GILES COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FOR AUGUST 13, 2026
Members Present: Chairman Tracy Wilburn, Vice Chair Carman Brown, Secretary Joyce Woodard, Rick Carpenter, Roger Reedy, Brad Butler, James Gentry
Other Members Present: Shelley Goolsby, Judy Pruett, David Womble, Gayle Jones, Rose Brown, David Adams, James Lathrop, Terry Jones, Annelle Gutherie, Evan Baddour
Also Present: Gene Barnickle, Erin Harmon, Chris Williams, Taylor Keith, and Colby Baddour
Meeting called to order at 9:00am
Prayer by Roger Reedy
Pledge by all
Chairman Wilburn asked if there was any public comment. Gayle Jones asked if the meeting was advertised. Erin stated that yes, it was run in the paper for 2 weeks prior to the meeting.
First Item of Business was to approve the minutes from May 7, 2026. Rick Carpenter made a motion to approve. Carman Brown seconds the motion. All are in favor, and the motion is approved.
Second Item of Business is discussion over Bailey Lane. Chairman Wilburn turns it over to the Road Superintendent Gene Barnickle. Mr. Barnickle states that there are a couple of residents who are disputing where the lines are as far as the road is concerned. He tells the committee that Bailey Ln was written in on the county road list in 2001. In January of 2002, the road list was approved by the county commission for .30 miles and has been on the road list and approved every year since. Now, roughly 345 feet from the end of the road, Ms. Taylor Keith has put a gate up across the road. Mr. Kaisoba has a tract of land that he is complaining that he cannot get to because of the gate. Mr. Barnickle states that it’s not totally blocking him off; he has approximately 8ft. that he can enter his said property on. A gate cannot be across a county road, Mr. Barnickle says. He also says that he has reached out to the county clerk’s office, and no one can find a resolution ever adopting this road into the county road system, but the Highway Department has had it on the approved road list for 25 years and has maintained the road since. It has been tarred and chipped, bush hogged the right-of-ways, etc. Mr. Barnickle states that personally it doesn’t matter to him, but we cannot have a gate up across a county road. Mr. Wilburn asks Do we not approve the road list every year? Mr. Barnickle replies, yes. Mr. Reedy asks the question: If we approve the road list every year, do we need to back it up with a resolution? Mr. Barnickle states that Chris Williams, the county attorney, is here and he will help fill in the legal side of things. Mrs. Woodard asks the question as to why the gate was put up to begin with. Mr. Colby Baddour, attorney for Ms. Taylor Keith, says that he can speak to that. Ms. Keith owns the property at the end of the county road. Mr. Baddour states that it seems to him the issue is twofold. One is: Is it a county road? He states they do not have a position on that. But they take a position about question number two. Where does the county road end? That is the issue that is important to Ms. Keith. Ms. Keith has put a gate up where her survey says she owns. He states their position is that the gate is placed where her survey says her property ends. Mr. Barnickle asks when her survey was done. Ms. Keith states it was surveyed in 2020. Mr. Barnickle states that another issue is that property lines cross the road in several places. Mr. Baddour states that the property Ms. Keith currently owns wasn’t built until 2008 by Mr. Neal Bass, and he argues that it was a wooded property and that the road did not extend back past Ms. Keith’s property line where she has the gate. Mr. Wilburn asks how many miles are printed on the road list. Mr. Barnickle says it has always been .30 miles that the county owned. Mr. Wilburn states that you cannot put a gate across a county road, so that gate would have to be backed up so many feet to where the road stops. If that were to occur the county would be taking 307 feet of my client’s driveway, property that she’s bought and she owns? Mr. Williams speaks up and states that would be an argument. The argument is alternatively the fact is the county cannot perform work on anything that is not a county road so obviously the county takes the position that this is a county road. It has been worked on when the property was bought. There was a road there, and it was noticeable. It’s ultimately up to this county’s governing body to keep the road as such or to back it up and end it wherever. Mr. Colby Baddour states that it would be their preference that we end the road at Ms. Keith’s property line, which he believes is the more appropriate approach. Also, given that this is a dead-end road, this really only affects Ms. Keith and Mr. Kaiosba because he says so. David Womble asks Colby Baddour whether his request is to this committee to remove the last 345 feet of Bailey Lane from the county road list. Mr. Baddour states that he doesn’t know that the last 345 feet is on the county road list. Mr. Barnickle states that yes, it is on the road list included in the .30 miles. Mr. Baddour states that yes that would be my request for the county to remove the last 345 feet from the county road list to Ms. Keith’s driveway where the gate is. Mr. Womble asks if that is a request that this body can answer. Mr. Barnickle says yes, but it is his understanding that all property owners that touch this road have to sign and agree to the closure. Mr. Williams states that they just have to be given notice. There is a process for closing it. Carman Brown states that he thinks they are just spinning their wheels, and asks whether the county attorney has a recommendation for this committee to pursue something at this point. Chris Williams, the CA, states, “The county has the decision to maintain that it is a county road and it remains open and should not be gated in fairness, or are you going to say we will terminate the county road at this point, and then if there is an adjoining landowner then there is a process and could take some time.” Rick Carpenter makes a motion to postpone the discussion over Bailey Ln until further investigation of the road. Carman Brown seconds the motion. Mr. Barnickle states that he is going to pull the gate up now until this is settled. It is a county road, and no gate can be put across it. Ms. Keith replies with the comment, “What if I agree to leave it open?” Mr. Barnickle replies, “No”. It is on the right-of-way and has gone on long enough. Ms. Keith was ordered to remove the gate and post, or the Highway Department would remove it. Mr. Wilburn asked if there was any more discussion. All were in favor of postponing. The motion passed.
Old/New Business: Chairman Wilburn asked if there was any old business. There was none. Chairman Wilburn asked if there was any new business. There was no new business. Rick Carpenter made a motion to adjourn. Brad Butler seconded the motion. All are in favor, and the meeting is adjourned.