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Supervisors discuss Scottish Presbyterian pioneer cemetery, options to vacate or restore access road
Summary
The board reviewed the status of a vacated road leading to the Scottish Presbyterian (pioneer) cemetery, presented historical mapping, and outlined options including formal vacation with easements, restoring the road to county maintenance, or leaving the status unchanged.
Board members discussed a long-standing access path to a Scottish Presbyterian pioneer cemetery near Adrian and S Avenue and asked county staff to research deeds and maps before making a final decision.
Staff presented historical maps and explained that digital records since 1988 do not show the route as a county right-of-way, though older maps suggest the path once functioned as a road. The county does not have a survey of the cemetery. Neighbors currently maintain a rock surface and use the path to reach the cemetery; one nearby landowner opposes keeping the route as a through road because of traffic across their property.
County staff outlined three options for the board: 1) formally vacate the road (which triggers notice to adjoining landowners and could allow private control), 2) reestablish and classify it as a county road (including a resolution, DOT coordination, regrading and making it a Level B road), or 3) leave the current arrangement in place and pursue a narrower easement so the cemetery remains accessible but the through-traffic issue is addressed. Staff said the path has not been actively maintained by the county since about 1986 and recommended cleaning up the paperwork before any physical work.
Supervisors asked staff to send letters to nearby landowners as part of the information-gathering process and said they would review legal descriptions and the county’s records. Staff will return with documentation of whether the road was ever formally vacated and with options to implement the board’s preference.
No final decision was made at the meeting; staff will follow up with survey and legal research and report back.
