Residents’ safety concerns defeat request to privatize Plantation Road

DAWSON — The Terrell County Board of Commissioners recently rejected a request to remove Plantation Road from the county road system after nearby residents warned that closing the roadway could leave them without emergency access when adjoining roads flood.

Chairman Wilbur T. Gamble recused himself from participating in the discussion or vote because attorney Edward R. Collier, who represented the private landowner seeking the closure, is Gamble’s law partner.

At the beginning of the agenda item, Gamble disclosed the relationship and said he would only facilitate the discussion.

“I believe Mr. Collier, my partner here, as I told you before, I’m recused from any kind of vote or comment, really, about pros and cons,” Gamble said.

The name of the property owner seeking the closure was not stated during the public meeting.

Collier told commissioners his client owns land on both sides of Plantation Road and had asked the county to close the entire roadway. He said the landowners directly adjoining Plantation Road supported the request.

“We contacted all of the landowners on it. They are all in favor of it,” Collier said.

Collier said the request was prompted in part by illegal dumping and illegal hunting along the road. He also said his client had worked out an arrangement to provide another property owner with access to Bucket Road if commissioners approved the closure.

The proposal drew opposition from Frank and Norma Mitchell, longtime residents of the adjoining King Road area.

Norma Mitchell told commissioners she and her husband have lived there for more than 30 years and have used Plantation Road as an alternate route to the main highway.

“We have used that road to come from King Road to get to the main highway because Wadell Road is the next road that we use to get to the main highway, and Wadell Road has a history of flooding,” Mitchell said. “If Wadell Road is flooded, we can’t get from back there on King Road.”

Mitchell said the closure could create a serious public safety problem for residents who depend on Plantation Road when flooding blocks their other route.

“If Plantation Road is closed, and if anything should happen, there’s no way that anyone could get out of King Road,” she said. “There’s no way the ambulance could come to assist us.”

Mitchell told commissioners she has been handicapped since March 2025 and no longer drives. She said many of the people who remain in the area are older residents whose children have moved away.

“There are others that live on that road, and everybody back there now are senior citizens,” Mitchell said.

Frank Mitchell attended the meeting in opposition to the closure but did not make a separate public statement during the discussion. A commissioner said he had previously spoken with Mitchell about the matter and that residents’ continued use of the road weighed against approving the request.

“I just don’t see how we can, as a commission, vote to close it when we have residents that are not in favor of it that uses ingress,” the commissioner said. “That’s just my opinion, and I’m one person.”

Before the vote, Jimmy Skipper, the county attorney, raised questions about whether all legal notice requirements for closing a county road had been satisfied.

“There’s a lot of statutory stuff you’ve got to do to close the road,” Skipper said. “I want to make sure that the requirements are met, and there’s notice, and all that kind of stuff before y’all decide to vote on it.”

Collier said he had notified the property owners as required by law and had also sent letters to residents on King Road and Wadell Road at the commission’s request.

“I notified the statutory ones, which are the ones that actually own land on that road,” Collier said. He added that residents on the adjoining roads “all got letters as well” and that a legal advertisement had been published.

Following the discussion, a motion was made to deny the closure and keep Plantation Road open. The motion passed unanimously among the commissioners eligible to participate.

The commission had previously tabled the matter during its June meeting to allow additional notice and give nearby residents another opportunity to respond before a final decision was made.