The Mayor and City council have previously authorized condemnations to facilitate the easements necessary to construct sanitary sewer lines to serve the Briarwood Subdivision, which has been previously annexed into the City. The Council has received periodic status updates on these condemnations with the most recent report occurring on December 7, 2009. The City has previously obtained all necessary easements, and the sanitary sewer project has been completed. The remaining issue in these Council-authorized condemnations is the amount of compensation to be given the landowners for their easements. The City has received offers to settle the two remaining outstanding claims as a result of mediation efforts on November 13, 2009. The offers are only open for a reasonable time, and staff believes it is in the City’s best interests to conclude the litigation on the proposed terms as soon as possible.

The Council may:

• Approve the settlement offers;
• Decline to approve the settlement offers and proceed to condemnation.

The terms of these settlement offers have been compared to likely outcomes if the cases were to be taken to a Condemnation Commissioners’ hearing and trial by jury. The cost of preparing updated appraisals, the possibility of being required to pay the condemnees’ (landowners’) attorneys fees and other litigation expenses in the event they were ultimately awarded more than the City had offered, were taken into consideration. The offers of settlement from the Johnsons and from Mr. Hoff are both within the range of possible awards; therefore, they are less than the sum total of awards, plus the cost of updating appraisals, plus the litigation expenses of the adverse parties. The City achieves certainty as to the result on favorable grounds; and staff time being devoted to the file terminates, freeing staff time for other projects.

The Johnson settlement would cost the City $5,767.26, plus the City has had its contractor install a wider, 16-foot, gate than was first installed following construction, and it will replant the area that was disturbed if the seeding done in October of 2008 does not grow in the Spring of 2010. 

The Hoff settlement would cost the City $35,000.00.

Funding for this settlement will come from sanitary sewer funds which have been allocated for WO 04 36 Briarwood Sewer Project.

The City would receive a utility easement along the full length of its main sewer line constructed across the Johnson and Hoff properties in exchange for these payments.

Staff recommends that Council accept these settlement offers, authorize the Mayor to sign all necessary settlement documents and instruct the Staff to conclude all agreements and make all payments required, as described above, to terminate these condemnation actions as fully resolved.