Numerous residents along the first 1,100 feet of Taylor Lane, which veers north off of County Road 58 east of Grand Marais, appealed to the county board on June 19 to consider their arguments in favor of continued county maintenance of their road. County Engineer David Betts brought the issue to the board after several months of discussion with the five families who use Taylor Lane to access their properties regarding who really owns that road.
The homeowners formed the Wood Mountain Road Association in 2010 after a new spur off of Taylor Lane was created for several new homes. They contend that historic documents show that the road was once one of Colvill Township’s roads, which were eventually turned over to the county back in the 1930s. The Cook County Highway Department has historically kept the road plowed in the winter. Engineer Betts had authorized this in recent years, thinking that it was one of the U.S. Forest Service roads the county maintains through an agreement with the Forest Service.
The road is in need of repair, and when it rains, water rushes down the road instead of off to the sides. The county has not repaired it, however.
What the documents do and don’t say
A complete record of historic documents related to ownership and maintenance of the road does not exist. Engineer Betts and the homeowners association differ in their interpretation of what the existing documents demonstrate. Old maps do not resolve the debate, either.
A letter from Superior National Forest District Ranger Dennis Neitzke states, “We have searched our current roads database of record (INFRA) as well as our past records for our official transportation system and have not discovered any documents or records that would indicate that ‘Taylor Lane’ is or has ever been one of our system roads. …We have no records that provide any insight on the origin of Taylor Lane or if at one point in time it might have been utilized by the Forest Service.”
Betts said the road has gone by numerous names and in a memo to the county board states, “…The USFS has listed Sawmill Road/Taylor Lane/USFS 1402 as a USFS roadway on its maps and road inventories since at least 1974.” Ranger Neitzke acknowledged that one map identified Taylor Lane as Forest Road 1402, but said, “As far back as the mid-1980s our transportation system maps have FR1402 located in its current location, which is approximately ¼ mile to the west of Taylor Lane…. An aerial photo taken in 1934 clearly shows both Taylor Lane and our current FR1402 in its place.”
Minnesota Statute
Minnesota Statute 160.05 Subdivision 1 states, “When any road or portion of a road has been used and kept in repair and worked for at least six years continuously as a public highway by a road authority, it shall be deemed dedicated to the public to the width of the actual use and be and remain, until lawfully vacated, a public highway whether it has ever been established as a public highway or not.”
Minnesota Statute 160.09 Subdivision 3 states, “When a county highway or town road is the only means of access to any property or properties containing an area or combined area of five acres or more, the highway or road shall not be vacated without the consent of the property owner unless other means of access are provided.”
Engineer Betts contended that Statute 160.05 does not apply in this case because doing little maintenance except for snowplowing does not constitute keeping the road in repair.
Grounds on which decision is made
Maintenance Supervisor Russell Klegstad said the county should be careful in deciding on what grounds they might start maintaining Taylor Lane. The homeowners contend that the county is responsible for the road because it was one of the roads given to the county when Colvill ceased to be an official township. The problem with this interpretation is that if this became the reason the county was held responsible for maintaining Taylor Lane, the county could be held accountable for maintaining a lot more Cook County roads than it does now, since many roads were once maintained by townships that no longer exist but are not subsequently being maintained by the county.
Commissioner Fritz Sobanja asked how much it would cost the county to maintain the first 1,100 feet of the road each year. Betts estimated it would cost about $3,000 for routine maintenance.
Tim Johnson, owner of Wrecking J’s on Taylor Lane, said he has lived there for 30 years. “I have seen the grader go up there and grade the road in the summertime,” he said.
Jack Taylor, born on Taylor Lane in 1936, said he remembers the county used to maintain the road better than it has been recently. He also said a lot of things were done in the county in the past without a paper trail or proper legal procedures.
Another option
Engineer Betts pointed out that state statute gives the county the right to designate cartways, which are roads they own but do not have to maintain. He cited Minnesota Statute 163.11, which says, “A highway designated as a county cartway is a county highway for purposes of this chapter, but the county board may not expend money from its road and bridge fund on the maintenance or improvement of a county cartway unless the county board determines that the expenditure is in the public interest.”
Resident Isaac Heruth said, “I think the county should consider working for the taxpayers instead of against us.”
County Attorney Tim Scannell agreed with Klegstad that how they deal with this issue is important. “It’s a gray area and there are arguments for both sides,” he said. He recommended that they go with Statute 160.05 and maintain the first 1,100 feet for a while and then decide what to do with it.
The board unanimously passed a motion finding that in light of Minnesota Statute 160.05, the first 1,100 feet of Taylor Lane is a county road because of maintenance done on it by the county since the year 2000.
The county will be building a turnaround at the end of the 1,100 feet. Jack Taylor said he would donate some of his own land for this turnaround.
Leave a Reply