Starke County Commissioners Reject Road Dedication Proposal

Starke County Commissioners: Kathy Norem, Dan Bridegroom and Jennifer Davis

The Starke County Commissioners recently passed a motion rejecting a proposal from Alan Hildebrand to annex four roads in the Chesapeake Run Subdivision to the ownership of the county. Hildebrand approached the commissioners with a letter proposing the dedication of the streets to the county in order to have the county maintain the roads.

However, a number of issues arose from the request. The commissioners were uneasy taking responsibility for street lamps located on the easement lines on the properties, and a number of fences were positioned directly on the line as well. The big question on their minds: who would maintain and pay for the lights?

According to County Attorney Martin Lucas, the county would not be responsible for maintaining the lights. If they were to burn out or stop working, the county could instead decide to simply remove them.

A motion was made by Commissioner Dan Bridegroom to table the request to allow time for Hildebrand to speak to the North Judson Town Board to find out if they would be interested in acquiring the roads. The motion failed, however, due to lack of a second, and another motion was made by Commissioner Jennifer Davis to reject the proposal and wait until the subdivision has been further developed. The motion passed 2-1, and it is expected that Hildebrand will speak to the town of North Judson regarding acquisition of the roads.