Ohio County Commissioners Pushed on Leopold Lane Concerns | News, Sports, Jobs

photo by: Photo by Joselyn King

Brittany Baldwin, a resident of Leopold Lane, voices her concerns about the roadway to Ohio County Commissioners.

WHEELING – Ohio County commissioners want residents of Leopold Lane to present them with a plan for how they might continue maintenance of the “orphan roadway” after it receives expensive repairs.

Property owners on Leopold Lane addressed commissioners Tuesday night with their dire concerns about the state of the roadway. Last week, mail service was suspended to addresses there because of safety issues.

The road is considered an “orphan road” that is maintained by neither the city nor the state. The residents asked for commissioners’ help in getting state officials to assist with repairs to the orphaned road.

Brittany Baldwin said she has owned her home there for five years, and she has noticed flooding into her basement and water runoff in the area getting worse over time. She added she has attempted to contact state officials, but has not been successful in gaining their attention to the situation.

“This road is impassable and dangerous – not only for the residents who live there, but also the U.S. Postal Service, fire trucks, food delivery and the sheriff’s office,” Baldwin said. “None of these first responders can make it onto Leopold Lane, much less want to drive on this road.

“Isn’t our safety and public welfare important? We pay our taxes, and have for many years. But we can’t have our road maintained by anyone.”

She said it has been suggested the residents form a homeowners association to pay for repairs and maintain the road.

“I”m sure no one would be opposed to that, but that road needs fixed first,” Baldwin said. “No one on that hill has the money or the means to fix it in the condition that it is in.

“The only fire hydrant we have is past the washed out road (Center Street). If anyone’s house would catch fire, first responders would have problems getting to that fire. It’s very scary.”

Approximately 20 homes are located along the affected areas of Leopold Lane, the residents said.

Lambert T. Jones owns 11 rental units in the area. He called the stopping of mail delivery along the road “a blessing in disguise” in that it brings attention to the issues there.

“All we’re asking for is one viable lane of traffic so we can go up and down the road,” he told commissioners.”

Commission President Randy Wharton asked the residents if they had considered asking the city of Wheeling for their possible annexation of Leopold Lane, which is located very close to the city boundary in Elm Grove.

Jones indicated he was not opposed to annexation, but Baldwin said she was against the idea.

“We do not want to live in the city,” she said. “I bought this house because it is in the county.”

Wharton said he was the first to agree that the situation on Leopold Lane “is unacceptable.”

“You have a very bad situation there, and it is not going to get solved by us or by you alone without some help from higher up (the State Department of HIghways),” he said. “It’s going take involvement by the state to do anything. They have a $3.5 billion surplus down there.”

Similar situations are being experienced by residents on Reservoir Road and Short Creek, as well as other areas, Wharton continued.

Commissioner Zach Abraham agreed the commission’s ability to help was limited.

“We have done certain things in the past, but there has to be a mutual (effort),” he said. “Nobody here has a problem helping. The question is how much.

“We don’t have all the money in the world. Plus, we haven’t done it for other individuals.”

When the county has assisted a neighborhood with road issues, they have asked residents to provide a match, Abraham continued.

Wharton added if there was no plan in place to maintain the road after it is repaired, it would return to the shape it is in now.

That is where the establishment of a homeowners association is necessary, Baldwin agreed.

Abraham encouraged her and the other residents to craft their plan for the road, and to present it to commissioners when they next meet at 6 p.m. on Dec. 20 at the City-County Building.

Commissioner Don Nickerson told Baldwin he would contact Tony Clark, District 6 engineer/manager for the West Virginia Department of Highways, and ask him to return her calls and address her concerns.

He also gave Baldwin his business card, and told her to contact him if she didn’t soon hear back from Clark.