Council approves filing for prescriptive easement after discovering undocumented main at West Washington

Council members reviewed follow‑up work on a utility connection at 103 West Washington. Utility staff reported that televising identified three connections and that the pipe in question is a main—not a lateral—and is sludgy with restaurant grease, indicating it is part of an active sewer main rather than a private lateral.

Legal counsel and staff discussed recording a prescriptive easement to document the main’s location and the town’s right of access. Members asked for a precise legal description and verification of the pipe’s horizontal position relative to property lines (discussion centered on a minimum five‑foot buffer on either side to allow ingress and maintenance). Legal counsel said staff would prepare the easement language and record it with the recorder’s office.

Council members expressed concern about permanent coverings (concrete foundations or patios) that could raise replacement costs if the town must cut concrete to access mains, and emphasized that the ordinance language should apply only to publicly owned infrastructure. The council voted to adopt a motion directing legal staff to prepare and record the prescriptive easement and to return with the recorded document for the council’s files.

The transcript records a motion and second to adopt the prescriptive easement and proceed with recording; the transcript does not include a roll‑call tally of votes.