Jimmy Burnitt is ready to build a new house along the Sabine River, but first he wants his road fixed. Instead of turning to Orange County to repair the rural road, he needs the city of Orange, which owns West Bluff Road.
Burnitt, a lawyer retired from the Texas Attorney General’s Office, said he discovered the city annexed West Bluff Road in 1968. The road is now in such bad shape car’s are damaged. He said one elderly woman now needs to buy a new car.
Even though the road is legally in the city, none of the people living along the road are in the city limits. Burnitt said a city department head even asked why the city should repair the road if no one out there pays taxes.
He spoke before the Orange City Council Tuesday asking for help. The city should have $150,000 to spend on the road because of a payment from a pipeline company for damage and from FEMA after the March river flood.
“You have an obligation to fix this road,” Burnitt told the council.
An Orange County commissioner said the county will accept maintaining West Bluff Road if the city repairs it and deannexes it, he said.
The council met in closed-door session and talked about the procedure for de-annexing the road. After going back into open meeting, Beaumont lawyer Guy Goodson for the city said the council has decided to de-annex the road and pay the county the $150,000 in contingency to make it a county road. He said the de-annexation could start “very quickly” if the county agrees.
Burnitt after the meeting said he will be satisfied with that decision if the road gets fixed.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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