Stevensville council approves easement for underground power line after striking expanded-access clause

Stevensville Town Council voted March 27, 2025 to approve a utility easement agreement that will allow an underground power line to cross town-owned land to provide electricity to a Severson pivot irrigation system, after the council amended the draft to remove language giving broader access beyond the easement strip.

The amendment — to strike paragraph/section 3 of the draft easement — carried 3-0, and the council then voted 3-0 to approve the easement as amended. The councilors who voted aye were Councilor Barker, Councilor Brown and Councilor Smith.

The landowner's representative told the council the work would be “an underground power line from Middleburn Fork ... to provide power for a pivot irrigation system,” and described the request as “pretty straightforward.” Town staff member Craig reviewed the draft earlier and “was pretty impressed with how simple the easement was drawn up,” the representative said.

Council discussion focused on paragraph 3 of the draft, which would have given the grantee the right to drive outside the 30-foot easement strip and to use temporary workspace adjacent to the easement for installation and maintenance. Councilor Brown said he was concerned that language could allow vehicles and work “outside of that 30 foot strip” and asked whether the easement would "run with the property," noting that the town-owned parcel is part of the municipal watershed.

"Section 3 ... kinda sounds like overkill," a councilor said during debate, and after further discussion the council approved a motion to strike that paragraph. Council members also asked that the notary/attestation block in the document be modified so the mayor’s signature is attested correctly and that any handwritten changes be initialed by all parties.

Speakers also described local power availability as a factor in the proposed route: councilors noted 220 volts is available at Millburn Fork but not at South Burn Fork, which affected why the proposed route was chosen rather than connecting to a nearby pole at Kaufman’s property.

The final approval was conditional on the corrected document: councilors said the landowner(s) will need to initial the struck paragraph and the notary block will be adjusted before execution. Town staff will circulate the revised document for those signatures.

Votes at a glance: the amendment to strike section 3 — motion by Councilor Brown; outcome: passed, 3-0 (Barker, Brown, Smith). Final approval of the utility easement as amended — outcome: approved, 3-0 (Barker, Brown, Smith).

Next steps: staff will revise the notary/attestation block, obtain owner initials on the edited easement and present the executed document per the town’s signatures process. The easement, as discussed, remains a perpetual right running with the property unless the parties later agree to abandon or terminate it.