Fentress County Commissioners tabled a decision Tuesday night to remove a portion of Old Davidson Road from the county road list.
Fentress County Road Superintendent Ryan Reed said the 0.32 mile portion in Wilder has not been maintained since the 1970s. Several Old Davidson Road residents spoke against the plan. Resident Vanessa Whitman said Old Davidson Road is the only access point for many residents due to the location of an old strip mine.
“For the purpose of emergency services, and myself as well as many of the other property owners intend to put houses along this road, some have already started on their building plans for this road, and we would request that you would keep this open and take our views into consideration,” Whitman said.
Reed said removing the portion of the road from the list would not close the road, and the road would remain a public road. After hearing from other Old Davidson Road residents, Commissioner Larry Cooper motioned to postpone the decision for another month.
“I can get with the EMS director and the Sheriff’s Department because there are concerns about emergency services making it in there,” Cooper said. “We’ll go to Wilder and look and make sure we can get a fire truck and ambulance in there.”
Commissioner Kim Davidson asked Reed what the current condition of the road is. Reed said that currently, the road has been taken over by nature and that all that is left is dirt.
“The road is not there Kim,” Reed said. “What they are calling the road is the old railroad bed. Of course, the road can’t be where a railroad bed is, so the road is down below where the railroad bed is. You can’t even see the road anymore, it’s gone.”
Commissioner Benny Hughes asked County Attorney Leslie Ledbetter who owned the old railroad bed. Ledbetter said after searching, there is not a deed that discloses whether the old railroad bed belongs to the county or to someone else.
The commission will vote on the request to remove the portion of the road from the county road list at the next commission meeting, June 16 at 6pm.
In other business, the commission approved to surplus a tractor from the county highway department.
The commission approved a change order for the reduction of $10,254 for the UT Extension construction.
The commission approved an update of the county highway department personnel policy items. Reed said the changes come after meeting with auditors.
