Collier County Declares Emergency to Fix Impassable Roads, Seeks Legal Guidance on Public Funds Use

Collier County commissioners voted Jan. 13 to declare a state of emergency for 34 private roads considered impassable. All five commissioners supported the decision. The declaration allows county staff to seek an Attorney General Opinion on whether $1.5 million in public funds can be used to fix the roadways.

Vice Chair Bill McDaniel Jr. made the motion. The proclamation declares portions of those roads a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of residents in unincorporated areas. An ad hoc committee made up of representatives from the Collier County Sheriff's Office, local fire districts, and Collier Emergency Medical Services found 73 roads were impassable, with 34 included under a pending contract.

The committee ranked Della Drive and Markley Avenue in Golden Gate Estates and Sunnygrove Road in East Naples as the worst. McDaniel's district includes Immokalee and Golden Gate Estates, where many of the roads are located.

"I lost a friend on Lilac [Lane] because we couldn't get an ambulance in there to get him when he had his heart attack," McDaniel told commissioners, according to Gulf Shore Business. Lilac's access road, Platt Road, has since been repaired twice after complaints from emergency responders.

Commissioner Rick LoCastro said emergency responders spoke to them and sent letters saying they were "really worried about going down and saving a life." When discussions first started, first responders felt this was an urgent need to solve.

Assistant County Attorney Sally Ashkar cited a 1998 Attorney General Opinion involving Citrus County. That opinion allowed public spending on private roads during an emergency. "When you have your Emergency Services Division saying we can't access the area, who better to tell you that there's an emergency?" Ashkar said.

The board will have 42 days from the emergency declaration to complete the repairs. That clock will begin once the Attorney General Opinion is received.

Last month, commissioners delayed a vote to approve a $1.5 million loan from the Countywide Capital Project Fund. The loan would cover invoices tied to a $1,238,800 contract with Quality Enterprises USA Inc. The contractor agreed to hold its bid price until the opinion arrives.

County Clerk Crystal Kinzel questioned the legality of using public funds for private roads, even within an MSTU. She provided commissioners with a booklet outlining alternative approaches, but spoke only after the board had voted.

Funding fell short because projected ad valorem tax revenue from the MSTU's one-mill rate is expected to generate only $142,451 for fiscal year 2026. Properties within the MSTU are assessed $1 per $1,000 of taxable value.