By Becky Killian, Staff Writer
The county didn’t plow a portion of Hardinsburg’s streets after the January snowstorm, forcing a resident to hire a contractor to do the work.
Dave Kolle presented receipts to the Washington County Board of Commissioners for reimbursement during the Commission’s meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
The receipts totaled $125.
Highway Department Superintendent Rick Voyles said the streets are included in what appears to be a subdivision that includes Roll Street. The county’s snowplows are too wide to plow one of the streets because of a tree that is more than seven feet in circumference. The county’s snowplows are 8 and a half feet wide. Also, the tree’s roots have displaced the street’s concrete, giving it a rise of about seven inches.
The property that includes the tree has an out-of-state owner and the county doesn’t have a right-of-way that would allow officials to remove the tree.
When Kolle asked if the county would buy a snow-removal vehicle that will fit on the road, Voyles said each of the county’s snowplow drivers are assigned an area that requires eight to 10 hours to plow. He has no additional employees who could drive another snow removal vehicle.
Since Hardinsburg is no longer a town, and because the county hasn’t adopted the streets, Voyles said the money the state used to distribute to Hardinsburg for road maintenance has instead been disbursed throughout the state. That state distribution would total about $13,500 annually. He added that the county receives no reimbursement for any work done in Hardinsburg.
Hardinsburg doesn’t have a current road inventory, so it would have to be updated before the adoption process could begin. Once the adoption process begins, Voyles said it takes a year.
Kolle said when Hardinsburg was still a town, the streets were plowed. He asked if commissioners would restore Hardinsburg as a town again.
Commissioner Todd Ewen said that matter is the focus of a current lawsuit and that it isn’t within the commissioners’ power to restore it.
Ewen said the commissioners would review Kolle’s request for reimbursement for the snow removal contractor.