22-05-2025
Jasper County to manage Hickory Hills' crumbling roads
JASPER COUNTY, Mo. — A controversial Jasper County neighborhood may be a step closer to dealing with deteriorating roads.
The Jasper County Commission Tuesday voted to accept the streets that make up the Hickory Hills neighborhood just northwest of Joplin. Complaints detailing a host of road issues there left unfixed helped push forward a recent effort to disband the Joplin Special Road District, which is in charge of that general area. Last month, county commissioners said those roads had never been upgraded to county standards, something that's usually required for roads to be turned over to the county. But the controversy prompted more extensive research, pointing to that neighborhood's listing in the 'County Aid Road Trust' or CART program which led to commissioners voting the roads in.
They say those residents have been paying the taxes for years.'They've been paying that – and we looked up; it's approximately about $65 per household a year they're paying on their property tax. And then they've also been paying for the CART money. So, they've been generating money that just hasn't been used in that neighborhood,' said Mike Landis, Jasper County Commissioner.
An earlier petition drive had aimed to disband the Joplin Special Road District, which sits in both Jasper and Newton Counties. The Jasper County commission voted to disband, but the Newton County commission voted against, meaning operations continue for the road district.
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