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Longtime resident says private roads in the avenues lack city maintenance
Summary
Laura Swartz Harrington, who said her family has lived in the area since 1965, told the council she was told by public works her street is private and that she and neighbors have been paying to maintain it; she asked the city to prove the private-road designation and questioned whether Measure V will cover maintenance.
Laura Swartz Harrington, who said her family has lived in Clearlake since 1965 and owns property "up in the avenues," used the public-comment period to press the council on road maintenance in the avenues. She said public works told her her street is private and that she and neighbors have been putting down gravel and repairing foundations themselves. "After I was told by the public works that, my street was private..." Harrington said, describing years of patchwork and the challenges of clay soils on the hill.
Harrington said she has deed records and other documents she believes show the street is not private and asked the council or public works to "prove to me it's a private road." She said she was a widow on a fixed income and had struggled to keep renters off the property and to maintain the roadway. She expressed skepticism that Measure V funds would cover maintenance for streets designated as private.
Presiding staff directed Harrington to follow up with the public works department during regular business hours; the council did not make a formal determination during the meeting.
