Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 28, 1991 TAG: 9103280413
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
The mistake leaves lot owners at Canterbury on the Lake with no assurance that their streets will be maintained properly until they qualify for state maintenance.
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors is trying to rectify the problem by asking the subdivision's developer to return escrow money the county mistakenly released.
The Board of Supervisors recently filed a motion for a judgment against developer George G. Martin in Franklin County Circuit Court.
Martin, a Floyd resident, could not be reached for comment.
Canterbury is one of at least three subdivisions with problems in the county's handling of road bonds, which are required to assure property buyers that streets will be built to state specifications.
Some 40 lot owners in Stripers Landing have half-completed roads because the county staff inadvertently let a road bond expire in 1984 or 1985. Last December, the county had to surrender a $7,200 maintenance bond for Deer Creek Estates because of a poorly worded escrow agreement.
County Administrator Richard Huff II said the county's administration of road bonds has been revamped, and he does not expect any more problems.
Huff declined to comment on Canterbury, saying it involved pending litigation.
In 1986, Martin put $60,000 into an escrow account for the construction and maintenance of streets within Canterbury. After the roads were built, the county's staff inadvertently returned the entire account to Martin without retaining a portion to keep up the streets until the state took over the maintenance.
The lawsuit asks Circuit Judge B.A. Davis III to force Martin to post a maintenance bond, allow the county to use a $5,000 erosion bond for road work, or order Martin to repair road washouts.
by CNB