11/21/2009 6:09:00 PM Property owners on Long Lake face possible re-platting CLEAR LAKE TOWNSHIP BOARD
PROPERTY PROBLEMS. Title Examiner David Meyers (R) discussed the options with Clear Lake Township Board members Jack Gallagher, Joe Goenner and Gary Gray, along with guests and homeowners affected by the proposed re-platting of properties on a portion of the western side of Long Lake. (Photo by Bill Morgan.)
By Bill Morgan Staff Writer
After two months of research, consultation and discovery, Bernie Bromenschenkel is no where nearer to achieving his goal of putting in a new septic system on his property on Long Lake.
Tuesday night at the monthly Clear Lake Township board meeting, he had larger concerns.
And it had little to do with the septic system.
In September, Bromenschenkel approached the township board requesting the vacation of some township property to the back end of his land at 3747 74th Street to accommodate the re-configuration of a septic unit. His unit is over 35 years old and is in dire need of an upgrade.
Bromenschenkel's goal is to re-locate the septic system on another part of his land to allow for further construction and expansion to the main structure of his home.
Bromenschenkel met with Twp. Engineer Terrance Vander Eyk to discuss the possibility. Through fieldwork it was discovered the proposed vacated land was actually owned by the Goenner family.
Through further research with the county it was determined that in order for a property to "absorb" vacated land, it would have to be re-surveyed. Because the properties were abstracted and deeded in the 1970's, the county is also requiring all those properties to be re-surveyed and platted.
After additional examination, Land Surveyor Dennis Pederson and Attorney Roger Neils constructed a "best-case" scenario for the 13 or so property owners on the lake. Pederson and Neils, along with Title Examiner David Meyers, suggested the township advise the homeowners of the idea of re-surveying the properties to inform them of their intent. Neils and Meyers agreed this was something that inherently needs to be done, otherwise property owners would not be allowed to sell their property without the proper surveyed plat.
To Bromenschenkel, that means his neighbors in the area would have to foot the bill for land surveys, title re-issuing and attorney fees. That cost could end up anywhere in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 before all is said and done.
Neils pointed out that if any property owner is dissatisfied with any decision they make down the road, they have every right to pursue litigation. That, however, would be very costly, according to Neils. Plus, the township could start up a boundary commission which could force the issue of participation.
Bromenschenkel plans on getting a full list of the property owners from Eyk and go door-to-door to talk to people and see what the consensus is. Bromenschenkel says that most of the homeowners are snow birds and will not be around for most of the winter. He suggested they try to set up a meeting for late April. The township board would then send out letters to every homeowner to invite them to a special meeting to discuss the matter.
Meyers said the timeline for getting the whole production done -including gathering abstracts, getting them updated, getting the people to come to an agreement and then having the properties surveyed - would be a minimum of six to nine months.
Parks Department
Park Supervisor Bud Stimmler said he checked recently on a grant they applied for and found out the township was too small to meet their criteria for acceptance. He says there is still a lot of money available in grant funding and he will keep looking out for other opportunities that fit the township's needs.
Roads and Streets
Eyk asked the board to supply him with a list of roads that may need overlay next spring so he can initiate some bidding by suppliers and contractors. He also mentioned he has not heard any reports on the Bell Property issue.
Township Chairman Jack Gallagher reported the tree removal project on 90th Ave. was finished.
