Jasper County sets public hearings to vacate portion of road in Newburg

Jasper County has set a public hearing date to vacate a right-of-way in Newburg for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 14 in the board of supervisors room of the courthouse.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said the specific right-of-way is the intersection of Clay Street and Newcomer Avenue. Frietsch said there is 80 feet that extends east of Clay Street toward Newcomer Avenue, and there is no reason to keep it. The request to vacate came from a nearby property owner.

“We were open to vacating the alleyway behind their property, east of their property, their parcels and to the south there,” Frietsch said during the Sept. 23 supervisors meeting. “So we’d split that 80 feet of right-of-way there. When we vacate it, we’ll basically split it between the north and south parcels there.”

Supervisor Brandon Talsma noted that it looked like individuals had been building on the right-of-way. Frietsch confirmed that and said it’s been going on for years.