Forward Progress
We are off and running!
When you purchase raw-land you are required to call the county to get a fire number. The county then asks if you have an address to attach to said fire number. In this transaction, we had neither. What I am about to share with you is a logistical mess, fraught with obfuscation, and the age-old finger pointing. The lot that was purchased can be accessed by two different roads. One is a public access road off of the main highway. The other has been officially tagged by the county as an abandoned county road. This abandoned county road directly links to our driveway. There is no desire for us to access the public access road due to the fact that the state of Minnesota has an easement for this road, which the county doesn't recognize, and the county doesn't plow it because it is not a county road. Did I mention that in both scenarios the county is not maintaining either road?
I called the county to inquire as to what events and decisions transpired for the county to abandon said road. It was told to me that 40 years ago the county made the decision to abandon the road because it fell into disrepair and did not meet county specifications for it to be a county road. The employee told me he knew the location, and as luck would have it he and maintenance crews had recently been to the very location working on the railroad grade. I took a moment for this sad story to settle in and relayed back to him what he had just shared with me. The county has abandoned this road, and yet still accesses this road for repairs on the railroad. I asked him if this was some sort of mean joke or a failed attempted at irony. When I asked him why the county and construction folks didn't use the public access road, the silence on the other end of the line was palpable. He then said..."I see your point".
My argument was at some point in time, a group of individuals, or perhaps one, made the conscience decision to no longer provide maintenance, and no longer financially support the upgrades to keep said road in compliance. I concluded with the county over the phone that their decision to abandon this road was fairly easy to do so once maintenance had ceased on the road. If you remember the movie Days of Thunder there was a reference to a country not wanting to let a shipment of lettuce into the country, so they let the produce sit for a month till it was good and rotten, and then proceeded with the inspection. Only to classify the produce as unfit to be imported! The analogy is apparent. The abandoned and much maligned county road is the lettuce, I kid you not!
What I was interested in is to ask why and how that decision was made. I was told that this issue has been brought up before, and was essentially a dead issue. I have some phone calls scheduled this week to further explore the mystery of the processes that St. Louis County uses to reach such a determination of road abandonment.
Kelly and I were informed today that we will now have an address change that is better suited for 911 emergency calls and general access to the lot. What is still not resolved is the issue of the county road. Are you keeping up at this point? RIGHT!?!
The good news is we received a bid from Billmans for the construction. The customer service has been fantastic. We covered an array of topics from heating sources, insultation, siding, kitchens, and line items of figures that made our heads spin. Greg Billman and his daughter came out to the lake and began preliminary staking for the home footprint. Did you know that frost travels at a 45 degree angle? Yeah, me neither. This is important as Greg laid out the design plans and the fill that will be needed to make sure the frost does not go where it is not wanted.
Power
Due to our location we will be accessing Lake County Power. You start the process of getting power by stroking a check to the power provider. After completing the new membership application, we found out that we also needed to provide a notarized deed. We should have been given 2 copies of the notarized deed at the closing...which we did not due to a question about the legal description of the land. After a phone call to the title company, the question was resolved and so we picked up the notarized deed and delivered it to Lake Country Power. Our onsite visit is scheduled for July 21st.
Septic
I received a bid from a local septic designer and contractor. You start the process by stroking a check. The contractor asked for half up front and half at the finish of the project. The initial installment covered the application to the county for the design. Before we can start any movement on the construction, we need to provide the septic permitting number. Again, all roads lead back to the bathroom and flushing toilets- sigh.
Geese or Gooses-Branta canadensis
With mowing comes a new wave of opportunity for these migratory birds to defecate anywhere they wish. We have deployed the old string trick across several maple trees to see if this impedes the movement onto the land from the water. This of course will not work when all of the baby geese begin to fly, thus thwarting our efforts of halting land migration. The amount of fecal matter is truly amazing. On a happier note, I do not think I will need to set up a blind for the fall hunt. I have started to explore some fantastic jerky recipes for these wonderful birds.
Thanks for catching up with us on our project! Happy fourth of July!
