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Local landowner tells Mancos council he seeks new easement, disputes town’s interpretation of 1960 Shepherd easement
Summary
Mark Worth told the council he believes the town is not honoring a 1960 Shepherd easement because an original cast‑iron pipeline is dry; he asked for a new easement, settling ponds and compensation for pipeline use.
Mark Worth, a Mancos resident, addressed the council during audience business on Oct. 8 to request a fair easement agreement and compensation for land used by the town’s raw‑water infrastructure.
Worth said the 1960 Shepherd easement calls for two taps from the main flow line into the property and that, in his view, one of the historic taps is in an abandoned cast‑iron pipe that no longer carries raw water. He argued that because the cast‑iron line is dry, it should not be counted as the second tap the easement intended, and he asked the town to negotiate a new easement that would provide land for water diversion, settling ponds and roughly half a mile of raw‑water pipeline with reasonable compensation.
He displayed photographs of the original curb stop, the cast‑iron pipeline and a replacement PVC line and offered to walk the pipeline with town staff to show where he believes taps exist. Worth’s statement asked the town to correct its interpretation or to work with him to resolve the matter.
Council did not take action on the request during the meeting. No town staff response resolving the legal or technical claim was recorded on the transcript; staff or the town attorney will need to follow up if the council wishes to pursue negotiations or a technical inspection.
