Residents ask Newberry County to clarify ownership and pave Goggins Court and Fawn Court

Vicky Sanders, an original board member of the South Point Harbor Homeowners Association, told Newberry County Council that documents in the group's packet show the county accepted certain neighborhood roads and that those roads should have been grandfathered into county maintenance after final inspection. "Roads accepted 03/12/1997 by County Council vote," Sanders said, pointing to a letter and other correspondence she submitted to council.

Her presentation traced a sequence of letters and a $5,000 payment connected to developer communications and described a later email from the director of public works recommending that the two short streets be "grandfathered into the county road map maintenance upon them meeting the final inspection." Sanders told council she could not find the March 12 minutes in current county files after public records requests and asked staff for help resolving the discrepancy.

A resident speaking after Sanders said he and others could not locate the 2002 minutes they expected to find and called the missing record their "golden ticket." He added that the county's online map currently shows Goggins Court and Fawn Court as paved even though they remain gravel. "Our road shows that we're paved, but we're not," he said.

Council members and staff asked clarifying questions about street names and the map legend, noting 911/postal naming and an existing Goglin School Road could cause confusion. Staff said the Transportation Committee (CTC) will not act without verification that Newberry County holds ownership of the roads, and said staff would review the packet, follow up on missing records, and plan to bring the matter back to council for further discussion and potential action.

Why this matters: Residents argued the lack of clear records has left two short neighborhood streets (totaling roughly 1,900 linear feet including a court) in gravel condition for decades despite promises they would be improved. Establishing ownership is the necessary step before CTC or state funding can be pursued to pay for paving.

What happens next: Staff told the audience they will read the submitted documents, check county files, and follow up with the petitioners; council plans to revisit the item at a later meeting when staff reports back.