Resident Sharon Carson asked the BOS not to allow Marjorie Lane into the VDOT system due to many problems she alleged on the street with erosion, drainage and debris.
When the Board of Supervisors met today, the air was full of dissatisfaction from at least two residents of Marjorie Lane in Blue Ridge Estates just off Brugh’s Mill Road south of Fincastle. Sharon Carson and Dee Ann Tickner’s lack of satisfication with developer Flip Groggins and his Blue Ridge Estates Development loomed large when they asked their street not be put into the VDOT system. Groggins, whose most recent development request was turned down by the Board of Supervisors for a subdivision off Etzler Road, was there to defend himself in what is usually a cut and dry case. A subdivision road is added to the VDOT system to be maintained after three occupied homes are located on a street.
Both women armed with facts, codes and pictures asked the board not to approve the move into the system even though they wished they could agree to it, the street has too many problems they said. Ultimately the board decided to table the decision until the next meeting on December 16 on the advice of Jerry Burgess, the county administrator, so all parties, the county, the residents, the developer and VDOT could meet.
Most of the presented pictures showed a subdivision with erosion, road clutter, hay bales in a cul-de-sac, a dump truck dumping concrete pieces onto an empty lot and full retention ponds. Groggins allegedly received word of the women coming to the meeting and had the street swept yesterday and had clean-up and removal in much of what was pictured in the women’s handouts of items photographed on November 19. He had paved the road two years ago and as Billy Martin, Blue Ridge supervisor pointed out, while that had nothing to do with the VDOT request they were considering, it was a long time to have ditch issues and drainage problems.
Carson complained of erosion in her yard, deep ditches and ruts so deep they could not move a lawn mower over them. Tickner pointed out the retention ponds were full in drought, smelled bad and had mosquitos. She showed pictures of a recent ditch sodding that has come loose and rolled after a hard rain this month.
Groggins had his sister who has moved into the subdivision, take pictures yesterday and said every thing had been taken care of and that the ponds do drain. He was defensive about a $10,000 bond he has placed on the improvements that would take care of anything VDOT might have to do in the next year should they deem it necessary.
It was one county official from soil and erosion, Sean Criss, who was absent from the meeting, that may have answered most of the questions raised. He had been called to the site on numerous occassions by residents and deemed nothing wrong. The health department had been called about the ponds and VDOT had looked at the road on several trips.
The pictures seemed to tell a different story. VDOT rep Scott Woodrum said he thought things were adequate with the street, yet when board members questioned him about specific pictures he deferred to the suggestion of Burgess that the parties needed to meet. Don Meredith the Fincastle rep made the motion to table the item until Decmber 16 and noted that the groups must meet prior to then and report back to the board.
The recently placed sod that has curled along a ditch on Marjorie Lane since recent rains in a photo taken by Dee Ann Ticknor and presented to the Board of Supervisors.
