The Williams County Park Board voted unanimously to convey two small tracts of land adjacent to Lots 201 and 202 at Blacktail Dam to the property owners, the board decided at a public meeting. The action followed presentations from an attorney for the property owners, county staff and questions from board members.

The decision seeks to settle a dispute dating to the 1990s over land swaps and access that county records and a February 2003 North Dakota Game and Fish memorandum describe. Attorney Tom Kalile, representing the property owners, told the board the original subdivision process intended to “make this lot whole” and argued that conveying the two tracts would correct title issues created when the land swap was recorded in the county name rather than being added to the private lots.

“This is what the county did,” Kalile said, arguing the lots were purchased in the 1990s as part of the subdivision and that the later state deed was intended to correct access. He told the board the Zivolny family and related owners had occupied the area for roughly 60 years and that the sale price charged at the time covered the occupied area.

County legal counsel cautioned the board that the park board is a public entity and “cannot sell its property at less than market value to a private individual,” and said a long-term easement had been offered as a settlement option. County staff member Beth, who reviewed records, said she had not prepared deeds and noted the deed involved in the 2003 record likely originated with Game and Fish: “I never would have drawn up a deed because I am not an attorney.”

Board discussion noted a long administrative history and several prior instances where the county approved land transfers for other Blacktail property owners in 2008 and 2014. Commissioners debated whether the conveyance should be treated as a corrective deed to reflect the original intent or a new sale subject to market-value rules. One commissioner described the action as a corrective conveyance reflecting historical intent; another said deed language documenting the history could be added by staff if the board approved the conveyance.

A motion to convey the two tracts to the property owners was moved, seconded and approved in a roll-call vote with all commissioners present voting yes. After the vote, county counsel said staff could include historical language in the deed to document the reason for the conveyance.

The board’s recorded materials for the discussion included a North Dakota Game and Fish memorandum and an attached map that, according to participants, show the two tracts were surveyed to resolve access for the private lots when the subdivision was formed. Board members and speakers said some of those historical documents were located only after a public records request.

The board did not set a public sale or market-price process; instead it approved conveyance to the named property owners and directed staff to prepare appropriate deed language documenting the history and intent behind the transfer. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

What happens next: staff and county counsel said they would prepare deed language and the appropriate conveyance documents for the board’s records.