Commission tells residents county cannot haul rock on private-access roads; homeowners told petition process exists for subdivision improvements

Pratt County commissioners spent substantial time addressing repeated resident requests to haul rock and otherwise improve roads in an area described in the meeting as the "lake addition" (also called the Swisher addition).

Commissioners and staff told residents the roads in question are largely private drives created by a developer, that an earlier homeowner association had dissolved, and that the county performs limited maintenance — typically grading once a month and plowing snow under an arrangement — but does not have easements or ownership to undertake major haul-in rock projects. One county official said, "It's private property. I know it looks like a street, but it's kinda your driveway." Another commissioner noted that if an area is properly subdivided, owners can petition the county commission for road improvements under state law and the cost of those improvements can be taxed back to the property owners; the record shows no such petition had been filed.

Commissioners said hauling rock into the development would be expensive and could create expectations for similar work elsewhere; several residents argued they pay county taxes and that the county should do more. County staff said a portion of the west side of the development does have a written agreement, and the county had performed some grading there in the past, but that other sections lacked such an agreement.

Commissioners suggested one path would be for interested property owners to purchase the property from the county if the county owned it, or to pursue the statutory petition process for subdivision road improvements, which can place the cost on benefiting owners. Commissioners did not commit county funds for rock hauling or larger repairs at the meeting and directed staff to inspect specific locations and report back.