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Douglas County commissioners voted Wednesday to allow members of the Darley Drive Special Road District board of directors to be appointed rather than elected.
The action came after a request from the Darley Drive board. John West, a board member, told commissioners at an earlier meeting that the Darley Drive board concluded it would be easier to have commissioners appoint a replacement member. The alternative would be having applicants file paperwork with the county and run for election.
Special road districts are formed to provide upkeep on roads that are not part of the county road system. Some roads are graded periodically, while others are paved and property owners are assessed by the district for the costs.
The Darley Drive district consists of 300 acres of land with 27 property owners and 65 possible lots if fully developed. All of the property owners were notified of the request to change the selection process and only one district property owner raised any concerns.
Bill Scheufele, a Glide resident who serves on the Bar L Ranch Road District, told commissioners he felt the selection process should remain the same. He said the road district would give up some of its control by having the Board of Commissioners appoint the members.
He also said he thought the Board of Commissioners had better things to do than to spend time making such appointments.
Out of 16 other road district boards, 11 have members appointed by the Board of Commissioners and five have elected boards, Commissioner Susan Morgan said.
“This is a great example of democracy happening here, where the members of this road district have polled themselves and have decided they want to change the way they put the members on their board. I think that for us to not support that is contrary to property rights that we all hold to be very important,” Morgan said.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 541-957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
The action came after a request from the Darley Drive board. John West, a board member, told commissioners at an earlier meeting that the Darley Drive board concluded it would be easier to have commissioners appoint a replacement member. The alternative would be having applicants file paperwork with the county and run for election.
Special road districts are formed to provide upkeep on roads that are not part of the county road system. Some roads are graded periodically, while others are paved and property owners are assessed by the district for the costs.
The Darley Drive district consists of 300 acres of land with 27 property owners and 65 possible lots if fully developed. All of the property owners were notified of the request to change the selection process and only one district property owner raised any concerns.
Bill Scheufele, a Glide resident who serves on the Bar L Ranch Road District, told commissioners he felt the selection process should remain the same. He said the road district would give up some of its control by having the Board of Commissioners appoint the members.
He also said he thought the Board of Commissioners had better things to do than to spend time making such appointments.
Out of 16 other road district boards, 11 have members appointed by the Board of Commissioners and five have elected boards, Commissioner Susan Morgan said.
“This is a great example of democracy happening here, where the members of this road district have polled themselves and have decided they want to change the way they put the members on their board. I think that for us to not support that is contrary to property rights that we all hold to be very important,” Morgan said.
• You can reach reporter John Sowell at 541-957-4209 or by e-mail at jsowell@nrtoday.com.
