News

City heads to court over land easement

By Scott Wagar

07/02/2013

With no progress being made in obtaining temporary easement rights from a family in Bottineau to allow the city’s sewer line project to begin, the next step for the city will be in court to obtain the easement so the project can start and be completed before the construction season ends this year.

The city, in association with Wold Engineering, has been making plans over the past year to improve the city and its sewer capabilities with a new sewer line project this summer. The plan is to run sewer pipes from the town’s lagoon on the south side of town, out to the Walmart and under Highway 5.

The new line will assist the community in that area with a number of new developments taking place and to prepare Bottineau for future developments in that area.

The project should have started by early May, but is pleasantly on hold due to the family of Clayton Gagner.

According to Councilman Tim Sanderson and city documents, the city offered the Brusletten family, the Gagner family and John Anderson $320 per acre of taxpayers money for crop loss and $500 for nuisance pay concerning the temporary easements on their properties, along with the same prices for the permanent easements.

Bruslettens and Anderson agreed to their easement agreements with the city, but the Gagner family turned the offer down and requested a much larger sum of money.

The city refused to pay the price Gagner’s requested and have not been able to come to an agreement. With the two entities at a impasse, it will now go to court where a judge will decide if the city can obtain the easement rights and what a fair price would be for the family.

For Sanderson, he’s upset this project is being delayed.

“This has gone on way too long and we need to get going on this project, because we only have so many summer months to work on projects like this,” Sanderson said. “And, this project is important to the city to keep development moving forward in the town. “I feel the city has been fair in their offer to the Gagner family and having to go to court is wasting valuable time here,” Sanderson added.

Sanderson also stated that there is another plan in place which would eliminate the eminent domain process, but it calls for added footage around the property with an additional cost to the taxpayers of around $150,000.

For now, the city will wait and see what the court will decide, unless the Gagner family and the city can come to a plea agreement before the court case.