Some Fentress County Residents upset after Commissioners voted to follow the planning commission’s recommendation to leave Willie Doss Road on the county road list
The county recently widened the road from six feet to eleven feet. Resident Janice Potter said residents on the road are just asking for the road to be taken off the county road list and keep it the same width it is now, with a small right-of-way. Potter said she knew what the outcome would be before the meeting, as someone stated in the planning commission meeting that the Doss family has the county commissioners in their back pocket.
“That’s discrimination against us,” Potter said. “We all should have the same legal right to say anything. And I’m tired of hearing about the good ole’ boys club, because if you all are involved in that, then that is bribery.”
County Executive Jimmy Johnson said the road could not be taken off the road list due to a resident living at the end of the road. Resident Stephanie Cooper said the road was never legally dedicated as a right-of-way and pointed out issues with the surveys for the road and for the land at the end of the road.
“For over a year, we could not get the survey,” Cooper said. “It was done last year in June, but this year it suddenly shows up in August at our first planning commission meeting, so it was suspicious. But when we looked, it was very interesting because what it says on there that you guys need to know is it says that Willie Doss Road was formerly Long Ridge Road, and we know that to be untrue now because we had to pay two separate independent surveyors, who are not just surveyors but engineers. And they said that definitely Willie Doss Road was not Long Ridge Road ever, which means there is no 33-foot right-of-way with a developer wanting to widen it, and a commissioner talking about widening it.”
Commissioner Ben Cooper pointed out that there was a delay from commissioners in providing a second to the motion to keep the road on the county road list.
“If we are gonna have a planning commission and a road supervisor to present this stuff to us, why was everybody scared to second the motion?” Cooper said. “I don’t understand. This is pretty cut and dry, I would think. Why would anybody in the county not want their road to be maintained and to be kept up? She publicly said that Mr. Delk had access to use it, so why would you not want it taken care of? That makes absolutely no sense.”
Commissioner Kim Davidson said the commission is just doing what the planning commission is recommending.
“No one has approached me about the road, so I don’t know anything about a good ole’ boys deciding,” Davidson said. ” I have not talked to anyone. This stuff is presented to the planning commission, and they review it. We have a board that sits there, and they do it, and so they present us with their recommendations.”
The commission unanimously approved keeping the road on the county road list.
