Laserfiche WebLink
Item No. 15 <br />memorandum <br />TO: Mayor & City Council <br />FROM: John Godwin, City Manager <br />SUBJECT: UTILITY EASEMENT CONDEMNATIONS <br />DATE: February 1, 2016 <br />BACKGROUND: We have several property owners who have so far declined to sell utility <br />easements required for completion of new utility lines included in Package 4. In some cases, <br />owners have been difficult to locate, in some cases they have asked for more money than the <br />property is worth (we are only acquiring easements, not fee simple titles), and in some cases they <br />have refused outright. <br />STATUS OF ISSUE: In order to proceed with this project and avoid any construction delays we <br />must move quickly and aggressively, authorizing the city attorney to move forward with <br />condemnation as necessary. She will make final offers, to be accepted or rejected within a finite <br />period of time, after which condemnation proceedings will begin. In a minority of cases, <br />condemnation ends up not being necessary. With the two trail condemnations authorized last <br />spring, for example, both owners sold through a negotiation process. Regardless, we do need to <br />move this matter forward now. If condemnation does occur, that simply means that a judge will <br />appoint a commission of three neutral and qualified parties to decide a price. <br />BUDGET: Funds are included in the project budget. <br />RECOMMENDATION: Authorize city attorney to proceed with condemnation. <br />