Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Whitman County commissioners took in an update Monday from Mark Storey, Public Works director, on a stalled resolution involving a fence damaged during the snows of February and early March.
On both sides of Belsby Road, at the northwest edge of the county, approximately 8,200 feet of fence was hit by snow thrown from plows along county right-of-way ground.
On that stretch, north of Rock Lake, front-end loaders were used on drifts to scoop and dump snow to the side of the road.
Right-of-way room on roadsides is for the purpose of maintenance.
“We only repair fencing that is not on the right of way,” said Brandon Kruger, operations manager for the county’s roads and bridges maintenance. “They’re taking the risk. If we damage it, we’re not gonna fix it.”
A second written offer from the county has been sent out to the landowner to pay the cost of replacing the fence between Miller Home Place Road and Long Road. Storey sent out the most recent offer two weeks ago.
He told commissioners Monday that 25 percent of the fence that was damaged is off the right-of-way or, 75 percent was within county right-of-way. He noted that since 1884, the county has had a right-of-way on the road of 50 feet – meaning 25 feet each direction from the centerline.
“We went back to the 1884 records and found a mistake; it’s 60 feet,” Storey said. “I’m still willing to honor this letter.”
The fence is barbed wire with wood and metal T-posts.
The matter was discussed with the property owner in phone calls before the two written offers.
“I know we damaged more fence than one landowner,” said Kruger. “Some people don’t bother to call us. Casualties of war, I guess, they’re thinking.”
Some of the fence covered in snow on Belsby Road was hit by county vehicles while the rest was just hit by the weight of the snow.
“It’s not a good situation,” said Storey. “We certainly didn’t intend to damage the fence. At the same time, we can’t pay for things we shouldn’t be paying for.”
“If your fence is in the right-of-way, you risk incurring damage,” said Art Swannack, county commissioner.
“We’ve got a lot of fence in the Whitman County right-of-way. There’s a ton,” said Dean Cornelison, county assistant engineer.
Participants at the session declined to identify the landowner who has made the claim for the alleged damage.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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