Reno County starts statutory process to consider vacating part of Lake Cable Road

The Reno County Commission voted to adopt resolution 20‑29, finding a petition to vacate a short dead‑end portion of Lake Cable Road legally sufficient and setting in motion the statutorily required publication, viewing and hearing process.

Dan Garber of Garber Survey told the commission that three property owners (Sam Pitt LLC represented by Bill Wheeler, Dan Forker and the Sharon Green Trust) seek to vacate the stretch from Worthington Road east to the Arkansas River to close and gate the dead‑end road; Garber said a public‑utility easement for an overhead electric line would remain in place and the three owners would share keys to a gate. "And the three of them will share keys to that gate," Garber said.

County staff explained the legal timeline: the resolution finds the petition legally sufficient, the petition will be published twice in the official paper, the county must wait at least 20 clear days after the last publication before conducting the public viewing (staff suggested a tentative viewing on Dec. 12), and a hearing would follow (typically the next commission meeting) where the commission would decide whether to vacate the road. Staff warned the statutory timeline prevents completing the process before hunting season and stressed the need to check whether any parcel would be landlocked by a closure.

Commissioners discussed notifying the township board and adding a township‑contact field to future applications as a courtesy; staff said township notification is part of the process once a petition is deemed sufficient and the clerk's office will send the required notice. The commission moved to approve resolution 20‑29 to start the process; members voted to approve the scheduling resolution. Several commissioners emphasized that approval of the resolution does not itself vacate the road.

Next steps: staff will publish notices as required, appoint statutorily disinterested viewers, hold the public viewing and then the public hearing when the matter returns to the commission for final consideration.