Resident presses Elbert County to enforce maintenance on commercial metro district roads

A resident asked the Elbert County Board of County Commissioners on June 25 to intervene after what the speaker described as large, unrepaired potholes on a road near the Murphy gas station in the Highway 86 commercial area.

The speaker said they contacted the district manager (identified in the public comment as "Clifford Lawson Larson Allen") and the metro district multiple times beginning in April and received a sequence of responses that pushed repair dates into July. The resident said the commercial metro district's board is majority developer-appointed and has no residents, and asked whether the county could enforce maintenance obligations when metro districts fail to act.

Monty Hankins, Elbert County Public Works Director, said public works had received similar calls and had placed at least five calls to the metro district and spoken with the original developer but had not secured responses. "We have had no success either," Hankins said, and offered to pursue additional outreach, including talking with the original developer to encourage action.

Chair McDaniel suggested county staff, the county attorney and the county manager meet to determine what enforcement options are available. The board agreed to pursue a meeting to explore options. Commissioners and public works emphasized that many internal subdivision roads are the responsibility of metro districts or property owners rather than the county.

No formal enforcement action or ordinance change was made at the meeting; staff were directed to meet and report back on potential next steps.