County to pave and patch roads

Commissioners briefly discussed citizens’ concerns regarding public access to the Flint River at Flat Shoals at their May 11 meeting. Commissioner Tim Daniel noted that he’s received several complaints about access issues. County manager John Hanson noted the county has installed parking signs to deter people from parking around the river access. Hanson said he will bring more information to the May 31 meeting about how to improve the area without creating a hazard for drivers or residents in the area. Commissioner Powers said it would be nice if access to the river could be improved. County attorney Rob Morton said commissioners have been considering the issues at the Flat Shoals river access for years. ’This is not anything new, the Flat Shoals access has been looked at by the board for some time now,’ he said, noting that in the past, the right-of-way area had been blocked to prevent public access to the river and was cleared by the county. ‘There is a dilemma with how the road is situated. There is not a lot that can be done right now unless the board wants to acquire some property.’ He said county officials have been considering the issue for months and researching the right of way boundary line and looking at a lot of different options. ’If the board is looking at doing some kind of parking enforcement, that will need to be done through an ordinance,’ said Morton.It was noted that the ordinance would have to be a limited zone because it would cause issues if no parking in the right of way was allowed anywhere else in the county.A Friends of the Flint River at Flat Shoals facebook page has been created and has more than 150 followers.