Sunman council directs recording of prescriptive easement at 103 West Washington, tables broader utility-connections ordinance

The Sunman Town Council voted to move forward with recording a prescriptive easement to secure public access to a main utility line behind 103 West Washington and agreed to table a broader utility-connections ordinance for further redrafting.

At the meeting, town legal counsel and utility staff told the council they had confirmed three connections and that the pipe in question is a public main rather than a private lateral. Legal counsel said the town can establish a prescriptive easement to formalize access rights; council members discussed easement width, with staff recommending a minimum of 5 feet on either side for access while one attendee recommended up to 20 feet for safety. The council directed staff to prepare a precise legal description, record the easement with the recorder’s office and return with a recording-ready document.

The council spent an extended period debating Ordinance 20-26-08, a draft meant to address utility connections and unrecorded easements. Several members and the town attorney said the draft's current definitions were too broad because they could sweep in privately owned infrastructure; the chair stated the town’s intent is to apply the ordinance only to town-owned public infrastructure. Council members asked the attorney to clarify ownership limits and to tighten language about when the town may require access or repairs. The ordinance was formally tabled to next month so staff can redraft it and provide clearer definitions.

Next steps: legal staff will prepare a prescriptive-easement description for council signature and will supply a narrowed draft of Ordinance 20-26-08 at the next meeting. No formal vote tally for the prescriptive-easement direction was recorded on the transcript; the motion to instruct staff to proceed was moved and seconded during the session.