When you purchase raw-land you are required to call the county to get a fire number. The county then asks if you have an address to attach to said fire number. In this transaction, we had neither. What I am about to share with you is a logistical mess, fraught with obfuscation, and the age-old finger pointing. The lot that was purchased can be accessed by two different roads. One is a public access road off of the main highway. The other has been officially tagged by the county as an abandoned county road. This abandoned county road directly links to our driveway. There is no desire for us to access the public access road due to the fact that the state of Minnesota has an easement for this road, which the county doesn't recognize, and the county doesn't plow it because it is not a county road. Did I mention that in both scenarios the county is not maintaining either road?
I called the county to inquire as to what events and decisions transpired for the county to abandon said road. It was told to me that 40 years ago the county made the decision to abandon the road because it fell into disrepair and did not meet county specifications for it to be a county road. The employee told me he knew the location, and as luck would have it he and maintenance crews had recently been to the very location working on the railroad grade. I took a moment for this sad story to settle in and relayed back to him what he had just shared with me. The county has abandoned this road, and yet still accesses this road for repairs on the railroad. I asked him if this was some sort of mean joke or a failed attempted at irony. When I asked him why the county and construction folks didn't use the public access road, the silence on the other end of the line was palpable. He then said..."I see your point".
My argument was at some point in time, a group of individuals, or perhaps one, made the conscience decision to no longer provide maintenance, and no longer financially support the upgrades to keep said road in compliance. I concluded with the county over the phone that their decision to abandon this road was fairly easy to do so once maintenance had ceased on the road. If you remember the movie Days of Thunder there was a reference to a country not wanting to let a shipment of lettuce into the country, so they let the produce sit for a month till it was good and rotten, and then proceeded with the inspection. Only to classify the produce as unfit to be imported! The analogy is apparent. The abandoned and much maligned county road is the lettuce, I kid you not!
What I was interested in is to ask why and how that decision was made. I was told that this issue has been brought up before, and was essentially a dead issue. I have some phone calls scheduled this week to further explore the mystery of the processes that St. Louis County uses to reach such a determination of road abandonment.
Kelly and I were informed today that we will now have an address change that is better suited for 911 emergency calls and general access to the lot. What is still not resolved is the issue of the county road. Are you keeping up at this point? RIGHT!?!
The good news is we received a bid from Billmans for the construction. The customer service has been fantastic. We covered an array of topics from heating sources, insultation, siding, kitchens, and line items of figures that made our heads spin. Greg Billman and his daughter came out to the lake and began preliminary staking for the home footprint. Did you know that frost travels at a 45 degree angle? Yeah, me neither. This is important as Greg laid out the design plans and the fill that will be needed to make sure the frost does not go where it is not wanted.
Power
Due to our location we will be accessing Lake County Power. You start the process of getting power by stroking a check to the power provider. After completing the new membership application, we found out that we also needed to provide a notarized deed. We should have been given 2 copies of the notarized deed at the closing...which we did not due to a question about the legal description of the land. After a phone call to the title company, the question was resolved and so we picked up the notarized deed and delivered it to Lake Country Power. Our onsite visit is scheduled for July 21st.
Septic
I received a bid from a local septic designer and contractor. You start the process by stroking a check. The contractor asked for half up front and half at the finish of the project. The initial installment covered the application to the county for the design. Before we can start any movement on the construction, we need to provide the septic permitting number. Again, all roads lead back to the bathroom and flushing toilets- sigh.
Geese or Gooses-Branta canadensis
With mowing comes a new wave of opportunity for these migratory birds to defecate anywhere they wish. We have deployed the old string trick across several maple trees to see if this impedes the movement onto the land from the water. This of course will not work when all of the baby geese begin to fly, thus thwarting our efforts of halting land migration. The amount of fecal matter is truly amazing. On a happier note, I do not think I will need to set up a blind for the fall hunt. I have started to explore some fantastic jerky recipes for these wonderful birds.
Thanks for catching up with us on our project! Happy fourth of July!
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