Sunset Estates residents getting new roads, at last
Fri, 2016-08-12 05:00
News Staff
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
After years of back and forth between county officials, property owners, and the developer of Sunset Estates just north of the Copperas Cove city limits, the residents of Nathan and Kenney Drives are finally seeing new streets.
“The plan is to complete all work on Nathan and Kenney by mid-September, which will include a reseal after the surface is put down and is allowed to set for about a month,” said Coryell County judge John Firth.
The price tag for repairs—footed by the property owners in that area, designated as a taxing entity of the county called Road District 1—is going to be lower than originally thought, Firth added.
“With road materials and paving oil being relatively low this summer, we likely will be able to complete the project at less than the $100,000,” he said. He said he was unsure of exactly how much under cost, but the district officials made up of the judge and all four Coryell County commissioners, are waiting or the final invoices to come in.
The work, to include drainage culverts and a complete re-do of the streets, is being completed by the Coryell County Road & Bridge department.
Road District 1 was formed in May 2013, and is an unorthodox solution to a problem the property owners and residents have wanted fixed for years after the developer refused to do so. The property owners voted for a 20-cent per $100 tax rate to help pay for a hydrology study and the street work performed by the county.
Prior to this, homeowners in that area have already shelled out thousands from their collective pockets to fill the holes that reappear after the rains. The holes caused issues with vehicles needing repair and some properties were plagued with flooding after rains due to improper drainage of those streets.
Some property owners said last fall they’re worried the roads will start needing maintenance work before the work is paid off and the county accepts the streets, but the county’s road and bridge administrator Latham assured them road surfaces can last for many years before needing major maintenance. Latham also told the homeowners at an October 2015 meeting that the issues with the street deteriorating to the degree they have occurred because they were never constructed right in the first place.
With the street work to be completed soon, the property owners are now tasked with how to pay off the work quickly yet not to the extent it would break their banks.
On Monday, Road District 1 officials proposed a 20 cent ax rate for the tax year 2016, the same as the current rate. The property owners in that district will receive letters advising them of the proposed rate and announcing a hearing before a final tax rate is approved on Sept 16.
“With hopefully more homes to be built within that area which will increase the tax base, I am confident that the debt incurred for the road work can be paid off in plenty of time for the County to assume total responsibility for the cost of maintaining the roads at that time,” Firth said. Firth also said the reason the residents got into that predicament was because the original developer didn’t build the roads to county subdivision standard, which meant that Coryell County could not legally assume the responsibility of maintaining the roads.
After the roadwork bill is paid off by the property owners to the county, the county can then assume responsibility of those roads.
“It is our hope that future development of unincorporated Coryell County will be done by responsible developers who are committed to constructing quality roads which will appeal to an increasing number of families who desire to live in unincorporated Coryell County,” Firth said.