Carmel reopens road, settles pending lawsuit

CARMEL – Resolving two long-standing issues in town, Carmel has reopened the Horseback Road and is in the process of closing its case involving land that had been the subject of litigation, its ownership in dispute.

Town Manager Tom Richmond said Friday that the town officially opened the Horseback Road on Monday and that the dirt road will be paved in June. The road had been closed for nearly 10 years after local school officials expressed concern in 1988 that gravel pits were encroaching on the road. Town selectmen took three landowners – Donald Hewes, Barry Higgins and Earle McSorley – to court in January 1993 and formally closed the road nine months later. Last year, the town approved borrowing a total of $175,000 to fix the Horseback Road.

Richmond also said the town has reached a negotiated settlement that, once approved, will resolve the last of the lawsuits involving the town and the gravel pit owners. Specific details about the agreement weren’t made public as it hasn’t been formally filed with the courts, Richmond said.

But at a special town meeting to be scheduled for June, voters will be asked to approve returning a clear title of the land to Earle and Glennis McSorley, who have been at odds with the town over the town’s purchase of the land at a sheriff’s auction.

A special town meeting already was in the works after voters at the annual town meeting in March rejected an article that would have allowed the town to use money raised through the sale of the three properties. Voters said the article didn’t authorize the sale of the properties, but just the use of proceeds from the sales. They wanted it reworked and reworded to include authorizing the sale.