Residents and staff weigh options for 80th Avenue SE/Bluejay Road paving as ownership records remain unclear

The Community Planning and Transportation Committee discussed paving and ownership questions for Eightieth Avenue Southeast and Bluejay Road at its June 26 meeting after a Ward 5 resident raised long-standing maintenance concerns.

Randy Carter, a Ward 5 resident who said he has lived on the property since 1979, told the committee he and other homeowners signed easements that were accepted by the county commission on April 9, 1984, and that the county and city jointly paved the road in November 1995. Carter said he has copies of the easements and that county minutes show the commissioner action; he told staff he would share his documentation.

Staff response and record searches: City staff told the committee they had not been able to locate clear documentation in city or county files tying the roadway to city ownership; staff described the road as a private road in the city system with no recorded dedication or easement the city could verify. Staff said there is one recorded document they had found that claimed to sign over right-of-way but they could not confirm its legality or completeness.

Options discussed: City staff described two principal paths discussed with county staff: 1) the county could accept responsibility for repaving the roadway and the city would participate under the existing interlocal agreement (the county often supplies materials while the city supplies asphalt labor, or vice versa depending on the project); or 2) the county could reconstruct and bring the road up to city standards and the city could accept the road for future maintenance if it meets city-code construction requirements. Staff cautioned that the city only accepts private roads when they meet current city standards and that bringing the roadway to city standard likely requires reconstruction from the subgrade up.

Cost, extent and use: Staff and committee members estimated the work needed to bring the roadway to city standard could be substantial; one staff comment put a rough minimum estimate at about $1 million to rebuild to city standards for the full stretch, and staff said the combined stretch is less than one mile. Committee members and staff recommended conducting traffic counts to help weigh cost versus longevity (one staff member noted the roadway lasted roughly 30 years after the 1995 paving). Carter and staff noted current heavy uses, including school buses, garbage trucks and boat trailers heading to nearby lake access points.

Next steps: Staff said they would review Carter’s easement copies, do further record searches, obtain traffic-count data and bring back options (including cost estimates and a recommended funding approach) at a future CPTC meeting. Several committee members also said they had spoken with County Commissioner McCuse, who indicated he was amenable to repaving discussions, though staff emphasized they would not speak for the commissioner and would confirm any county commitments through formal channels.