County Land Purchase Draws Concerns From Property Owners

Property owners concerned about Boone County Government purchasing 15 acres for millage storage.

The Boone County Quorum Court passed an ordinance on Tuesday night allowing Judge Robert Hathaway to purchase 15 acres at the intersection of Maplewood Road and Highway 43 for $250,000. The purchase has drawn criticism from some property owners in the area that feel the use of that property for storing gravel or millage for use in future road work will have a negative impact on property values.

Justice of the Peace Bobby Woods raised the concerns to the court saying that he had heard from several property owners that day who opposed the purchase. In a follow-up interview with Woods he said, “their main concern was property value being decreased.” He also expounded on the material that is going to be stored on the property saying, “Gravel is not the right word. Right now, they’re getting millage, what they grind off the highways.”

Millage is used in various road work projects.

Judge Hathaway said that he has, “no intention of stockpiling clay or other materials,” there but that he was offered a substantial amount of millage and needs a place to store it. He also indicated that the property would not be used for long-term storage of road equipment either.

He reminded the court that the property is not zoned, because it lies outside of the city limits of Harrison, and could be purchased by any private entity and used for far less desirable business, like a recycling plant. Woods said that he believes the while the land does lay outside the city limits, “It’s my understanding that the city does have control of what goes on in adjoining areas to the city. So I think there would be limits to what could be done on that property.”

Environmental effects are another area of concern for some. Woods said those concerns are about, “run off water and things that would come off of what was stored there.” He continued, “Apparently whatever they are planning to put there doesn’t have any adverse environmental effects as far as I know.”

Judge Hathaway assured the court that before anything is stored on the property the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will inspect the property to ensure that run off from the millage will not cause any problems.   

The court voted 9-1 in favor of the purchase with Woods casting the only nay vote.