The Town of Minocqua may be on the hook to continue maintenance of a quarter mile of private easement road, according to the town attorney.
For the past 30 years, town crews have been patching blacktop and plowing snow from the road located off Bolger Lake Road.
State statutes say any “unrecorded highway” receiving such services for 10 years becomes a public road, according to town attorney Greg Harrold. The town board at one point ordered the work stopped, but for some reason it continued, said Public Works Director Mark Pertile.
"It's a very unique situation given the fact that back in '98 the board made an official action not to proceed with maintenance on it, and they did. Now it's 17 years later it's pretty much documented that we have been maintaining it for that period of time. By maintenance and use we would have to take it over per state statute."
A town road requires a right of way, which means some existing structures could become non-conforming to county zoning regulations, supervisors said in their discussion Tuesday.
Supervisors will forward additional questions to Harrold with a request to attend their next meeting.
