The Hall County Board of Commissioners agreed to use SPLOST money to help the city of Lula pave the roads in the Victoria Lane neighborhood at its work session Tuesday.

Hall County Public Works Director Ken Rearden said it will cost the county about $120,000 to do the base and grading work for Victoria Lane, Noah’s Way and Tara Trail.

Lula will pay for the paving.

"It will take away SPLOST money from county roads," Rearden said.

The hilly dirt roads are in poor condition and become nearly impassable in the rain due to mud and holes.

The commissioners agreed that the road was a safety issue and needs to be taken care of as soon as possible.

"It’s awful. I won’t even drive my truck up it," said Commissioner Steve Gailey.

The roads were paved about 10 years ago, but were torn up during construction after the property was sold to another developer, said Barry Wikle, the original owner.

The city of Lula never required a bond for the roads, and they were never repaired.

Commissioner Ashley Bell said
helping Lula pave the roads would set a precedent, because the county does not pave city roads.

"Hopefully the county commission will look at all cities equally," Bell said.

Lula City Manager Dennis Bergin said he has been talking with Hall County Public Works for months about the possibility of getting the county to help fix the roads in the Victoria Lane neighborhood.

It is now a possibility because the city is in the process of gaining the ownership of the roads.

"The way we’re able to overcome that (the roads are private) is we’re able to get the fellow who actually owns the property to offer the ... ownership of that property to the homeowners and in turn they turned it over to us," Bergin said.

Bergin hopes work can begin as soon as late July.