June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
County declines surveying right of way on Co. Rd. 140 in unorganized township
County Attorney Christopher Strandlie informed the commissioners they were not required statutorily to make a survey.
Doug Carpenter, who sought the survey, told the board he plans to take his case now to the state attorney general.
Carpenter is a Deer River resident whose children own property adjacent to County Road 140. Tuesday, he told the board he is in the process of transferring title to that property to himself, which he believes will facilitate his fight for the survey.
He brought a large stack of papers, a state law book and a briefcase to the board meeting, though he never opened the briefcase during the five minutes the board allowed him to state his position.
Carpenter was not listed on Tuesday's agenda and was added to the agenda by board motion at the beginning of the meeting.
He told the board he believes county department heads and prior boards created a problem. He contends the current county board can fix it.
As he sees it, the county is obligated to survey its roads, and that some of the $500,000 sitting in the unorganized township road fund should be spent to survey the road past his family's property.
Carpenter called for a special meeting of the unorganized town board, which is the county board, to hold a hearing on having the survey done. He first had appeared with his request at the June 3 regular county board meeting.
The board referred the issue to the county attorney June 3.
Tuesday, Strandlie responded, telling the commissioners state law does require the county board to act as a road authority for unorganized townships and to appoint and employ a county engineer.
State statutes also provide that when any road or portion of road has been used and kept in repair for at least six years continuously as a public highway by a road authority, it shall be deemed dedicated to the public to the width of actual use (until lawfully vacated) and shall be deemed dedicated to the public as a highway, Strandlie said.
Strandlie said he believes this is the process through which County Road 140 became a county road. No survey or eminent domain proceeding was required, he said.
While a county may survey its roads, Strandlie said he found no statutory obligation to do so. The county's past practice has been to survey its roads only when construction work is going to be done on a road, because then some of the road right of way may be used during the construction process or as a part of a road surface widening.
Historically, Strandlie said, the county engineer has decided when a survey is needed.
The county has 426 miles of road which have not been surveyed at this time, according to County Engineer David Enblom.
Chief Financial Officer Larry Wolfe said the cash sitting in the unorganized township fund has been accruing over a few years, because the county sets aside money annually in that fund toward doing a gravel overlay on the unorganized town roads about every three to five years.
Most of the money will be used all in one year to purchase the gravel and apply it, he explained.
Carpenter objected to the fact the county spends county and town road money on forest service roads.
Enblom said the U.S. Forest Service only creates minimum roads for loggers to reach federal forest timber sales, but does not maintain the roads thereafter.
If privately developed properties use those logging roads to reach their properties, the county then has worked out contracts with the forest service to provide future services on some roads used for private property access.
The county does have contracts with the forest services for some forest service roads, Enblom said.
Most of the money in the unorganized township fund comes from township property taxes, though the unorganized area does qualify for some federal payment in lieu of tax and some township gas tax, Enblom said.
Second publication rights after Brainerd Dispatch.
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