Residents of a small Sykesville subdivision will have to pay the county for a road constructed through their neighborhood, though the bill is nearly $70,000 more than they expected.
The Carroll commissioners voted yesterday to bill 17 homeowners 75 percent of the $211,000 it cost the county to pave Home Dale Road and move several power lines. The county is picking up 25 percent of the tab and has offered the residents a 10-year, interest-free loan.
"We have done as much as we can legally," said Commissioner Donald I. Dell.
The board gave residents another payment option: smaller payments for nine years with a final balloon payment in the loan's 10th year. The plan could reduce their payments by as much as $300 annually.
"Unfortunately, the cost ended up higher than they expected, but they all agreed to pay [the bill]," said Commissioner Robin Bartlett Frazier. "We can give them some relief with lower payments for the first nine years."
The residents, who share the costs equally, said they expected to pay the $124,778 fee for paving an 18-foot-wide road, but they balked at the additional $66,772 paid to Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. for moving utilities as well as other utility costs incurred.
For years, Home Dale was a private, unpaved lane, about one-third of a mile long. The county took over the road two years ago and with residents' consent, contracted the construction.
Newer residents, like Peter and Nancy Boguski, claim the original developer erred in placing the utilities and they are being forced to pay for that mistake. The utility costs add another $200 annually to their bill, they said.