allowed to fix the cemetery prior to road construction. She further talked about drainage problems with Ward Road.

Mr. Whitaker talked to Ms. Conrad about the pipe that was taken out at her request is causing the drainage problems.

Barbara Conrad asked who is responsible for digging out the ditches on Ward Road.

Mr. Whitaker stated that Ward Road is maintained just like other secondary roads.

Barbara Conrad and Brandon Whitaker discussed looking at the road to see what can be done to fix the problems.

Georgia Cox, SR1411A, stated that her questions have been answered.

Donald Conrad, SR 1354, asked will the roads be paved that have been discussed tonight.

NCDOT staff stated that roads thru priority #31 are slated to be paved during the next fiscal year.

Donald Conrad asked if building a structure to be used for a business would increase the chance for a road to be paved.

Mr. Pettyjohn and Mr. Whitaker discussed the priority system. They stated that DOT will not know the ratings until the priority system is completed in July 2005.

Donald Conrad, Mr. Reinhardt and Mr. Whitaker discussed the chance of a road being paved by increasing the rating number due to the number of structures on the road now versus how many structures were on the road in the Spring of 2001.

Mr. Whitaker reviewed the three actions that the Commissioners can take; make recommendations on the program, approve the program, or delay action until a later date.

Chair Eldon Edwards thanked DOT for their time and effort. He also stated that the local DOT done an outstanding job during the winter months for the citizens of Alleghany County.

Chair Eldon Edwards declared the meeting adjourned at 7:03pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Karen Evans

Clerk to the Board

Attest:

Eldon Edwards

Chairman