A local judge has ruled that the freight railcar restoration company that owns land the city desires for a trial extension must allow access to the property for environmental studies.
Last week, Cass Superior Court I Judge Thomas Perrone decided the city has the right to enter the property of Transco Railcar, located on the north bank of the Wabash River at 18th Street, for the purpose of determining levels of soil contamination before exercising the power of eminent domain to acquire the 5.44 acres of land needed to extend the Little Turtle Waterway.
Transco had been refusing the city access to their property. Instead, they suggested mediation as a way to get “fair compensation” for the land without litigation.
According to Mercedes Brugh, chairman of the Little Turtle Waterway Corp., the environmental studies would assist in formulating an offer to Transco for their strip of land between 12th and 18th streets.
Neither side was able to come to an agreement before the city filed the complaint in August.
Judge Perrone had the matter under advisement since hearing arguments from both sides in October.
The issue was whether the city had the right to conduct the environmental studies before enacting the power of eminent domain. Jim Brugh, Mercedes’ husband and the city’s attorney in the case, cited legal authority indicating the city and its environmental consultant could access Transco’s land.
Transco, which is represented by the law firm of Starr, Austen & Miller, argued that the city did not have such authority, according to court documents.
Judge Perrone ruled in favor of the city. He found that state law regarding eminent domain allows entry to the land in question for “examination and survey of the property” as long as the environmental assessments would not substantially interfere with the owners’ “use and enjoyment of the property.”
The city is facing a deadline that is part of the $150,000 federal grant for the 1.1-mile trail extension. In 2007, the Logansport Parks Department secured the grant. Under its terms, construction has to be finished by November 2011.
According to past reports from parks administrator Janet Fawley, construction is expected to begin in the spring and wrap up in 2010. Mercedes Brugh shared that position.
“I am optimistic that we will be able to come to agreement and soon begin work on that very beautiful section of the Wabash River,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement.
The extension is part of the city’s plan for more trails. The Eel River Run Trail is a proposed 2.4-mile pathway that would eventually connect Little Turtle Waterway to the existing River Bluff Trail and Riverside Park across the Eel River. That project calls for installing bridges over the Eel River at Riverside Park and beside the railroad bridge near Front Street. It is being made possible by a $1 million grant and a local match by Cole Hardwood owner Milt Cole.
Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
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