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County Officials Weigh Options After $150,000 Counteroffer on 49th North Right‑of‑Way; Tree Valuation Raises Questions
Summary
Officials said a landowner counteroffer of about $150,000 for a strip of right‑of‑way on 49th North exceeds the county’s outgoing offer of roughly $57,000, largely because the owner is seeking full replacement value for about 15 Austrian pines; staff will recheck tree valuation and settlement parameters before deciding how to proceed.
County staff told commissioners on Feb. 17 that negotiations for a right‑of‑way needed for a road project on 49th North have hit a financial impasse. "The offer that was sent out was approximately 57,000. Their counteroffer is a 150,000," Speaker 3 said, describing the owner’s response to the county’s initial administrative offer.
A substantial portion of the counteroffer is attributed to tree valuation. Staff said the owners are seeking full replacement value for existing trees; staff noted prior practice valued large trees at about $5,000 apiece, but a line‑item math on a recent appraisal produced a higher subtotal. "They have 15 Austrian pines ... the subtotal of just Austrian pines was $53,000," Speaker 3 said, while another participant observed that a $119 per lineal foot calculation would imply roughly $3,500 for a 30‑foot tree and raised concerns about calculation errors.
Staff described tradeoffs: accept the higher counteroffer and increase project cost, return to the right‑of‑way negotiator to try to lower the price (which takes more time), or consider administrative settlement limits. Commissioners stressed the project timing — they need to go to bid soon to hope to have the road to the school completed by fall — and asked staff to recheck the original offer and the tree valuation calculations before instructing negotiators further.
Why it matters: The price the county pays for right‑of‑way and trees can materially affect project cost and schedule. The board signaled urgency to avoid delaying a road project that serves a school but also caution about overpaying without confirming valuation math.
Provenance: Discussion and numeric details of offers and tree valuations are in the meeting transcript; staff committed to pull original offer documentation and share it with county leadership.
