Several property owners voiced their opposition during a public hearing for the proposed vacation of a county road at the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors’ Tuesday meeting.

County Engineer Josh Sebern began the hearing by explaining the County’s reasoning to vacate an L-shaped portion of Roost Lane, located north of Highway 44 west of Panora. Sebern said the last direction he received from the Board was in 2017 to shape and rock the road and then look into vacating it. This was done after property owner Mark Van Houten raised concerns with the Supervisors after purchasing property on Roost Lane, stating it was understood to him that it was a served Level A road. Sebern explained the delay in proposing a vacation was caused by setbacks while researching the road’s history, stating the records are “a little thin.” Sebern says as best as he could determine the road was created by petition as an easement.

Property owners Mark and Angie Van Houten and Brad and Ben Hayes all gave input at the meeting, hoping to create a solution. Van Houten stated that since the Board’s action in 2017 he built a home on his property, “If I lose my access, my property is worth nothing. I have no way to get to Highway 44 as I think in my packet, there’s some pictures of the culverts. They’re DOT (Department of Transportation) culverts, I assume the DOT owns them all. Even if that road was moved over it would cover those culverts, well the DOT is never going to allow that. I have no other way to get in and out of there.”

Brad Hayes also shared how vacating the road would affect his cattle operations north of the road. Sebern stated at the beginning of the hearing that the County has no further interest in maintaining the road, but vacating either part or the entire road is a Board decision. No action iwas scheduled after the hearing, and the Board agreed to bring the issue to the County Attorney.