City discusses road swap with county

Dothan city commissioners tentatively agreed to a road swap deal with the county Tuesday, which will do away with the problem of dual maintenance on county roads that have been annexed into the city.

City Manager Mike West and Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver have been discussing the swap for more than two years, finally arriving on a list that is agreeable to both entities. The county approved the agreement in June and the city will vote on it July 14.

“It was a long process and we tried to give you a lot more roads than this,” Culver told city commissioners, “including a lot more dirt roads, but you wouldn’t accept them. This agreement is mainly aimed at helping citizens and staff know what maintenance occurs where.”

There were dozens of roads to be assigned, which are similar to Flowers Chapel Road, a county road inside the city limits. State law requires that the roads in unincorporated areas annexed into the city be maintained by the city.

As annexations occur, the two governing bodies will trade more roads in the future.

“We have received a lot of little pieces,” Culver said. “We are doing all of Fortner, South Park, and Campbellton Highway. The city is taking over Lingo, Napier Field and a couple of others.”

The county is also taking 70-plus miles of traffic control and whatever cost is associated with the traffic signals and highway striping.

West said it will clear up a lot of confusion, such as occurred recently when roads were damaged by flood waters. “We have attempted to go into some of the major areas to see who is responsible for this section of road,” West said.

As part of the agreement, the county will pave Cherry Rock and Rowland roads. The city is responsible for right-of-way and utility relocation. The county will have one year after the city’s work to pave the roads.

The swap is to take effect Oct. 1, giving the county time to receive FEMA funds on flooded roads.

“And to the taxpayer,” Mayor Pat Thomas said, “it means greater efficiency. Now we will know where our roads are.”

A map of the new jurisdiction will be published on the city’s Web site at http://www.dothan.org.