Commission addresses private use of public land

Foster County commissioners recently learned that county-owned property at Juanita Lake is being misused by private residents.

At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct.15, commissioners set a deadline for residents living on Juanita Lake to remove private property constructed on county-owned land.

Dennis Swanson and Bruce Gedrose, two residents currently living on Juanita Lake, were in attendance on Tuesday for the discussion and were told they have until Nov. 15 to remove their personal property from the county's land.

The land in question is a wooded stretch of property on the southwest end of the lake, which is directly behind most of the lake's cabins.

Commission Chairman David Utke said he discovered that there was private property on that land around late August or early September. They've also learned that some trees have been removed and new trees planted, among other alterations.

In other words, the county's land was being utilized by private landowners for their own personal use.

"At the end of the day it's a trespass," said Foster County State's Attorney Kara Brinster "... it's not your property, and you can't build on property that doesn't belong to you ... you're not entitled to cut down trees that don't belong to you even if they're dead."

There are currently two storage sheds and a playhouse for children on the county's property, owned by Swanson and Gedrose, respectively.

Swanson told commissioners that he was told by someone he could go ahead and use the property behind his cabin. And in addition to his sheds, he said he's done work to keep the property looking nice such as weed control, removing trash and clearing dead trees.

By keeping it in good condition, Swanson argued that the work he and others have done on the property has only benefited the county.

Meanwhile, Gedrose told commissioners he recently acquired his property on Juanita Lake in April, long after the playhouse had already been constructed on the county's land.

Commissioners seemed to agree with Swanson that what's good for the residents at Juanita Lake is also good for the county, particularly with respect to keeping the property looking nice and well-maintained.

However, the legality and liability concerns were primarily the issue for county commissioners and their state's attorney, particularly after finding out that residents were also using county land for parking and that some residents were riding their ATVs through the property.

"The county has a responsibility to all of the voters within the county to protect the assets of the county ... and allowing their use by the limited few isn't protecting that asset," said Brinster.

"I know you guys treat it like your own and you do a good job with it, but we have to follow the law here," added Commissioner Pat Copenhaver.

A letter sent to landowners at Juanita Lake originally gave them until October 31 to remove private property from the county's land, or risk having that property seized by local law enforcement.

However, after some discussion commissioners agreed to extend the deadline to November 15 to account for the busy harvest schedule, and both Swanson and Gedrose assured commissioners their property would be removed before the deadline.

Eventually, the discussion pivoted to potentially selling the land, which commissioners seemed to agree could be the best path forward.

Brinster said she'll be getting a quote from a surveyor to determine the cost of having the land surveyed and plotted out, after which the county could choose to put sections of the land up for bid.

Brinster told commissioners and the landowners that because the property is county-owned, it cannot just be sold to a single person. It's required to be sold via an open bidding process that would allow anyone to purchase the property.

No final decisions were made, and the board will revisit the potential of selling the property at a future meeting.

Also at Tuesday's commission meeting, Foster County Emergency Manager Andrew Kirking told commissioners that his time with the county is coming to an end, as he's submitted his resignation to Stutsman County.

Foster County currently has an agreement with Stutsman County to provide emergency management services, which expires at the end of this year. Kirking said his assistant, Riley Schaefer, will be stepping in as the interim emergency manager for both Stutsman and Foster County.

"He's an absolute wizard at this and he's been doing it for four or five years at this point," said Kirking about his assistant. "He knows everything that I've been working on here and he knows the direction."

In his relatively brief time as Foster County's emergency manager, Kirking managed the county through the aftermath of the July 5 train derailment, and the county commissioners were particularly thankful for his efforts.

"It was great having you here," said Commissioner Becky Hagel. "We were lucky to have you here when we did."

In other business, the county commission approved what were described as "minor" changes to the county's floodplain ordinance, pertaining largely to "formatting" changes required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The motion approving the changes was carried on the condition that no residents express an issue with them between now and the end of the month. The changes are available for the public to review at the Foster County Auditor's office in the county courthouse.

The commission's next regular meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 7 at 3:30 p.m.