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Commissioners authorize Miller Road tree work after landowner safety complaint
Summary
The board approved a resolution allowing county road crews to perform tree-felling on county right-of-way along an unmaintained stretch of Miller Road after a property owner raised safety concerns; staff will return with a contractor quote and implementation details.
The Board of Commissioners unanimously approved Resolution R-2025-12 on Oct. 7 authorizing county road staff to perform maintenance on a local-access segment of Miller Road to address large trees planted decades ago on county right-of-way.
Public works staff said the trees grew large after they were planted in the early 1900s and that a recent property sale prompted a complaint from the adjacent owner about safety and maintenance. The segment in question is on county property but not part of the maintained county road network; state rules limit using routine road funds on private or unmaintained roads without a formal board action, staff said.
Staff and the landowner had informally agreed the county would fell the trees and the landowner would handle cleanup, but staff reported that the logs and trunk sizes exceed the property owner's capacity to burn on site. The board authorized a targeted maintenance action and asked staff to obtain updated cost estimates; staff said an in-house approach (county crews and equipment) could be used to fell and buck the trees, with the county handling removal of large trunks and the landowner handling smaller limbs and site cleanup.
Commissioners said the resolution is narrow and specific to the Miller Road situation and does not represent a general policy for all unmaintained local-access roads. Staff said the contract or in-house work would likely cost near prior estimates and that staff would return with a precise quote for board confirmation or adjustment.
Ending: Staff will obtain updated contractor numbers and finalize the scope (fell trees, cut into 20-foot lengths, remove large trunks) before executing the work.
