Negotiations collapsed over a broken storm sewer on Washington Street, and the case may end up in court.
On Jan. 27, Clarkston City Manager Dennis Ritter hand delivered an easement agreement, along with a ‘Good Faith Offer? of $892, to resident Norm Cristea.
Cristea had three business days to accept, or Ritter was authorized by city council ‘to engage the city attorney to immediately initiate and file an emergency Declaration of Taking.?
Cristea responded with a letter to city officials, Jan 29, asking for a 28-day extension to allow for legal review.
At a special city council meeting, Feb. 2, City Attorney Tom Ryan said they can’t grant an extension.
‘We’re forced now to either take action or not take action,? Ryan said. ‘The problem at hand is getting his pipe fixed and getting it relocated away from the house, which is frankly a benefit to him.?
He will try to contact Cristea’s lawyer and see if an easement can be granted. If not, Ryan said he’ll try to get an ’emergency motion? for a hearing sometime this week.
‘A person has 21 days to respond and ask for an necessity hearing, whether it’s a public project and/or whether it’s necessary. I believe we well exceed the threshold for those two issues,? he said. ‘This is a public drain, a public work, and functions as such, so I believe we won’t have an issue with that.?
‘His response looks like he’s trying to drag this thing out for unknown reasons,? said Councilman Jim Brueck. ‘I’m all in favor for the proper legal and quickest action we can take to get that problem fixed.?
Councilman Charles Inabnit agreed.
‘If we don’t get this storm problem taken care of, it’s going to create more problems because it was 40 degrees yesterday. What are we going to do when we get rain and 40 degrees,? Inabnit asked.
According to Cristea, all the contractors and engineers who inspected the area said going down the Clarkston Mills property, owned by Ed Adler, made more sense than going down his driveway.
‘I don’t think the city has really thought this out as far as what their total bill is going to end up costing them,? Cristea said. ‘Now we’re going to go through the condemnation process and that’s going to cost them money, it’s going to cost us money. I’m sure they could have worked something out with Ed a lot of easier, so they wouldn’t have those costs.?
If the emergency claim is denied by the court, a hearing would not be for another three weeks. To prevent further damage, the city could do ’emergency storm water pumping,? which would relieve the sewer and pump the water into the Mill Pond, said Gary Tressel of Hubble, Roth, and Clark engineering firm.