By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorOfficials from St. Charles and Warren counties this week floated alternative plans to end the impasse over the recent closure of Augusta Bottom Road.The St. …
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By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorOfficials from St. Charles and Warren counties this week floated alternative plans to end the impasse over the recent closure of Augusta Bottom Road.The St. Charles County executive and a council member proposed a new deal they called “the Good Neighbor Policy.” Councilman Joe Brazil and St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann say the proposal would require Warren County to make a reasonable effort to keep Augusta Parkway open and available for travel by the public.In return, St. Charles County will continue to maintain three St. Charles County roads used mainly by Warren County residents. The roads include Borgmann Road, which leads to Lake Sherwood Estates, Joerling Lane and Schultz Road.Brazil said that if Warren County refuses the agreement, St. Charles County may refuse to maintain the three roads. Though he admitted previously that he may lack the votes in the county council to close the roads entirely.Warren County commissioners, meanwhile, have devised an alternative plan.Commissioners said they will consider allowing St. Charles County to annex the Augusta Bottoms from the county line to Highway 47 south to the middle of the Missouri River.Warren County Commissioner Dan Hampson said he and the other commissioners were open to what is known as a county-to-county territory transfer. The area could be annexed by either St. Charles County or the city of Washington. Under Missouri law, any such annexation would require the approval of Warren County voters and the Missouri Legislature, according to Hampson. On Wednesday Brazil said that while all things are negotiable, what really needs to happen is that Warren County and St. Charles County officials need to sit down and have a civil conversation.Augusta Bottom Road was “unofficially” closed last month by the town of Augusta after its new insurance carrier refused to provide liability coverage unless the town shut down the section of the road where a 16-year-old Washington girl was killed in a car crash in 2010.Warren County Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage said he was disappointed in Ehlmann’s suggestion that Warren County does not maintain the road.“We do maintain Augusta Bottom Road,” he said. Engelage said Warren County maintains its portion of the road from Highway 47 to Augusta Parkway. “We’re not going to take the (parkway) over,” he said. “It doesn’t meet our standards. It is on top of a pond levee.Officials from both counties are scheduled to meet in Foristell on Oct. 7.Officials Propose Alternative Deals To End Bottom Road Impasse