Campbell County Property owner Pat Flynn addressed the county commission on Monday evening regarding Gillis Lane.

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF) – An issue regarding Gillis Lane and whether or not it is a county road once again surfaced at Monday’s County Commission workshop.

The issue was first brought up several months ago regarding a gate that had been placed on Gillis Lane. Elaine Dinacola had addressed the commission regarding the gate, saying her neighbor had put it up and would not take the gate down. After addressing the planning commission and the county commission, Dinacola was told by commissioners that they would send a letter to everyone in the vicinity stating that Gillis Lane was in fact a county road, which the commission had road superintendent Ron Dilbeck to do.

At Monday’s workshop, commissioners heard from Patrick Flynn, which is who put the gate up on Gillis Lane. According to Flynn, the “utility easement on his property is not a county road” and he said, “county records and deeds back this up.”

Flynn and his wife finalized the purchase of the property with Gillis Lane on it in March of this year.

Flynn told commissioners he used a realtor and title company to complete the purchase and used a surveyor and that the survey is now on file with the register of deeds. He also said he had researched the land purchase before going through with it and that at no time was it listed that a county road went through his property.

“I want the commission to get involved and clarify the length of Gillis Lane because one day after we purchased our property our new neighbor happened to be there camping on their property while we were working on establishing a fence. They came over and asked us to not put gates up because they were using my property to access their property for convenience. They also offered to buy the property off of me the first time for $5,000 and the second time for $10,000…,.I declined,” Flynn said.

He told commissioners he had a survey from 1977 that shows Gillis Lane ends prior to entering his property.

Flynn said he had also told the neighbor they could access through his gates when they were vacationing on their property and they “declined that offer.”

Flynn said he spoke with Road Superintendent Ron Dilbeck and was told that the road was .32 miles long, which he disputes.

“I asked him what documentation he had to support his reference chart and he could only say that his chart says .32 miles. I explained to Mr. Dilbeck that the register of deeds has all the information regarding property ownership and that there is no way the road got extended to the water tower without record of it being filed with the register of deeds. I was then told by Mr. Dilbeck that he would look into it, but he told me that if I proceed with putting up my gates, they would tear them down, thus denying me the ability to secure my property,” Flynn said. Flynn told commissioners that he had made numerous phone calls to the road superintendent and that Dilbeck told him to “provide all of his documentation to him and to the county attorney.”

“I have provided all that information and have reached back out to Mr. Dilbeck, and he has yet to clear up the matter. So, my neighbor has already addressed the commission with zero facts and continues to trespass on my property while keeping their property secured. Somehow, they have the full support of the commission in someway that I’m not getting. How is the Campbell County Highway Department allowed to operate using a reference chart that contains obvious errors and ignores the certified deeds and surveys on file with the county,” Flynn said. He asked commissioners to “review the facts” and to clear the matter up. He also said the road had not been maintained by the county and that he had “done more maintenance on the road.”

“It’s not a legal issue; it just needs to be cleared up, there’s an error,” Flynn told commissioners.

County Chairman Johnny Bruce said “first and foremost”, the commission as a body could not clarify anything.

“We have a road list that comes from our road superintendent, and he handles all that,” Bruce said. He also said it was something the “county attorney needed to look at.”

County Mayor Jack Lynch said he had spoken to County Attorney Joe Coker, who could not be at Monday’s workshop to weigh in on the subject. Lynch said that “Coker had said the county surveyor should go look at it.” Currently the county’s surveyor is out on vacation.

Bruce told Flynn that he would speak to the county attorney and that “come next Monday night Mr. Coker will have a definite answer, now there will be no discussion, but I will give you an answer Monday night about what our attorney has told us,” Bruce said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 07/09/2024-6AM)

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