Callaway County residents of private subdivisions with roads that are not part of the county's road system must make arrangements for their own road maintenance, including snow plowing.
Paul Winkelmann, Callaway County Highway Administrator, said most Callaway County residents are aware of their situation if they live in such an area and don't often complain to the county about the lack of snow plowing.
"There are some subdivisions in Callaway County that have public roads but they are not county maintained because the roads were not built to county standards," Winkelmann said.
Winkelmann said for liability and legal reasons county crews are not authorized to maintain or plow snow on a subdivision road that is not part of county-maintained roadways.
A subdivision road must meet certain specifications and regulations before the county will agree to provide maintenance.
"We have worked with several developers who want the roads in the subdivision they are building to be maintained by the county. There is a process set by law that is used and the roads must meet county standards," Winkelmann said.
"We don't want a situation where a developer builds an inferior road that is taken into the county system. ... It would require a major expense to the county to fix it," Winkelmann said.
Winkelmann said Callaway County does not have either county planning or zoning regulations. "Any developer could peel some grass off, throw some gravel down and call it a road. There is nothing the county can do now to force a developer to build to a certain standard unless they want the county to take that roadway into the county system after the subdivision is completed," Winkelmann said.
Winkelmann said people who live in subdivisions with roads not included in the county system almost always have a homeowners' association that is responsible for road maintenance and snow removal. Subdivision residents normally pay an annual fee for this service.
"If anyone is going to buy a home in a subdivision out in the county, the first thing they need to check is maintenance of subdivision roadways," Winkelmann said.
"Sometimes a new person in a subdivision might call us asking why a road is not graveled or the snow removed by the county. We will check to determine if the road is in our system. If it isn't, ... (we) legally cannot use county funds," Winkelmann said.