At last Thursday's aldermanic meeting, White and the board members argued over who legally owns the road adjacent to Highway H and what to do in the future with the 12-foot-wide, one-half mile long road which serves the Falcon Crest and Timber Trails subdivisions. There are approximately 250 lots in the two subdivisions. For Wright City to accept the road into the city limits, White said, it must conform to current city codes which include a width requirement. Officials said most city streets measure 26 feet wide. White said he believed that Warren County had jurisdiction over the road and referred to a March 13 board of aldermen meeting in which then-Mayor Eileen Klocke said Wright City would not take over the road. "The city wants no part of Stuerman Road," said White. "Mayor Klocke made that clear at the meeting in March and that is still my position today." But Board of Aldermen President Jim Schuchmann said the road was part of a 40-acre voluntary annexation approved by city officials earlier this year. Furthermore, Schuchmann insisted the matter only be discussed during private aldermanic executive sessions rather than during open sessions of board meetings. "There are legal issues involved here," said Schuchmann. "It's not wise to discuss it further in open session." Schuchmann then made a motion that the board should move forward without further public discussions. The motion was seconded and passed by a unanimous 4-0 vote. The motion, prepared prior to last Thursday's meeting and signed by all four aldermen, said "To provide the highest level of protection and security to the citizens of this city this issue has been discussed extensively with the city attorney (Darryl Hicks) and in executive session because of the legal issues surrounding this matter." After the vote, White said he wanted to note his opposition to going into a closed session. "I'm totally against helping a builder or a developer on a bailout," White explained. "This is not a bailout," countered Schuchmann. "The vote speaks for itself." During the final public comments portion of the meeting, resident Ken McLaughlin said he believed a quit claim deed for the road had been approved by the previous board of aldermen last year. But there is no record of such a deed ever having been filed at the Warren County courthouse. "It was our impression that a quit claim deed had been prepared," said Warren County Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage. "They (Wright City) have not brought us the deed to this point." Engelage said the county commissioners and Wright City officials had reached an agreement "about two years ago" to turn Stuerman Road over to Wright City. But White disagreed. "There never was an agreement," White said. "I've talked to the former mayor and members of this board and they said they never had accepted the road." McLaughlin said he felt the city should be obligated to improve and widen the road. "It might behoove the city to put a few dollars toward improving the road," McLaughlin said. "It would really help development." McLaughlin said he believed Stuerman Road includes city water and sewer services already installed. The development site originally was part of a larger tract of land owned by Thomas Lafferty. He sold the 40 acres to PR Development several years ago, which planned to develop the two subdivisions. But PR Development halted its project last year and Lafferty reacquired the property. He then sold it to Bernie Terbrock, who continued development. In March of 2008, Terbrock complained to city officials about the condition of the street. In noting the street needed to be 26 feet wide, Terbrock said the original developers (PR Development) had initially used the road as a construction entrance only, then abandoned it. Former Mayor Klocke and the board agreed the city would not take over and maintain a road which was to be used primarily by construction vehicles only. At that time, Terbrock contended no potential buyer would want to spend more than $150,000 on a house with only a 12-foot wide road. Ultimately, White said, the costs of widening and improving Stuerman Road will likely be passed on to the residents who buy homes in the two subdivisions. "I'm opposed to spending any public (city) money to fix the road," said White. "The public should be aware of what's going on here. "It's not fair to the people who will live there eventually," White added. "I don't think it's right that the expenses of (improving) this road be borne by the people who live on it."