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County sued for not maintaining roads
2008-04-07 16:47:00
DEERLAND — A lawsuit was filed last week alleging Okaloosa County has
been negligent in maintaining county-owned roads for years.
Cornerstone Construction and Development, which owns several lots in
different subdivisions in Deerland, filed the lawsuit April 2 against
the county.
The lawsuit states the county and Fidelity Southern Development
Corporation, the original developer of Triple Lakes, Magnolia Blossom
and The Pines subdivisions, reached an agreement in 1968 that the
developers would construct the subdivisions’ dirt and clay roads and
the county would then maintain them.
To see a copy of the lawsuit, click here .
Mike McClard, who owns some homes in the area, said the county’s
dereliction of duty in maintaining the roadways the past 20 years has
led to public health issues and is taking away from the quality of life
there.
“We have begged and pleaded and begged and pleaded for them to do what
they’re supposed to,” McClard said. “This is what it’s come to.”
The lawsuit seeks to have the county pay for the improvements to the
roadways around the Triple Lakes, Magnolia Blossom and The Pines
subdivisions. It also calls for the county to pay all legal fees and an
undisclosed amount for loss of profits caused by the damaged road.
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Reader's comments
| What's up with Antioch Road? I guess part of it is in city limits -the smooth part- and part of it is county? People who drive on that road should flood the county with calls and letters until they fix it. Just my thought. |
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| ed - Nov 24, 2008 12:26:18 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Perhaps we should get the previous Mayor involved with this. While he was Mayor he managed to get his street repaved when it was not even in need of it. No, I was not a fan of Mayor Whitehurst. |
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| Mike in the city - Nov 21, 2008 01:35:42 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Lets not forget about the two ambulances in the last two years that were stuck on Kervin Road. Both had Heart Attack Victims and at least one had to be pulled out by a fire truck. |
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| Resident on Kervin - Nov 19, 2008 11:51:33 AM | Remove Comment |
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| The county commission is really excited about their new recycling program. I guess they forgot that trash service companies REFUSE to provide service up Kervin Road, even though they are contracted to do so. We have to make our own arrangements for trash disposal. Some people are just dumping. It is becoming a health hazzard. |
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| Resident on Kervin - Nov 19, 2008 11:41:17 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Kids were DENIED school bus service back here last year because the roads were so bad. At least one little kid had to walk two and a half miles up Kervin Road after school before bus service was restored. Doesn't the school system have their own road grader to fix roads that are required for them to provide bus service to students? Isn't there a Florida Law that states that a school bus HAS TO pick up a child within so many feet of their home, so they do not have to walk too far? |
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| Deerland Mom - Nov 19, 2008 11:38:15 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Who's responsibility is it to improve Hwy 393? It is a Hurricane Evacuation Route, and it is in pretty rough shape too. It really should be four laned. That would then set us up for the "proposed" Crestview by-pass. Wasn't land already donated from Shoal River Properties to connect it to Hwy 393? Who is sitting on that? Those lots at the intersection of 393 and 90 would be a great spot to open new businesses. A Sam's Club between Crestview and DeFuniak with a straight shot to North 85 would be a real winner for everyone involved. |
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| Deb on 393 - Nov 19, 2008 11:32:12 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Isn't it cheaper to pave the roads now than to wait a few more years for the lawsuit when the materials are all going to increase in cost. If they would have paved the roads in 1968 as mentioned above, it would have been A LOT CHEAPER! |
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| Ted - Nov 19, 2008 11:26:45 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Lawsuits cost lots of money. Wouldn't Okaloosa save money by just paving the roads mentioned above, instead of fighting it, being stuck in the legal system for years, and then having to pay the legal fees and have to pave the roads anyway later on. Now that is a waste of Tax Payer Money! The only ones that win are the attorneys collecting fees since April 2008. They must be loving this. |
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| Ted - Nov 19, 2008 11:24:37 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Another CNB Article had this quote from Commissioner Harris,
"There are 286 miles of roads in Crestview and the north county that are not paved. At the present rate of paving, it’s going to be 28 to 30 years before they get paved. That is unacceptable. We’ve got a road like Kervin Road, taxpayers can’t get ambulance service to them, can’t get police service to them, can’t get school bus service to them, because the road is in such bad shape. We need to suck it up in the county and fix the roads. I would like to see some kind of priority in our paving and step up the paving process significantly. Not all of the dirt roads want to be paved, but they want to be maintained. I personally would like to pave them all. I think it’s unacceptable in 2008 or 2009 to have unpaved roads in our county." |
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| Pines Home Owner - Nov 19, 2008 11:18:23 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Mr Amunds is the one holdout. He always seems to push the others from voting in favor of roads. Is he against progress in our county or something? More roads means more houses which means more home owners which means more tax money without raising taxes. We could really help our county by having more homes built on decent roads, so transplants don't go to Santa Rosa or Walton County to buy homes. |
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| Resident on Kervin - Nov 19, 2008 11:14:04 AM | Remove Comment |
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| LOL. It looks like four not five. If Mr Campbell also helps Mr Harris' District, then that may lay the foundation for roads in Mr Campbell's District, in the future. |
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| Crestview Reader - Nov 19, 2008 11:09:00 AM | Remove Comment |
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| On several occassions during County Commission meetings, Mr Jannazo has offered to contribute his "special projects" money to "fix a mistake that an earlier commission made". He is tired of the run around that the folks out here have been getting for years. I think Mr Roberts offered a portion of his money too. Mr Campbell may be holding out, so he can use his money to get roads paved in his district. He has the same problems as Mr. Harris' District. that is three out of five votes for roads, so we are excited! |
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| Resident on Kervin - Nov 19, 2008 11:05:19 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Why would a commissioner from the south end of the county want to offer money to get a road paved on the North end? |
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| Crestview Reader - Nov 19, 2008 11:00:03 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Commissioner Harris was sworn in yesterday. He wants to get roads paved, and he mentioned Kervin Road several times in the last couple weeks. Commissioner Jannazo wants to help and has offered money too. Let's get it started! |
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| Resident on Kervin - Nov 19, 2008 10:57:12 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Wow, talk about necro-posting. Deerland made a good point. There has been one more road over here paved, but none of the cross roads have been touched. The County Board admitted that the last road was under the "managed-maintenance" list, so it was hard-topped. Can we start on the others. Our property was sold with the understanding that the roads will be paved. It is all mud and water over here. |
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| Bill - The Pines - Nov 19, 2008 10:53:28 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Would someone please run an update on this story? Folks from the development company have been given a gag order, and we would like to know how this situation is developing. It has been seven months and not a peep. |
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| Deerland Resident - Nov 18, 2008 01:35:43 PM | Remove Comment |
