Lyonsdale, Greig don't need to plow road

LOWVILLE — A judge has ruled that the towns of Greig and Lyonsdale do not have to plow and maintain a road on their border, despite the presence of a year-round residence on it.

"Public use of an area is not sufficient to establish an area as a public highway unless there is some showing that the area was in fact kept in repair or taken charge of buy public authorities," wrote state Supreme Court Judge Joseph D. McGuire in a decision dismissing a May 2008 lawsuit from James A. Cough.

Mr. Cough, a past Constableville mayor, was seeking a court order mandating the towns to declare Town Line Road a public highway and determining which town should be responsible for that maintenance.

He in 2007 established a permanent residence at 7453 Town Line Road.

Judge McGuire, based on testimony at a July 26 trial, ruled that occasional grading and limited brush removal by Greig town crews on Town Line Road did not mean it should be considered a public highway.

"Such limited involvement is not adequate to constitute taking charge of the road nor is it the type of extended maintenance that is needed to raise the category of a path to a town road," the judge wrote.

A sign has been posted designating Town Line Road as a seasonal use road, but there is no indication that either Greig or Lyonsdale ever designated it that way, Judge McGuire said.

While the road is noted on the Lewis County highway map, only the western portion — not the part that passes Mr. Cough's residence — has been listed on a town highway inventory, the judge's decision said.

Greig was represented by Watertown attorney Robert J. Slye. Lyonsdale was represented by Lowville attorney Michael F. Young. Rome attorney Charles W. Engelbrecht represented Mr. Cough.