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Coats will resume mowing unclaimed rights‑of‑way while drafting policy
Summary
After residents raised concerns over overgrown lawns, the board directed Public Works to resume mowing streets that lack adjacent property owners or are vacant until a formal right‑of‑way policy is adopted. The town attorney said state statutes require roadway safety but do not mandate mowing.
Residents pressed the board about yards and rights-of-way at the Aug. 14 meeting, and the Board of Commissioners adopted an interim approach directing Public Works to cut grass on streets that do not have adjacent property owners or vacant lots while staff and the board draft a formal policy. Town Attorney Alton Bain advised the council that statutes require the town to keep roadways "in a safe condition" but that the town is "not legally required to mow the right of way." The motion to resume cutting in the interim passed unanimously (mover: Commissioner Kelvin Gilbert; second: Commissioner Shirley Allen).
Bain told the board that some lots adjacent to Gale Spears Drive extend to the edge of the right of way, creating a "no man's land" between the street and property lines; he cited the Town of Cary's practice of maintaining major thoroughfares as a comparable policy example. Public Works Director Wes Blount outlined areas the town already maintains — McKinley Point, the cemetery, a leaf‑dump spot on West Main — and said crews maintain sidewalks along Highway 55; he added that mowing Highway 27 with a zero‑turn mower poses safety risks.
Commissioner Jerry Beasley initially suggested continuing to mow as an interim courtesy while the board crafts a written policy; the board approved that interim direction and asked staff to return with a proposed policy for formal adoption.
