County okays 'road' vacations; three petitions still in limbo

Three recent road vacation petitions from the Public Works Department were approved by County Commissioners in successive hearings Monday, but three long-standing petitions, which have been left at the same juncture, are expected to possibly be moved back to the front burner.

Commissioners Monday approved vacations of a remnant of the Winona West Road, the T.W. Walters Road just north Colfax and the Emerson Road which is located off Highway 195 near its end at the Idaho line.

Unlike previous road vacation rounds, none of the petitions drew opposition.

The Public Works department over the past two years has moved to scratch roads from the county system to eliminate maintenance costs. Most of the petitions involve roads that provide access to a single property owner.

Still on the commissioners’ table are Public Works petitions to vacate the Crow Road in the Oakesdale area, the Hatley Road on Union Flat south of Ewartsville and the Campbell Road in the Tekoa area.

Both the Campbell and Hatley Road vacations involve bridges into private residences.

Commissioners were reminded Monday that the three earlier vacation petitions had been on the table for several months.

Commission Chair Greg Partch said he expects they will have to conduct a work session to be briefed on the status of the three long pending proposals which are still hanging fire.

All three of the recent vacations petitions were vacated without comment in the Monday commissioner session.

The Winona West vacation Monday involved leftover segments of right-of-way which went out of use when the intersection of Winona West at the Jordan Knott road was realigned 50 years ago. The redo of the intersection left parts of the former right-in-way unused but still in county possession, possibly because of a survey error.

Jim Rockwell, who was present at the commission session, endorsed the abandonment. Rockwell said he has been farming the land parcels for years and was unaware of the legal ownership. The land involves about three acres.

The T.W. Walters Road is a small spur road which intersects with the Green Hollow Road just north of Highway 26 in north Colfax.

The road at one time served houses which were actually outside the city limits.

Public Works Director Mark Story said the road now is part of the entrance into the machinery display lot of Jones Truck & Implement. The county has previously discussed turning over the former road to JTI, and they have decided to go ahead with the abandonment.

The Emerson Road is a small spur road off the south side of 195 at the far end of the county.

The Campbell Road abandonment was first proposed with others in December of 2009. The road intersects with the Tekoa-Farmington Road south of Tekoa and runs eastward to the Bruce Bridge across Hangman Creek upstream from the Tekoa Golf course.

Land owners in the area contend the Campbell road serves more than one land owner. Also, Richard Peredina, a Spokane attorney representing Bert Louks, one of the landowners, pointed out state law forbids abandonment of roadways along waterways except for industrial development and building a marina.

He noted in the Campbell Road case, neither of the exceptions to the state law applies. The intent of the county, he explained, was to save maintenance costs.

Peredina’s comments were picked up by Roger Daisley whose residence is served on the west side of Union Flat Creek which is served by the bridge on Hatley Road. He has objected to abandonment of his road by the county.

The Crow Road petition has been in limbo since last October when neighborhood residents objected to its abandonment. The Crow Road is a small segment off the Trestle Creek Road west of Oakesdale.

The county has proposed the abandonment because it duplicates a route served by the Eckhart Road off the Trestle Creek Road.

Area residents at the October hearing last year noted they still use the Crow Road as a wheat hauling route.