12-06-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--December 6,2004 2831 Mr. Wagner questioned the figure of 15% offered by Ms. Murphy toward the $100,000 cost of repairs, leaving the county to pay 85% if the project is approved. He said there is no home to protect on the county property. Mr. Selbo said his client is looking first at whether there would be cooperation for the project; and if the commission is considering participating at a certain percent, he would contact his client again. Mr. Wagner said the potential is there for more people to ask for help, especially if their percentage is small. He suggested considering this if a more equitable cost share with the county is proposed. MOTION, failed Mr. Pawluk moved to deny the request but authorize the County Engineer to do minor re-shaping or associated work to minimize safety issues at a cost not to exceed $4,000.00. The chairman called three times for a second to the motion and hearing none, declared the motion failed. Mrs. Sorum said she is concerned that option #2 may put the county more at risk for liability, according to the State's Attorney's comments today. Mr. Wagner suggested appointing a committee to meet with Ms. Murphy and her legal counsel to discuss a more equitable cost share in the proposed project. Mr. Selbo said Ms. Murphy would be unavailable to meet. Mr. Vanyo selected a committee consisting of Commissioner Bennett and himself, Birch Burdick, Keith Berndt, Greg Selbo and Duane Rogne, who lives across the road from Ms. Murphy and has concerns about his property also. 21. ROAD DEPARTMENT, Right of way purchase at 64th Avenue and Cass 17 Mr. Berndt requested board approval to purchase a lot at the intersection of 64th Avenue South and Cass County Highway 17 for a project to replace a box culvert and for future highway improvements. The 2.2 acre lot in question was valued by two different appraisers about six months apart at $55,000 and $73,000. During negotiations with the property owner, the seller has declined previous county offers and indicated he would not accept less than $75,000 for the property. Mr. Berndt said another option is through condemnation proceedings. The 64th Avenue culvert project requires the purchase of four other properties, and Mr. Berndt would like to stay fairly consistent with the per acre price on all of the parcels needed for the project. He said three of these other four properties were appraised at about $25,000 per acre, and the fourth one was appraised lower because some clean up would be necessary before that property could be developed. The per acre price for the owner of the 2.2 acre lot, who wants $75,000 for his property, would equate to $29,761 per acre. MOTION, failed Mr. Wagner moved to approve the purchase of a lot at the intersection of 64th Avenue and Cass County Highway 17 at $75,000. The chairman called three times for a second to the motion and hearing none, declared the motion failed. Mr. Berndt said he felt he could justify recommending the purchase of this property at $4,000 more per acre than the other parcels because of its location. He said he does not wish to delay the project too long because of a time element with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, which requires right of way issues to be settled ten weeks before bid opening. The total project cost is estimated at $800,000, according to Mr. Berndt.