Commissioners to send letter after private structure blocks county bridge access at Stockport Drive

Delaware County Commissioner Steven Brand told the Drainage Board on Aug. 13 that property owners near Stockport Drive refused to sign a proposed agreement to accept ongoing responsibility for a private structure that spans a county drain. “We sent them 1 letter already saying, hey. If you'll sign this, we'll do it, and you guys are gonna take responsibility for it going forward,” Brand said. “And they refused to sign those letters. So we're gonna send them a letter that says we are gonna do the work and you are still responsible for it going forward.”
Brand said the structure is effectively a private driveway crossing and that while it is on county inventory for reference, it has not been inspected or maintained by the county and remains a private structure. He said the county’s impetus is public safety: if emergency vehicles must cross the structure, the county cannot delay response. The county plans to send a registered follow‑up letter and coordinate mowing and contractor access to complete the small drainage work that was bid earlier in the year.
Board members discussed timing of the work and agreed staff may proceed with contractor mowing and small structure work in late summer if bids and right‑of‑way access permit. Staff also said they will coordinate with the county highway department to time work and will update the surveyor’s map to reflect the current routing where the drain was rerouted in past decades.
No vote to replace or remove the private structure was taken at the meeting; the county’s stated plan is to notify the landowners that the county will perform the work and that the owners will be responsible for future costs if they do not sign the maintenance agreement.