The Tip of the Trail parcel at the end of the Gunflint Trail is a scenic spot that has been the center of controversy for more than a decade.
After several years of wrangling over title issues relating to a 5.6-acre parcel of property the county tried to auction off in 2005, Cook County has decided to call off the sale.
The land in question is the “Tip of the Trail” parcel adjacent to Sag Landing at the end of the Gunflint Trail. On Tuesday, July 27, 2010, the county board agreed to return the $98,669 that ProVal, LLC had already paid out of a total price of $701,000. ProVal involves 13 investors including Gunflint Trail businessmen Michael Valentini and Mike Prom.
The matter was discussed in numerous closed sessions in which commissioners spoke with County Attorney Tim Scannell about the issue.
The scenic site was first the subject of a court battle when canoe outfitter Jeff Drew fought unsuccessfully to retain his lease of the land with the U.S. Forest Service.
In 2004, the county traded 480 acres of land it owned in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for the Tip of the Trail property, but when the county tried to sell the land, the fact that Sag Landing encroached on the parcel was discovered. Surveyor Sam Parker recommended that the county hire title attorney Dick Swanson to figure things out.
To correctly survey the property in question, the entire peninsula would have needed surveying, which would have been complicated and time-consuming. Then-County Attorney Bill Hennessy recommended that the county pursue a “proceedings subsequent” to define the property boundaries. This would have involved signatures from nearby property owners, but one property owner – Mike Prom – did not respond to the county’s request.
In the meantime, ProVal paid for wetlands delineation and septic studies and collected earnest money from buyers interested in the planned unit development ProVal had envisioned. They then discovered that the septic sites they had delineated would not work with the road easement the county would require. The whole process took years instead of weeks or months, and ProVal ended up asking to cancel the sale and get its money back.
ProVal objected to the proceedings subsequent and initiated a counterclaim in order to get their money back with damages.
To avoid litigation and the costs associated with it, the board voted to relieve ProVal of its obligation to finalize the purchase and to return the money they had paid toward the property. It will do so once the proceeding subsequent is complete and ProVal dismisses its claims against the county.
Leave a Reply