Action steps taken on Suncoast private roads issue
A series of meetings concerning the condition of privately maintained Suncoast Estates roads – most specifically Bartholomew Drive and Laurel Lane -and a Neighborhood Meeting on the issue last Monday may spur some action.
On Tuesday, Sept. 27, the board of county commissioners, local fire chiefs and EMS officials discussed declaring a state of emergency to fix those roads in North Fort Myers.
That idea was tabled for several reasons. If emergency funds are used, that may drain funds if a catastrophic event hits the area, said North Fort Myers Fire Chief Chris Nobel.
“Also, it didn’t meet the criteria to be able to declare it an actual emergency,” he said. “The policy has been in the past to only release those funds if a road is impassable or has really great response times.”
Also, the height of rainy season has passed, usually the first week of September, when flooding there could more severely affect emergency response times.
Gravel from an emergency order could be put in the holes on those roads, but it would be a “quick fix” he said. “It would be like a Band Aid. We need a permanent solution.”
Other alternatives are now be explored, said Commissioner Tammy Hal at a Neighborhood Meeting held Monday, Oct. 3.
It was a packed house, with emotionally charged discussions by residents on just how badly those roads need repair. They talked about continuous and costly car repairs, concerns that emergency responders will be delayed and even interruption in postal delivery.
“My transmission just went on my car,” said resident Jim Burgess of Bartholomew. Others noted their own costly car repairs.
Another resident said, “We’ve spent $2,500 on filling the craters – it’s impossible when the rain comes to keep up with it.”
Another issue is the pool of residents that can pay for repairs because it is considered a private road. “Of the 178 parcels on Laurel Road, as an example, only 62 were homesteaded; the rest are renters,” said Hall.
“I understand the frustration that each of you feel regarding the challenges you face with privately maintaining roads,” Hall said. She has compiled and updated lists of specific problems, and action steps that have been taken since th public meeting.
Issues specifically identified from discussions and noted by Hall include:
- Sand located on sides of road exceeding road heights
- Equipment availability to maintain roads
- Material availability to maintain roads
- County coming in behind private work changing drivability without resident input
- Drainage ditches, both maintenance for flow and existence of ditches
- Utility easements, lines not buried deep enough
- Postal service interruptions due to road conditions
- Flooding of roads and property due to poor condition and lack of consistent design of roads
- Consistent vegetation trimming
- Road widening due to lack of defined edge
- Collapsing of side of road due to defined edge
- ATV nuisance
- Increase in non-residential traffic on these privately maintained roads
Action items that have been taken since the Neighborhood Meeting, Hall said, include:
- Baker Canal on Laurel Lane Inspected the roadway at Baker Canal on evidence of eroding on both sides of the roadway at headwalls even with the road surface. There is no evidence of collapse. (Kelly Mutz, DOT Eng. Tech.)
- Tree touching power lines on easement at corner of Gish Lane and Bartholomew. LCEC has entered a tree trimming order. LCEC’s process is to field check all tree trimming requests and schedule the trimming based on urgency. Therefore, depending on the circumstances found during the inspection, tree trimming will be scheduled anywhere from immediately up to 120 days.
- Utility placement too high on Bartholome. With regards to the “utility placement too high,” LCEC was not able to find any record of work in this area.
Hall noted on her blog that she needs the name of the resident who brought up that issue to clarify that concern.
- Have EEOC follow up with ADA for possible funding of paving Grady (below Laurel) disabled residents live in this area having trouble getting to bus stop.
“Mary Ellen Harrigan, our Fair Housing specialist, contacted staff at the U.S. DOJ to confirm our initial thoughts on this issue,” Hall said in her blog. “Here is what her inquiry discovered: If the residence is located within a Home Owners’ Association/Cooperative (trailer park)/Condo Association, then the Association is responsible for maintaining the common areas, including the roads. If not, then they are on their own to make the necessary repairs.”
“Either way, according to DOJ resource personnel, the county/city/government is not responsible for the repairs,” said Paul Valenti, manager, Lee County Office of Equal Opportunity in a response to Hall.
“I will post this information and any other information that is related to our meetings on our blog page,” said Hall. “I’m trying to make sure that accurate information gets out to all the residents that attended that meeting. My office will schedule another neighborhood meeting sometime in November to update the residents on the county’s end.”
In the meantime, she sad, please review the list.
“If you want to share additional ideas or express other issues please email me at dis4@leegov.com. Again, thank you all for attending the meeting and positively participating in solutions that will ensure the vibrancy and quality of life in the Suncoast community.”
Hall does ask residents who want frequent updates to share their email addresses with her office staff. Email dist4@leegov.com to provide your address for this or other local issue updates. Her blog can be found on leegov.com under Board of County Commissioners – District 4.