Pinetop Lakeside council adopts new road-maintenance code, removes confusing "courtesy" category

Pinetop Lakeside — The Town Council voted unanimously to rescind Resolution 91-253 and adopt Ordinance 25-4-80, adding chapter 12.26 to the town code to formalize how roadways are accepted into the town-maintenance program and how they will be prioritized for repair.

The change replaces an older three-category regime and eliminates a confusing “courtesy maintenance” label for a handful of roads that the town had not been funding, Town staff member Matt told the council during a public hearing. The new code aligns road classifications with common municipal practice — arterials, collectors and local streets — and sets out a petition process and minimum construction standards for roads the town may accept for long-term maintenance.

Matt said the town’s work for the past decade will be folded into the new chapter so the public can follow a clear process for getting a road accepted. “We had a weird category called, courtesy maintenance roads, which caused a lot of confusion,” he said. “So basically, they were private roads that at some point were accepted throughout the process. And we weren't supposed to spend any money on them, but we were supposed to help when needed.”

Why this matters: The code change clarifies which rights-of-way the town will maintain, removes a category that led residents to expect maintenance the town did not provide, and updates the maintenance approach to a data-driven pavement-preservation model using pavement condition index (PCI) ratings. Matt described PCI as “a road rating index ... 1 through a hundred” that ranks roads by cracking, raveling and other defects so the town can target repairs at the right time.

What the council heard and decided: Council members asked whether the ordinance would require unpaved roads to be paved before acceptance; Matt said the town will accept gravel roads but maintain them only to their existing level (no asphalt overlays unless owners upgrade them). Councilor Smith warned the council to expect an emotional response from some property owners who thought their roads were covered under the prior courtesy listing. “I guess what I just wanna try to avoid if we can is a lot of angry citizens because they're they have roads in the town or they thought they did, that were being thought they were being maintained forever. And all of a sudden, we might say, no,” Smith said.

Matt said the town has already been working individually with affected groups — Rim Road residents, for example — to help them meet standards so the town can assume maintenance. He said staff had spent several years verifying right-of-way ownership and reviewing each roadway’s status. Examples cited in the presentation of roadways previously on the courtesy list include Hill Drive, sections of Rim Road, Rock Lane (also described as Bridal Lane), and Eastway and Westway.

Budget and annexation: Councilors asked whether the change would affect the town budget or maintenance of roads that might be annexed. Matt and council members said the change is primarily a code clean-up to put an existing practice into written procedure and should not change current maintenance obligations for roads already maintained by the town or for county-maintained roads that would transfer on annexation.

Council action: Vice Mayor moved to approve Resolution No. 25-1769 (rescinding Resolution 91-253 and successors) and adopt Ordinance No. 25-4-80 adding chapter 12.26 to the town code; a second was made and the motion carried unanimously by raised hands.

The council passed the measure without amendment; staff will publish the new chapter and begin using the PCI-based program and petition procedures to evaluate future roadway acceptance requests.