9 investigates complaints of taxpayer money used to work on private road

LANCASTER, S.C. — Thousands of dollars in taxpayer money were spent repairing a secluded, wooded road in Lancaster County last week.

Timberline Road is a dirt road that is not listed on any maps including county 911 maps for emergency and fire crews.

The road is also behind a locked gate and posted with numerous "no trespassing" signs, and it comes to a dead end at a hunt club.

There are deer stands, a sign-up hut for hunters and a weighing station to weigh and handle deer meat.

Last week, one of the landowners, Glenn Ribelin, called the county and asked that some work be done on the deteriorating road.

"It was nearly impassible," Ribelin said. "This has always been a county road so, yes, I called the county."

Lancaster County crews spent days putting down a layer of gravel and clearing trees and brush from both sides of the road.  County employees used county equipment to do the work.

Channel 9 asked Ribelin how the road could be public if it's been blocked by a gate with a combination lock for decades.

"I didn't put up the gate. I was bothered by it then because no one notified me that it was being put up," he said.

Gary Greene argues that the road is private and has never been maintained by the county. He said the county improperly used taxpayer money there.

"I think this was done illegally, and it needs to be addressed," Greene said.

Richard Welch grew up in the area. He's parked on Timberline Road before and was kicked off the land.

"They just asked me to leave because it's private property," he said. "Whatever it is, it's crooked."

Lancaster County leaders insist the road is public. Public Works director Jeff Catoe sent Channel 9 a handwritten record from 1959 that seems to show Timberline Road as a county road.

A 2016 document that lists all of the county roads does not show Timberline Road exists.

Neighbors said the name Timberline was made up and Ribelin admitted he made a street sign and put it up one week ago.  There is no county signage,  official street sign or stop sign on the road.

What remains of a metal cable is wrapped around a tree that used to block the road years ago before the gate was put in.

Lancaster County Administrator Steve Willis said Public Works employees thought Timberline Road was a public road and had the old maps to show it.

Willis said the roadwork is legal but closing the road with a gate is not.

"That gate has to come down. It shouldn't be there," Willis said.

It's not clear what will happen next, but the county is contacting the property owners to resolve the situation.

Cox Media Group