Advertisement
A district court judge Thursday ordered the city to pay $570,000 to the owner of land condemned to build the Pelzer Street rail overpass. The ruling follows a 2006 appeal by city officials who disputed an earlier award of more than $900,000 for the property.
Neither city officials nor Minnesota City businessman Rich Mikrut, who owns the land, would say Thursday if they will appeal the most recent decision, handed down last week by an eight-person jury. The Mikrut property was the priciest of more than 30 parcels collectively valued at more than $6 million that the city acquired to build the $23 million Pelzer overpass, completed in late 2007.
City officials initially offered $72,000 for the property in 2005, but Mikrut argued he deserved more because the new Pelzer overpass cut off the main access point for a truck-to-rail freight-transfer facility he had proposed building on the site. Mikrut said Thursday that he still plans to build the rail-to-truck transfer facility as early as in 2009, after he acquires more adjoining property and completes an environmental cleanup of the former chemical-manufacturing site.
The Winona City Council allowed a jury to hear the case after it voted in October 2006 to appeal the original condemnation award of $903,000, issued by a court-appointed panel in July 2006.
Argument in the recent jury trial hinged on whether the city or Mikrut would pay to build a new truck entrance for the site on nearby McConnon Road. City officials said in October that pending City Council approval they likely would widen and resurface McConnon Road to accommodate truck traffic if Mikrut builds the transfer facility, and that Mikrut wouldn’t be assessed for the cost of that work.
The city already modified the overpass design to allow future construction of a rail spur to the site and helped Mikrut apply for state funds to clean it up, Assistant City Manager Judy Bodway said Thursday.
“We look forward to someday seeing redevelopment plans for that site,” Bodway said.
Mikrut bought the property, formerly owned by McConnon Co., in 2004 and said he’s always envisioned it becoming Winona’s only rail-to-truck transfer facility for consumer goods. Mikrut said he’s since acquired five nearby homes and plans to acquire at least one more to create the alternate truck entrance on McConnon Road. An MPCA spokesman said Mikrut also must complete cleanup of soil, groundwater and solid waste before state officials will sign off on the environmental cleanup.
Mikrut said he hopes “closure” will come soon in the case so he can proceed with the development.
“Both parties are really in a lose-lose situation,” Mikrut said.
Earlier this month, the city also withdrew its appeal of a $143,100 award for another property condemned to build the overpass, owned by Evanson and Evanson, a Goodview partnership.
The Donald wrote on Nov 21, 2008 2:24 PM: