Landowners ask Caroline County to close Gooden Road over dumping and safety concerns; county outlines petition process

At the Jan. 13 public-comment period, landowners Bill and Oris Mandich asked Caroline County commissioners to consider closing a short dirt cut-off known as Gooden Road, saying it has become a recurring dumping site and a place where people 'joyride' and hold parties.

"It's been a dumping ground for trash," Bill Mandich told the board, listing discarded TVs, tires and animal carcasses as recurring problems the family has repeatedly reported and removed. Mandich said the two families who live at the road entrance are the only residences served; beyond them the road passes mainly farmland owned by the petitioners.

Commissioners said they had checked emergency-response implications with local fire chiefs and the county EMS director. The sheriff’s office reported calls for service at the location and said deputies have used the road in past patrols related to criminal activity. Commissioners and staff said neither the fire chiefs nor the EMS director opposed pursuing a closure, but that the county must confirm utility easements and drainage impacts before moving forward.

County Attorney Stuart Barrow explained the statutory route for abandoning or closing a public road under state law (Local Government Article 12-5): an application must include a survey of meets and bounds, names and addresses of adjacent property owners as shown in county tax records, and notice must be advertised for three weeks. Utilities, public-transportation or school-bus providers and emergency services must be notified; the county holds a public hearing and then has 60 days from that hearing to make a decision on the petition.

Public works staff said the county receives roughly $1,000 a year in state revenue for that sectional road, that crews grade the road about every eight weeks and that work orders in the last two years were mostly for trash removal. Staff also cautioned that utility easements, culvert and drainage work and mapping would need resolution if the right-of-way were abandoned. Petitioners said they were willing to provide land for a cul-de-sac and to pay for survey costs if necessary.

Commissioners said the next step is to have public works and utilities confirm whether overhead or underground facilities would be affected. They told the petitioners that if there are no utility objections and the county would not be required to expend funds to remedy easement issues, the board would be willing to allow the petition process to proceed; Robin and Crystal from public works/planning will serve as staff contacts to assist the petitioners with next steps and lists of local surveyors.