Resident asks county to vacate alley behind her Clarksburg barn; board schedules second reading

A Clarksburg resident asked Decatur County commissioners on July 21 to close an alley running behind her barn and said adjoining property owners have signed consent documents and received certified notices. The resident told the board the alley is inaccessible from the public road, that the barn sits adjacent to the roadway and that parcelization in the area left multiple small lots. She said a survey is in progress and that adjoining owners have signed the required paperwork. Highway staff and a commissioner noted concerns that some alleys can carry drainage or utilities and asked whether utilities or drainage existed in this location; the resident and one staff speaker said there appeared to be no utilities in that alley segment. The board treated the presentation as first notice and agreed to put the item on the next meeting’s agenda for a second reading; commissioners invited any adjoining property owners or other interested residents to speak at that meeting.