City to vote on maintaining subdivision street

Fort Scott City Commissioners voted 4-1 this week for the city attorney to draft a resolution accepting a finished portion of Tiffany Lane for the city can provide maintenance.

The vote came after local real estate developer Greg Schick requested at the Fort Scott Commission meeting Tuesday the legislative body adopt a resolution accepting the lane as a public thoroughfare for maintenance purposes.

Tiffany Lane leads into Williamsburg Subdivision, a new housing addition off of south Horton Street just north of Fort Scott Community College.

He also asked that commissioners approve funding totaling about $10,000 worth of work for pouring concrete to finish the cul-de-sac at the end of the lane. Commissioners held off on deciding the request. Schick has said he will pay for labor associated with finishing the street, but retracted the offer at the meeting.

He wanted the city to accept Tiffany Lane for maintenance up to a certain point in the subdivision. He requested commissioners pass a resolution on the issue at the Tuesday meeting.

Schick said the issue was addressed by commissioners last year. In August 2005, he wrote a letter to City Manager Richard Nienstedt requesting the city to accept the street. He also asked the city to provide concrete to curb, gutter and pave the lane.

Closing one of the properties in the subdivision became an issue last week when the title company to one of the properties claimed the lane was not a public road, rather a private street.

He was told the city recognized it as a public street from a conversation he had with City Attorney Bob Farmer last week. Farmer said at the meeting he "has no idea what Mr. Schick is talking about."

Schick showed commissioners the plat of the land, saying the lane is a public thoroughfare accepted by the commission in 1996.

"As far as the county's concerned, it a public roadway," Schick said.

Farmer said the street is not "accepted at this point because it has not been completed. And that's been our position since day one. The issue being presented is whether or not you accept the street for maintenance purposes the portion of the street Mr. Schick has described."

The street is not publicly maintained, but all the properties have closed and that hasn't been a problem, Farmer said. A majority of the lane is completed.

Commissioner John Keating said he didn't have a problem accepting the portion of Tiffany Lane. He proposed the motion to instruct Farmer to write the resolution for the Nov. 7 meeting.

Concerning the request for funding concrete work, Keating said that will have be addressed at a later meeting when city looks at giving help to each residential developer. Staff is gathering more information to present to commissioners about possibly drafting policy that spells out exactly what qualifies for assistance. Currently, the city provides help on a case-by-case basis.

City Commissioner Barbara Wood said once the city accepts the road, it's up to the city to provide upkeep.

Wood voted against the motion.