07-06-1998 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--July 6, 1998 1830 County Engineer Keith Berndt discussed County Policy 9.40 and 9.70 which deal with county road accesses and arterial road designation respectively. He said currently there are three driveways serving a combined farmstead within a relatively short stretch along County Road 10 and Mr. Sinner wants to add a fourth driveway. He said approximately 900 vehicles per day travel along County Road 10. Mr. Berndt recommended denial of this request because he feels it is inconsistent with county policy and good engineering practices. Also, he said if the county approves the request, a precedent may be set. Mr. Koenig asked if the three driveways already in place are in violation of county policy. Mr. Berndt said the area is not current with the present policy. Mrs. Quick asked if the engineer receives many requests similar to this and was concerned that a dangerous precedent will be set if this is approved. Mr. Berndt said he receives numerous formal requests like this one and has denied requests in the past. Mr. Meyer said Mr. Sinner wants to establish a new business and therefore needs this additional driveway. MOTION, failed Mr. Meyer moved and Mr. Wieland seconded to approve request of Robert Sinner to construct an additional private drive on Cass County Highway 10. Discussion: Mr. Wieland said this property is % to 3/4 mile from Casselton City limits and discussed the possibility of a speed limit reduction in the future. On roll call vote, motion failed with Mr. Wieland and Mr. Meyer voting "Aye"; and Mr. Koenig, Mrs. Quick and Mrs. Schneider voting "No". 14. RESOLUTION DECLARING PUBLIC NECESSITY TO TAKE LAND, Decision delayed until , July 20th meeting Mr. Berndt said reconstruction of County Highway 31 was scheduled for this year. He discussed right-of-way requirements and access standards for the metropolitan area and said the land involved would fall under the requirements. County Highway 31 is an arterial road and arterial roads normally require 75 feet of right-of-way on each side of the road. He noted that when the county does construction projects like this one, other funding methods are used rather than setting up special assessments on the property. He said in order to acquire land for this project, an appraiser was hired to assess the land along County Highway 31 so that a fair settlement could made with property owners. The appraiser came up with $2,500 per acre for residential land and $1,050 per acre for agricultural land. Mr. Berndt felt these figures were low. The parcels settled to date have been purchased for $3,000 per acre. Mr. Berndt said the resolution is for land in four different sections. The Vogels own two of the parcels. He noted that the Commission does not need to set the value of the land. The resolution would begin the condemnation process and a condemnation board would be established to determine the value of the property. He also said the county may still negotiate with the owners even if the resolution is approved. Mr. Berndt suggested the road curve be designed for 55 miles per hour with a 40 mile per hour speed limit. He discussed design criteria for 40 miles per hour compared to 55 miles per hour and said approximately 8 acres of land would need to be taken for a 55 mile per hour design compared to 4 acres for 40 mile per hour design. He said safety is a factor in making this determination. He distributed aerial photographs of the area to commissioners.