The 2012 Water and Sanitary Sewer Replacement Projects will replace deteriorating public water and sewer mains in select geographical areas of the City.  Due to a historical anomaly in the subdivision planning process, City right-of-way does not exist for a 20-foot long section of the active alley between 12th and 13th Streets West and Avenues D and E.  Two property owners on opposite sides of the alley at this location, Thomas/Carrie Schleder (1215 Avenue D) and Gary/Susan Carlson (1216 Avenue E), each own a 20-foot long and 10-foot wide section of alley that the City desires to gain legal access to in order to complete a sewer replacement project.

After examining Yellowstone County property tax records, City staff approached the Schleders and Carlsons with an offer to purchase their 200 square feet of land in the alley for the approximate average of County-assessed land values of properties in this neighborhood. Each owner has verbally agreed to sell the land to the City for a price of $5 per square foot or $1,000.

• Approve Warranty Deeds with the Schleders and Carlsons; or
• Do not approve Warranty Deeds with the Schleders and Carlsons. If the sanitary sewer main in the alley is not replaced, the City's sanitary sewer collection system in this area will continue to experience ongoing operational and maintenance problems.

The cost of the Warranty Deeds from the Schleders and Carlsons is $1,000 each.  Funding for the payments will come from Wastewater funds.

Staff recommends that the City Council accept the Warranty Deeds from the Schleders and Carlsons and authorize payments of $1,000.00 to each owner.