FARR WEST -- An open irrigation ditch going through the Remuda subdivision is causing concerns for neighbors, the city council was told at a recent meeting.
Tamara Jones said she has lived in the subdivision since 2003 and would really like the ditch that runs through her property to be covered. She said the developer promised when she moved in that the ditch would be covered, and she stated because it is not, she can't use about 40 feet of the back portion of her property.
Mayor Jimmie Papageorge reminded Jones that he had offered to split the cost with her to cover the ditch.
Jones said she does not understand why a fence was put on her property rather than covering the ditch. The fence cuts into her property, so she can't use part of the land she owns and pays taxes on.
"We feel we were misled," Jones said. "Children get back there, there are clouds of mosquitoes." She said at night the mosquitoes are so bad her family can't go outside, even when the mosquito abatement people have sprayed.
The city does have an easement to the ditch, Councilman Lee Dickemore said.
"We've lived there almost nine years," Paul Greenwood, who is Jones' neighbor, told the council. "The contractor told me they would just fence it off. I told him I'm not going to have access to my property, and they didn't clean that ditch for years."
Greenwood said he appreciated the many conversations he has had with Papageorge over the years about the problem, and said he really felt James Aland, owner of Remuda Golf Course, should be responsible for the cost of covering the ditch.
"James Aland should have buried that 50 feet. I don't think the city should have to pay for it. It is his subdivision, he should finish that," said Greenwood. "Aland has benefitted from Remuda subdivision greatly. Call him. If I had the money to finish it, I would."
Planning Commissioner Lou Best said while promises made by a developer and then not kept are unfortunate, it is not the city's responsibility.
Papageorge said he would contact Aland to see what could be worked out to address the problem.
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