With a vote of 3-2, a portion of Nutmeg Avenue has been vacated in Washington County. The board of supervisors voted Tuesday to vacate sections 17 and 20, south of the English River. Supervisor Bob Yoder said he’d heard from local residents who hoped of having a trail built using the Bunker Mill Bridge and part of Nutmeg Avenue in the future. However, County Engineer Jacob Thorius explained in 2013 the supervisors vacated part of that area when they transferred the fire-damaged bridge from the county to private hands.

Supervisor Jack Seward said the board originally decided to destroy the bridge after it was damaged by a fire to relieve the county of responsibility or liability, “The good people of Kalona and the Richmond area decided they didn’t want the bridge to be destroyed, so we proceeded to find a way to divert the money that we would’ve spent to destroy the bridge to allow the local group to do what they could for it. We all know that since that time there’s been a definite divide and a split in the people of Kalona and the people that they trusted to take possession of the bridge initially. There’s a lawsuit going on between those folks, we have nothing to do with it, the county has nothing to do with it.”

The property owner along that section of road had requested it be vacated due to garbage and trespass concerns. Seward explained he voted to vacate because he feels “the wishes of the landowner and their property rights are paramount.”

Abe Miller and Yoder were the two votes against the measure. The property owner can now place a fence or gate, making it a private road.