Catoosa County, Ga., to reconsider paving priorities

photo In this file photograph from 2008, members of the homeowners association for the Old Mill Trace subdivision near Fort Ogelthorpe talk about problems they have been having with street maintenance in their neighborhood.

PAVING PROJECTSThe Catoosa County Commission approved all or portions of the areas below for resurfacing at its most recent meeting. The list may be reconsidered at the panel's next meeting.• Twin Cedars Road• Mount Vernon Road• Ross Hollow Road• Water Mill Trace• The Denmore subdivision• Lee Clarkson Road• Farming Rock Road• Potts RoadThe following gravel roads will receive a triple surface treatment to give them longer life:• Taylor's Ridge Road• Smith Templeton Road• Spring Vale Road• Catoosa Station Road

Arkansas-Georgia Live Blog

It's paving season in Catoosa County, Ga.

In May, county contractors will begin about $2 million worth of paving and resurfacing that will stretch across more than 14 miles. At its most recent meeting, the Catoosa County Commission unanimously approved the list of projects and the cost.

But the approval didn't last long.

Residents of the Old Mill Trace subdivision questioned the priorities on the list. Although the main thoroughfare in their neighborhood -- Water Mill Trace -- made the list of approved projects, the rest of the streets in the subdivision did not.

"What we have is potholes, major potholes," one resident said. "We've got homeowners mixing bags of concrete to fill potholes and bumps in the road where cars can drag their oil pans. We're asking you to reconsider not just paving Water Mill Trace but the entire subdivision."

Catoosa County Commission Chairman Keith Greene agreed the road quality in the subdivision is not ideal and explained that the county was basically forced to adopt the roads several years ago after the subdivision's developer went bankrupt.

"At that time we had other residents from that area come in here, and we understood and we explained that as the funding sources came available we would look into paving the subdivision," he said.

Greene told Catoosa County Manager Mike Helton to look at the list of approved projects, make sure all are necessary and see if any can be eliminated before the commission's next regularly scheduled meeting May 6.

"Let's look at those and prioritize and make sure we can at least address some of the potholes [in the Old Mill Trace subdivision,]" he said. Commissioner Jeff Long recommended using the county's small paver to do some patch work.

Contact Rachel Sauls-Wright at rsauls@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6439.

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