Coffey County commissioners remove Oxon Road from minimum-maintenance listing after public hearing; ask staff for more research

The Coffey County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a revised resolution recommencing minimum-maintenance designations for roads in the county’s northeast quadrant but removed a one-mile segment of Oxon Road after public comment and staff requests for further research.

The revision — filed as revised Resolution No. 2024-944 — was approved after a public hearing in which nearby landowners and agricultural operators urged the county to reconsider classifying the Oxon Road segment between 20th Fifth Road and 20th Sixth Road as minimum maintenance. The board voted to approve the revision that excludes the Oxon Road segment and directed county staff to research whether federal funds were used in the road’s construction, a legal detail that would bar minimum-maintenance classification under state law.

The road-and-bridge superintendent told the board the county has been signing low‑volume roads to place liability‑notice signage and that maintenance levels would not change on signed roads. Planning staff explained the matter’s planning‑board history: the full list was first reviewed by the planning board in August 2024 and again in December, and two other roads had already been removed during that process. Planning Administrator Heidi Harris said the planning board had recommended removal of two numbered roads (14 and 15) and left the rest in place, and that Oxon Road remained under discussion.

Local agricultural producer Kevin Harsch, who identified himself as a transportation manager with the Kansas Army National Guard, told commissioners that Oxon Road is essential to daily farm operations and that lack of reliable maintenance imposes time, equipment and fuel costs on producers. “Time is money,” Harsch said during public comment, describing how an impassable mile can force longer detours for slow farm equipment and increase operating cost and risk.

Harsch also argued the road’s right of way and past status as a federal route could mean federal-aid rules apply. County counsel and staff agreed they needed to verify whether any federal funding or Federal-Aid Secondary (FAS) designation applied historically; if so, state statute (Chapter 68, Article 5, Section 102) would prevent classifying that segment as minimum maintenance.

Board members and staff discussed two parallel paths: short-term drainage and culvert work or a more extensive reconstruction. Road and Bridge said routine maintenance, culvert replacement and ditch cleaning are done on minimum-maintenance roads but that rebuilding for all‑weather access would be a larger undertaking requiring additional funding and study. The board voted to remove the Oxon Road segment from the recommencing resolution and to have staff examine the road’s federal‑funding history and drainage options. Commissioners also encouraged landowners to attend the county planning meeting on March 19 to further engage with the planning board.

The action allows the county to proceed with signage and minimum‑maintenance declarations for other roads in the northeast quadrant while pausing final action on Oxon Road until staff returns with the federal‑funding research and a scope of any needed improvement work.

Provenance: The discussion, public comments by Kevin Harsch, staff presentation by Road & Bridge and Planning, and the motion to revise Resolution No. 2024‑944 appear in the meeting transcript during the public hearing on minimum maintenance roads (public hearing opened at 10:00 and closed about 10:37).