Lyon County may take on new roads

YERINGTON - Lyon County commissioners on Thursday will consider new procedures for accepting roads for maintenance.

There are approximately 1,000 miles of roads within the county's 2,000 square mile boundaries, about half of which are maintained by the county. Current county policy states the county will not add a road to the list until it meets county paving standards.

Under the new proposal, the county would consider accepting roads that met county standards when they were constructed. If they did not, a road must be brought up to the standards before it can be considered.

Improving the roadway would not require the county to bring it into the maintained system. Other criteria to be considered include traffic volume, number of improved parcels on the road, zoning along the road, length of the road, analysis of the effect on the county's road budget and the road classification (arterial, collector, local).

The commissioners will determine whether a road will be accepted in the maintained system. The decision could not be appealed or reconsidered for one year.

Road acceptance applications would be considered twice a year, in March and September.

Other agenda items include:

- Amendments to the county wasting of water ordinance, including changes would make wasting of water a possible criminal offense. Any penalties would be considered a misdemeanor.

The Sheriff's Department would issue citations and the court could order restitution for the cost of the wasted water or damage to the water system.

Fines would include: first violation, $25; second violation, $50; third violation, $250; fourth violation, $500; successive violations, $1,000.

The Lyon County commissioners meet at the Courthouse Annex, 31 South Main St., Yerington, beginning at 9 a.m. For information call 577-5037 (Dayton/Silver Springs) or 463-6531.