Butler County holds public hearing on Temple Ave reclassification; no change made

The Butler County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing May 21 on a proposed reclassification of a portion of Temple Avenue from Area Level B to Area Level C and took no action to change its status.

Chairman Wayne Dralle opened the hearing and read a letter from property owners Scott and LeeAnn Hoodjer and Paula Hoodjer describing past problems on the road including garbage, abandoned vehicles and trespass. Auditor Leslie Groen said the county engineer’s office had received a phone call from Kim Sherburne opposing closure because she uses the road frequently.

Resident Rocky Norton told the board, "I use the road four times a day and do not want it closed," adding the route is "looking better than ever" and that he does not see the garbage referenced in the letter. Landowner Kenny Roose said he was not advocating for a permanent closure but wanted to explore options such as occasional closure when the road is not in good use.

Supervisor Greg Barnett said that reclassifying the road to a Level C would allow gates to be installed and place maintenance responsibility on landowners. Engineer John Riherd told the board the county could still perform maintenance on a Level C road upon request but recommended leaving the road classified as Level B "at this time" because there was not overwhelming support for a change.

The board closed the hearing (motion by Rusty Eddy, second by Greg Barnett). No motion was made to reclassify the segment of Temple Avenue; the board left the classification unchanged and did not adopt a gating or closure plan.

The county did not set a follow-up date for reconsideration. If landowners or the county seek reclassification in the future, the process would require additional notice and likely another public hearing.