COLDSPRING — The San Jacinto County Commissioners Court order a gate placed over a county removed despite concerns that it was the subject of a pending lawsuit.
Kerry Hagan, an attorney representing an area landowner, said the road in question belongs to the people of the county, and it is blocked. His client, Tamika Bowers, and James Mitchell are property owners on that stretch of road, as well as Leonard and Joyce Scott, who own the gate in question.
Hagan said he sent the Scotts a certified letter requesting its removal but has received no response.
“I would like the court to authorize a constable and a work crew to go out and remove the blockage,” he said. “I believe the court has the authority to take that action.”
County Judge Fritz Faulkner said that prior to his election he remembers representing someone in the area regarding that gate, which has been there for years, and asked why it hasn’t been removed yet.
Mark Nettuno, the commissioner whose district encompasses the road, said that he was told by the property owners that the road in question was not a county road and it needed to be removed from the county road map.
“So, what do I do?” Nettuno asked. “It’s in litigation.”
Faulkner said that the county is the entity that determines what is or isn’t a county road, not the property owners.
Nettuno said that if a judge in the case finds that it is a county road, then he will take care of it.
County Commissioner Luke Sweeney made a motion to begin the process of removing the gate in order to spur some sort of action to determine the road’s status, which was agreed to by Commissioner Donnie Marrs. Faulkner abstained, and Nettuno voted against the measure.
Marrs said this should force the District Court’s hands since the matter has been pending for years, and something must be done.
Faulkner said he just didn’t understand why this must be a fight, since the county unanimously declared it a county road when the road map was created, but did request an order be drawn up to inform the landowners.
In other business, the commissioners:
