County Manager Jerry Ayscue submitted a report to Vance County commissioners during Monday’s regular meeting regarding the improvement of roads in county subdivisions.
The report was placed at the commissioners’ desks and not made available to the press before or during the meeting.
According to Ayscue, the commissioners had asked staff to present a plan to improve roads in county subdivisions. Many subdivisions in Vance County were constructed before the commission enacted an ordinance requiring such developments to have paved roads; therefore, many Vance subdivisions have issues with road erosion and overall utility.
One such incident with a subdivision road occurred in December of 2009.
The county manager informed commissioners that there has been interest in financing road upgrades with a special assessment which would allow the work to be done now and repaid gradually.
Ayscue said that he has being trying to meet with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to discuss cost projections for the project. He also said that a process needs to be put into place that will prioritize which subdivisions are done first.
The manager went on to say that it must be determined how much debt the county can absorb.
For the roadwork to take place, owners in a subdivision must petition the county for the work to be done. 66% of owners must agree to repay the county. If that two-thirds agree, then all affected homeowners will be required to participate by law whether they want sealed roads or not.