County residents concerned about road maintenance

The condition of several county roads was the main topic of conversation at the most recent meeting of White County’s board of commissioners, held on Aug. 15, 2021, at the courthouse.

After the commissioners voted unanimously, with Roger Mason Dale Bennett, Terry Alley, and Lee Broyles being absent, to approve a resolution, No. 47-08-2021 Capital Outlay Note, to fund improvements to the county roads, audience members took turns addressing the court about specific roads and the responses they are reportedly receiving from the county’s road superintendent, Clay Parker.

“I’ve talked to Clay Parker many times about getting our road paved. He just flat says he isn’t going to do anything,” Robert Taylor, of Brooke Meade Drive, said. “We have a flooding problem that’s drastic.”

Taylor described the problem as stemming from a private property owner having had gravel laid without a culvert and resulting in flooding during periods of large amounts of rain.

“When I had Clay come by, he said he’s not responsible for a culvert under the driveway,” Taylor reported.

Taylor said the problem lies in the fact that the property owner does not reside in Tennessee, and the gravel has caused culverts that run under roads, which he said Parker did say the county department is responsible for, to be damaged.

“I told him if he fixes those, I’ll pay for the culvert for the driveway myself,” Taylor said.

Taylor said Parker still told him he wasn’t going to fix the culverts, and then went on to ask the commissioners how the community could get the road in the subdivision paved, claiming it had not been done in 45 years.

“How do we get our road repaved? How do we get these pipes fixed” Taylor asked. “He [Parker] doesn’t answer to anyone. How do you get him to do his job?”

Stanley Neal, the county commission chairman, responded to Taylor, explaining there are three sections of the government that work independently of each other: education, roads, and general.

“We can give him money, which the resolution that we just passed is solely for the purpose of paving roads,” Stanley explained further, adding that Parker is an elected official and has control over the roads. “But as far as your problem, we can’t force him to pave one certain road or one area.”

Some of the commissioners suggested that Taylor check for erosion, and, if there is any, the state may be able to step in and help further. Denny Wayne Robinson, White County executive, said he would go look at the road.

 “I don’t know that there’s anything we can do, but I’ll go look at it,” Robinson said.

Residents of Fawn Loop, on Bon Air Mountain, were also in attendance.

“We’ve contacted Clay Parker. He came up there and graded it [the road] in February 2019,” one resident said, and explained that now the road is in such bad repair that they can no longer get mail service unless they can get the road fixed. “So, we bought the rock ourselves and tried to get Parker to come grade it, and he won’t do it. He said he’s afraid he would get sued.”

The resident, who did not identify herself by name, said she is afraid if the roads get any worse, she will not be able to get out to receive medical treatments she currently travels to weekly.

“I got a different excuse,” Steven Lowe, who said he also lives on Fawn Loop, told the commissioners. “I was told it’s the postmaster’s responsibility to send him [Parker] money to improve the road.”

Lowe went on to say that, in 2014, residents were informed the road would be graded and maintained and stated that for years it had been maintained.  However, he said maintenance had recently been discontinued.

Robinson informed Lowe that within the past four years, the state comptroller’s office, along with the state attorney general, had issued an opinion that the county can no longer legally work on private roads.

“Are property tax and wheel tax not for roads?” Lowe asked.

Lowe was told those two taxes cannot be used for roads. However, fuel tax and severance tax are designated for road maintenance, once again taking those decisions out of the hands of county commissioners.

“We don’t have a lot of say, because he’s elected ,and his funds come from fuel tax and severance tax,” Neal said.

Neal encouraged the concerned residents to attend the Steering Committee meetings, which usually take place on the first Monday of every month but will be held on the second Monday, in September, because of the Labor Day holiday..

Before the meeting adjourned, commissioner Cain Rogers told the full court that the census numbers had been received, and White County had a population increase of 5.8 percent, up from 25,842 to 27,351.

“We have the list of all of the Upper Cumberland counties, and our growth compared fairly well to the other counties,” Rogers said.

The September Steering Committees, Budget Committee, and Solid Waste Committee Sept. 13, and the full court will meet Sept. 20.