Commissioner, property owner square off on road maintenance

Keri Gordon, Tahlequah Daily Press, Okla.
·2 min read

Aug. 2—The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners approved an administrative settlement, invoices, a lien waiver, and a quit claim deed during an Aug. 1 meeting.

The settlement, invoices and lien waiver was for David and Rhonda Stanley for parcels for a Guy Engineering project on Clyde Maher Road.

The quit claim deed was to Austin and Betty Kenyon Trust. District 3 Commissioner Clif Hall said he, County Treasurer Patsy Stafford and Assessor Marsha Trammel were looking at land the county owned.

"This one here, they had done a realignment when Commissioner [Mike Ballard] was in office and this is land that the county — it's touching Mr. and Mrs. Kenyon's property," said Hall. "They gave us the land to realign the road back in 2010 or 2011 and we're just tying to get this back to him, because the county doesn't need it and it's actually his property."

The board listened to concerns from resident Dewey Hendrix in regard to East 730 Road. Hendrix said the road used to be 74564 Road, and District 1 Commissioner Doug Hubbard advised this portion of the road was a private drive and not a road he or his crews maintain.

"At one point in time, it was a road, and the only way for it to be shut down is by county commissioners and the person the [Oklahoma Department of Transportation] told me had final say, so to speak, is [County Clerk Cheryl Trammel]," Hendrix said.

Hubbard continued to tell Hendrix that he had never maintained the road and advised him to speak with ODOT.

"It's not a county road as far as I'm concerned, I don't care what that says," Hubbard said. "They don't run my show."

Hall told the man that inventory changes monthly on the county roads that are not recognized or maintained.

Hendrix advised he would be back before he walked out of the conference room.

Consideration on a resolution to authorize and approve incurring of indebtedness by the Cherokee County Economic Development Authority to be accomplished by the issuance of lease bonds was tabled until Thursday, Aug. 4.

Approval of a claim for the reimbursement of easement cost project and an Oklahoma Department of Transportation claim on a state job in District 2 were granted.

Requesting and receiving officers for the Hulbert Fire Department was approved.

Claims, purchase orders, appropriations, and transfers were OK'd.

What's next

The next Board of Cherokee County Commissioners meeting is Monday, Aug. 4, at 9 a.m., at the Cherokee County Courthouse.