At the first set of public hearings for the proposed ordinance and the proposed amendment to classifications of level B and C roads in the county, clarifications by county officials were met with concerns from citizens.
Clarke County Engineer Justin Savage spoke about the reasoning for both of the ordinances.
“Just to clarify, these two ordinances do nothing in, they’re not assigning any roads at this point, it’s simply an ordinance we should have as a county,” Savage said. “Honestly, [this] should have happened before now. It does give the authority to the board, at a later time once the ordinance is passed, to assign roads level B or level C. To do that, they will have to have a public hearing and it will call out the specific roads they intend to make level B or level C.”
Monday, the first hearing was for the proposed ordinance for level B roads. Currently, Clarke County does not have an ordinance that pertains to level B roads. Proposed Ordinance 40 would give the county the authority to classify certain roads as level B, in order to provide for a reduced level of maintenance.
Chapter 309, section 57 of Iowa Code defines the level of roads in Iowa as the following:
- Area service “A” classification roads shall be maintained in conformance with applicable statutes.
- Area service “B” classification roads may have a lesser level of maintenance as specified by the county board of supervisors, after consultation with the county engineer.
- Area service “C” classification roads may have restricted access and a minimal level of maintenance as specified by the county board of supervisors after consultation with the county engineer.
Level C roads have further specifications for their classification in Iowa Code.
Savage explained with level B roads, the idea is that most of what are now dirt roads could fall under that classification. As he is still new in his role in Clarke County, Savage was unsure on the exact number of level C roads currently in the county.
While level C roads included being gated, Savage said he did not foresee many roads being gates, the ordinance simply gives the county guidelines on how the different road types are handled. He noted that work had been going on before he joined the county to place level B signs on dirt roads, as those roads are not being maintained as they would be at a level A status. Supervisor Randy Dunbar added that these ordinances would line up more with state ordinances for classifications.
The amendment to level C roads, currently Ordinance 26 would become Ordinance 41, would allow for certain roads to be classified as level C, which would provide for a reduced level of maintenance.
Citizen concerns
A number of Clarke County citizens spoke during both public hearings.
A Madison Township resident spoke about a portion of Pacific Street north of Murray that he said is a level C road due to a bridge on the road, but that it goes against Iowa Code as there are no gates at the road’s access points.
Iowa Code, in 309.57-1(3), states,
“An area service ‘C’ classification shall apply to the entire portion of a road between the road’s access points. The county board of supervisors shall not classify only part of a road between the road’s access points, or only a bridge on the road, as area service ‘C’.”
The subparagraph does not apply to roads that terminate in a dead end, and access points include but are not limited to driveways as defined in Chapter 106.19.
A series of hearings and discussions on the mentioned bridge were held by the supervisors in 2017 and 2018, with a petition to reclassify a portion of the street failing due to lack of signatures from adjoining landowners.
Concerns about placing gates on roads that would require those with access to open and shut them for said access was voiced as a concern.
“I think the future of you changing the status to A to B to C, it just gives you the leeway of no maintenance,” one citizen said, adding that by doing so it would create hardships for not only property owners, but those people who use the dirt roads for travel. “At some point, I feel it’s going to create a hardship, and that is cruel on your part to do such a thing to the people that use these roads…they’re traveled, they’re used…if anything, [maintenance] could be increase some.”
Suggestions were made to gravel all of the dirt roads. Others said there are current roads needed to be fixed before any changes be made to their classifications. When speaking to dirt roads that find themselves torn up after a rain, a citizen suggested an ordinance be created similar to that of other counties, where those who destroy the road would be liable to bring them back up to grade.
Supervisor Dean Robins restated Savage’s earlier comments that the ordinances were something that should have been dealt with many years prior. Robins said former county engineer David Carroll had discussed the need for the changes, but had resigned before work could be done. When Savage brought up the issue, the supervisors decided to move forward.
“What we’re doing right now, this is an ordinance - this gives us the approval, basically, if we want to set standards on each individual road in the county moving forward, then this gives us that authority to do that,” Robins said.
Robins said that the supervisors were not looking at any specific roads, just at the ordinances to be able to classify roads.
As far as maintenance, Robins said he didn’t foresee the maintenance decreasing nor increasing from its current status on any roads, to which Savage agreed.
A question was asked if the classification of a road can be changed without public input. Savage explained that for any road to be classified as a level B or C, a public hearing would be held. In the case of a change to a level C, all landowners affected by that classification would be notified. Only after a public hearing could a road be officially reclassified. A level C road would still be county property, but only adjoining landowners would be allowed to access the road.
When asked why there was a need for the ordinance changes if the state was not mandating them, Dunbar said it was because the county needed something to go on. If signs are not posted, that leaves the county open to potential liability to what may happen on those roads.
It was also asked why an ordinance was needed if the state already knows the classifications, to which Savage explained the Iowa DOT suggests each county have their own ordinances to establish classifications.
Future hearings
Two more public hearings for both the proposed ordinance amendment and proposed ordinance will be held on the matter.
The next hearings for both will be held May 19, at 9:05 a.m. for level B and 9:10 a.m. for level C. Copies of the proposed ordinance and proposed amendment are available at the Clarke County Auditor’s office.