Morgan County commissioners deny White River Greenway master plan after widespread public concern

Morgan County commissioners voted April 21 to deny the White River Greenway master plan after extended public comment raising safety, cost and notification concerns.

The vote came after dozens of residents from Waverly, Monrovia and riverfront sections of the county told the board the plan, as presented, risks property rights, creates safety problems for hunters and private landowners and lacks clear cost and maintenance estimates. Commissioner Adams moved to deny the plan; the motion passed 3-0.

The plan had been presented to the board previously as a long-range guideline showing preferred corridors, including several routes north of the river and potential connections from Waverly Park to Henderson Ford Boat Ramp. Several speakers said the document's maps appeared to place trails close to private homes, across levees and in easements that landowners said they had expected to remain for utility access, not public trails.

“My main thing is just safety concerns,” said Sierra Smith, a resident who said she lives next door to her in-laws. “I have a teenage son … I would be concerned for public safety, people coming out to hunt. At the very least, we get some kind of proper notification, certified mail.”

Other residents cited recurring flooding in river-bottom areas, the high estimated cost of bridges and gravel work, and experience with out-of-county users. Dave Allison, a landowner who said he lives in Waverly, told commissioners that existing parking lots already draw nonresident vehicles and cautioned the board to consider ongoing maintenance and enforcement costs.

Commissioners acknowledged notification gaps. One commissioner said workshops had been advertised in the local paper and on the park website but that public outreach had not reached many affected landowners; another said the project should be reworked with earlier, certified notice to property owners if the county pursues it again.

The board heard several procedural suggestions during the meeting: some speakers asked for mailed, certified notices similar to zoning change processes; others urged that easement and fee-simple ownership questions be clarified before moving forward. Several speakers warned of potential litigation if the county pursued routes that landowners object to.

After listening to public testimony, the board voted to deny the plan. The chair said HWC, the consultant who handled outreach and scheduling for the plan, conducted the advertised public meetings but accepted that the advertisement strategy had not reached many residents.

The denial closes the process as presented; commissioners said officials could revisit the idea only with substantially revised outreach, clarified routing that avoids private-property impacts, and firmer cost and maintenance plans.

Votes at a glance: the motion to deny the White River Greenway master plan passed by a 3-0 vote. No amendments or follow-up assignments were adopted at the meeting.