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Commission hears multiple rural road and easement issues; staff to prepare legal notices and surveys
Summary
The commission discussed closing part of A Hundred and Fifth Road, a Hidden Valley culvert spanning county lines, and maintenance of a 1,056-foot access off 90 Fifth called Unique, and asked staff to prepare legal notices, surveys and any necessary paperwork.
The commission spent a substantive portion of the meeting on a cluster of rural road, easement and maintenance issues that included a request to close a problematic section of A Hundred and Fifth Road, a county-line culvert installed at Hidden Valley's north entrance, and whether the county must continue maintaining a roughly 1,056-foot two-track off 90 Fifth known as Unique.
A landowner requested that the county close the portion of A Hundred and Fifth that is no longer a safe through route and that several adjoining landowners supported closure. Commissioners explained the process to close a road: provide legal notices, identify affected landowners, provide public notice and prepare a legal description for register of deeds. One commissioner said an old railroad right-of-way and an offered easement from a neighbor could make closure administratively straightforward once paperwork and signatures are collected.
Hidden Valley culvert: Commissioners said the north entrance culvert for the Hidden Valley subdivision was placed partly in Linn County and partly in Bourbon County. Because residents pay Bourbon County taxes, commissioners suggested residents obtain a survey to document where the culvert lies; county attorneys from Linn and Bourbon were expected to confer. The commission said if residents want the county to adjust culverts or reset a culvert, the HOA should provide a survey and the county would assist in resetting the culvert within Bourbon County boundaries.
90 Fifth and Unique: The commission reviewed prior mapping and historical practice. A county staff member reported that county maps show 1,056 feet of Unique opened to the west off 90 Fifth to provide land access; commissioners discussed past practices (such as grading for school bus routes) and said the county will continue limited maintenance but will not reopen or build past county standards unless the property owner constructs road to county standard and then requests maintenance.
Why it matters: Road closures, maintenance responsibilities and cross-jurisdictional culvert placement create safety and access issues for rural residents and involve legal notice procedures and survey work. Closing a non-traveled section reduces county liability but requires statutory process and landowner notice.
Next steps: Staff were asked to prepare the paperwork, obtain landowner consents where available, and coordinate with the register of deeds and county attorney on legal descriptions and notices for any formal road-closure action. For Hidden Valley, the county expects Linn County counsel to contact Bourbon County counsel; the HOA was advised to obtain a survey to confirm the culvert location if the HOA wants county assistance.
