One street section in Washington has been unpaved since 1899, according to a city document.

The issue of unpaved streets in the city surfaced late last year when residents along Sarah Keyes Way began appearing before the City Council to complain about their street not being paved, resulting in damage to their vehicles. The City Council asked for city staff to develop a list of unpaved streets in the city and how much it would cost to pave those streets.

City staff also developed a chronological list showing when those streets became part of the city. That list shows that 0.09 of a mile of old Second Street remains unpaved. Overall, according to the list, there are 1.39 miles of unpaved streets in the city. Sarah Keyes Way (.12 of a mile) became part of the city in 2010, according to the list. There are 15 streets — sections of or entire streets — on the list.

“During discussion of the Keys Landing subdivision, City Council requested staff prepare a listing of all unpaved streets in the city and the dates that they annexed into the city limits for maintenance,” reads a memorandum from Frankie Buck, the city’s director of public works, to the mayor and council members. That memorandum is part of the council’s tentative agenda for its meeting Monday.

The city uses a special revenue source to cover the costs of paving unpaved streets.

“The City of Washington receives funding from the gasoline tax given to use by the State of North Carolina. Powell Bill funds are limited therefore our resurfacing projects are small. Our (annual) appropriation was reduced substantially due to the (payback) to N.C. D.O.T. for the U.S. Hwy. 17 by-pass improvements,” Buck wrote in the memorandum.

During the council’s Feb. 12 meeting, residents who live along Sarah Keyes Way said they are tired of waiting for the city to pave the street. The unpaved road’s condition continues to worsen without anything being done to improve it, they said.

City officials reminded those residents that the city spent $13,000 on installing curbs and gutters along a section of the street so the sale of a house along the street could be completed and closed.

Ravonda Moore, a Keys Landing subdivision resident, has been leading the effort to get the city to pave Sarah Keyes Way. She’s appeared before the council during several of its recent meetings to make her case. Moore and her neighbors have told the council they don’t care about a dispute between the city and the Rev. David Moore, chief executive officer of Metropolitan Housing & Development Corp., developer of the subdivision. The city contends Metropolitan owes $238,000 to the city for failure to meet certain requirements related to the Keys Landing subdivision. The city and Metropolitan worked together in developing the residential area. That dispute also included debate on whether the city or Metropolitan should pay for paving the street.