Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission accepts utility easement to formalize century‑old sewer main; owner to be reimbursed for costs
Summary
The commission approved a resolution to record a utility easement for a sewer main installed in 1922 after title work showed the pipe lay outside a recorded easement; staff said formalizing the easement was the quickest, least costly way to clear title for a federally funded sewer project.
The Livingston City Commission approved Resolution 5160 on May 20 to accept a grant of utility easement from a private property owner for a sanitary sewer main that staff said was installed around 1922 but never recorded.
City Manager Grant Gager explained the easement and a parallel boundary line adjustment are companion steps: title work for a federally funded infiltration and inflow project revealed no recorded easement for a portion of the sewer main crossing the property, and the city requires an easement recorded in the chain of title to proceed. Gager said city staff could pursue quiet‑title litigation, but that legal costs would likely exceed the proposed payment to the property owner to record the easement and associated documentation. The resolution includes a $1,500 payment to the property owner to reimburse legal costs incurred while completing the recorded grant and related boundary‑adjustment paperwork.
Why it matters: Accepting the easement clears a title defect and allows the city to proceed with a project to rehabilitate aging sewer infrastructure using federal funding. Staff said the chosen path reduces legal risk and the time required to resolve title uncertainty.
Action taken: The resolution passed on roll call. City staff said they will record the easement, proceed with the boundary adjustment steps administratively and continue the planned sewer rehabilitation work.
