County Commission Approves Potential Snow Removal Contract with Neighboring County
On Dec 4, 2025 the Stutsman County Commission unanimously approved authorizing a potential contract with Kidder County to perform winter snow removal on a 1.5 mile access road northwest of Medina, subject to agreement by Kidder County and the two adjoining townships. The decision narrows a short term funding option for private access, and highlights questions about liability, maintenance responsibility, and local infrastructure funding that could affect taxpayers.
The Stutsman County Commission voted unanimously on Dec 4, 2025 to approve a proposal that would allow Kidder County to plow a 1.5 mile access road at 35th Street SE northwest of Medina for up to $2,500 this winter, provided Kidder County and the adjacent Peterson and Williams townships agree to the arrangement. The access road was created after County Road 39 was closed because of high water, and it currently provides winter access to a private landowner.
County staff and the state s attorney advised caution, noting that section line roads carry specific liability and maintenance responsibilities that can create exposure for government entities. Commissioners weighed those legal and fiscal considerations against the practical consequences of leaving the road closed for the winter, including blocked access for property owners and potential emergency response concerns. The approved authorization is conditional and limited in scope, and commission members discussed leaving the road closed for the season as an alternative.
The vote was part of a broader meeting in which the commission also approved preliminary engineering agreements for upcoming federal aid overlay projects and discussed the county s obligations for local infrastructure funding. Those preliminary engineering agreements set the administrative and financial groundwork for federally supported road overlays, while commission discussion emphasized the need to account for local matches and long term maintenance in county budgeting.
For residents, the immediate impact is narrow but tangible. If Kidder County and the two townships agree, plowing would restore winter access to the private property served by the section line, at a county expense capped at $2,500. More broadly, the decision raises questions about how Stutsman County will handle similar requests, how it will allocate limited road maintenance funds, and how it will manage liability exposure related to nonstandard access roads.
The commission s action underscores a continuing need for clear intergovernmental agreements and policy guidance on section line road maintenance, and for transparency about the fiscal trade offs that accompany temporary solutions to access problems.
