2. County Road 17/Horace - Laserfiche WebLink

CASSCOUNlY . GOVERNMENT Board of County Commissioners Scott Wagner Fargo, North Dakota Vem Bennett Fargo, North Dakota ; Ken Pawluk F:lrgo, . North Dakota Dan-ell W. Vanyo Filrgo, North Dakota Robyn Sorum HOLJCe, North Dakota .. Joyce Schepp Commission Assistant Box 2806 211 Ninth Street South Fargo, North Dakota 58108 701-241-5609 Fax 701-241-5728 www.casscountygov.com October 17, 2005 John Goerger Mayor City of Horace 313 E Park Drive Horace, ND 58047 SUBJECT: Cass County Highways 14 and 17 Dear Mayor Goerger: I am writing to seek your input on a matter currently under consideration by the county commission. Cass County is considering turning County Highway 17 over to the City of Horace, and wewould appreciate the benefit of your council's input into this matter. We would be open to a meeting with the Horace City Council if you feel this type of meeting might be best for furthering our dialogue. Cass County has historically constructed and maintained the designated county highways that run through the small communities of the county. This arrangement has been financially beneficial to the communities who have not been burdened with the expense of building and maintaining the highway(s) through their communities. This has also been good from an overall county perspective, in that it has allowed for a seamless and contiguous county highway system. Recent events have presented an opportunity to examine the county's practices and policies regarding highways through cities. It appears that North Dakota law gives the authority over city streets to the city regardless of a county highway designation. This raises questions about the county's current practice of funding county highways within cities. An argument can be made that, if the statutes give the authority over county highways within the city limits to the cities, then the funding obligations for those highway segments should also rest with the city. It may be difficult for the county to continue funding the construction, reconstruction, and ongoing maintenance of highways that are not in the county's jurisdiction. For these reasons, the county commission is currently considering removing the 2 Y:z mile segment of Cass County Highway 17 that is within the city limits of Horace from the county highway system. This would mean that the City of Horace would own and be responsible for any future improvements and maintenance of the 2 Y:z mile segment of Cass 17 within Horace, as well as any added mileage created by future annexations.