Spencer County court backs three-way stop at Pilot’s Way; county attorney packet flags liability concern

Spencer County Fiscal Court voted on May 16 to proceed with creating a three-way stop at the intersection of Pilot’s Way and Cessna Court. The motion approved at the May 2 meeting was reiterated and advanced in the May 16 minutes.

However, the meeting packet contains email correspondence from the county attorney and a KACo risk specialist advising caution. County Attorney Ken Jones wrote that the county engineer and road foreman recommended completing a traffic study before installing the stop signs, noting a liability concern if the county installed controls without an engineer’s analysis. KACo’s Richard Ornstein (copied to the court) advised following the road engineer’s recommendations and consulted the county’s safety and risk staff for further guidance.

Minutes record the court’s prior action to “go ahead” with the three-way stop, but the packet evidence shows county staff and counsel flagged the issue for further discussion. The record does not show the court rescinding its prior authorization at the May 16 meeting; it does show the matter being placed on the agenda for discussion and possible reversal at the request of the county attorney.

The exchange underscores a procedural question often faced by local governments: whether to install traffic-control devices based on local observations or after an engineering or traffic study to document need and mitigate liability risks. The minutes do not record a subsequent traffic study or a formal engineering report in the packet beyond the engineer’s recommendation cited in the email thread.