I attended the October 27, 2026, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.
All commissioners were present.
The first agenda item was “2nd Public Hearing – Chelsie Rd & Brush Creek.”
This request was to add stop signs for Chelsie Road at its intersection with Brush Creek Road.
Residents spoke for and against the request.
The pro-stop sign argument was that traffic in the area has increased over the past few years. Anyone seeking to turn onto Chelsie Road has to practically pull into the intersection to check for oncoming traffic because it is approaching in the driver’s blind spot. By the time approaching traffic becomes visible on Chelsie Road, it’s too late to react. A stop sign for Chelsie Road heading into town at the intersection would solve this problem.
Those against the stop sign were concerned about the impact a stop sign would have on Chelsie Road during winter driving conditions. Drivers on Chelsie Road might get stuck on the incline if they had to come to a complete stop at the top of the hill in icy weather. They preferred alternative mitigation efforts such as the installation of a convex traffic mirror or a speed limit reduction on the road.
The second agenda item was “2nd Public Hearing – Sellers Rd, Everly Loop & Lake Rd 7-6.”
This was another request to add stops signs to an intersection. Residents were also present for both sides of this request.
Residents arguing for the stop signs pointed out that the county had already acknowledged that the intersection was dangerous when it posted “Dangerous Intersection” signs there. Local residents were familiar with the risks associated with the area, but visitors and tourists might not approach it as carefully. The president of the Summer Place HOA added that he had reviewed the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and his examination of the text seemed to indicate that an all-way stop could be installed if any ONE of the required conditions were met. It did not require ALL of the conditions to be met. He pointed out that one of the warranted conditions, Sight Distance, was clearly present at this intersection.
Residents who were opposed asked that the county conduct a traffic study before any changes were made. As with the prior agenda item, they were concerned that the intersection’s location on a hill top might increase the chances of rear end collisions and other challenges during icy winter conditions.
They also mentioned that the county had already posted “Dangerous Intersection/20 MPH” signs the day before the meeting. The commissioners seemed surprised to find out about this because they had not voted to reduce the speed limit to 20 MPH. Chief Deputy Hines cleared things up by explaining that those signs were only cautionary speed limits and were not enforceable.
Presiding Commissioner Skelton explained that if the Commission decided to put in an all-way stop, they would have to pay for a traffic study first. Skelton did propose the alternative idea of installing an incoming traffic warning sign that would use sensors to alert cross traffic that vehicles were approaching the intersection. Both sides of the issue seemed receptive to this idea. (This usually means that it will be the most expensive solution.)
The final agenda item was “Surplus Interpleader Lawsuit (Tabled from 10/13/26).”
The Commission voted unanimously to file an interpleader in a court case that involved a disputed tax sale and the potential destination of its tax surplus.
In Old Business, Commissioner Gohagan reminded the commissioners that they have approximately 30 different tasks that need to be completed before the end of the year. Many of them seemed to be budget amendments that were required to be presented to the Commission by the County Auditor for budget decisions the Commission made throughout this year. The County Auditor was not present for this meeting so there was no input from him regarding why this situation has developed.
In Public Comment, a citizen complained that his street sign has been stolen twice so far and it yet again needs to be replaced. The street name?
Casper Road.
It seems like it is a popular target during Halloween. So Casper Road will slide into the #2 spot behind Copperhead Road, the all-time favorite stolen sign in Camden County.
Sometimes the only solution to these troubles is to change the name of your street.
And that was that.