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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS — BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: March 28, 2022 <br />TOPIC: Strande Road <br />ACTION REQUESTED: Direct Staff <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Vacate a portion of Strande Road to the current owner at the end of the road from <br />milepost 2.66 (beginning at Barnes Road) to the end of county road. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Recently, the current owner at the end of the road contacted Public Works (PW) <br />maintenance requesting grading of Strande Road (Primitive) allowing farm <br />equipment access. <br />• For many years, the previous owner (Mellergaard) allowed recreators to use the <br />property at the end of Strande Road. <br />• The current owner is preparing to limit access and begin farming the land at the <br />end of the road. <br />• Grading the road is estimated to cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. <br />• The level of service on designated primitive roads is at the discretion of the <br />County Engineer. <br />o The loss of public access to recreation at the end of the road negates public <br />benefit from milepost 2.66 to the end of the road. PW proposes creating a new <br />end of road turnaround approximately 20 yards past the paved Mellergaard field <br />access road. <br />BACKGROUND: <br />For many years, county residents have used the end of Strande Road to access recreation. <br />While the property was privately owned, the Mellergaard's appear to have tolerated the <br />recreationalists. The property recently changed ownership and the new owner has <br />signaled his desire to begin farming the ground at the end of the road. PW maintenance <br />staff believes the new owner will likely gate the end of county road limiting recreational <br />access. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />The recent request to grade Strande Road requires significant cost and resources from <br />PW maintenance. From the location of Mellergaard's paved access to the end of the road <br />the road deteriorates significantly. Lack of road width (paralleling a drainage) with no <br />Page 1 of 4 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2022 <br />