Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cemetery Easements topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pioneer Cemetery commission seeks narrower utility easement after proposed pole move
Summary
A Pioneer Cemetery commissioner said a proposed utility pole relocation and a standard easement form would have allowed broad access to cemetery land; the cemetery commission produced a narrowed easement and the board agreed to place the revised document on next week’s agenda for formal review.
George Doherty, representing the Pioneer Cemetery Commission, told the Jackson County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 4 that a planned shift in a utility pole near Sweezy Cemetery had produced a revised easement that the commission prefers to the utility’s standard form.
Doherty said the utility intends to move the pole across a lane onto adjoining farmland owned by James and Sue Mayberry and that overhead lines would still cross part of cemetery property. The commission’s concern, he said, was the utility’s original easement language, which would have permitted equipment and other installations on cemetery land. “Their easement said they could put equipment and property on our cemetery. We’re saying no,” Doherty said.
Doherty told the board he and commission members have worked with County Attorney John Keyes and county staff to narrow the easement to permit only the limited access the utility needs for maintenance and repair, and that a representative of the Macogeta Valley Electric Cooperative has communicated agreement in principle. He said the owner of a shed on the adjoining property had also signed off on moving the meter for that structure onto his own land, and that three meters serving the house, farm and shed will be consolidated on the new pole configuration so the shed meter will sit on the shed owner’s property.
Supervisors said they could not act on the matter at the Nov. 4 meeting but encouraged staff to verify the paperwork and add the revised easement to next week’s agenda. County attendees asked for written confirmation (an email or paper trail) from the utility and noted the county attorney and county engineer should review and clear the final document before placement on the agenda.
Next steps: staff was asked to confirm written authorization from the utility, confirm the proposed meter moves, and return the revised easement to the board for formal action at the next meeting.
