At its regular meeting Tuesday, July 6, the Mount Ayr city council was presented an unusual dilemma.
(Left image) A new owner recently purchased a property at 807 North Fillmore Street. When measuring the property (blue line), he found its north boundary line extends into a lane that appears to be an extension of Elm Street (red line). Elm Street currently turns east at Fillmore Street.
(Bottom left image) A survey conducted in 1986 produced a plat of that area that clearly shows Elm Street extending west from the intersection with Fillmore Street to the intersection with Webster Street. (The property in question is again outlined in blue.)
In the recent water distribution system upgrade project, a water main was run along the north edge of Elm Street as it appears on the plat.
Upon further investigation, however, it has been discovered no record exists that the extension of Elm Street to the west was ever deeded to the city.
The city needs access via easement or ownership of the property along the water main should the need arise to repair the main.
City administrator Brent Wise told the council he would be in discussion with property owners along the water main route to come to some agreement on accessing the main.
In other business, the council:
• approved the submission of an application for a Community Development Block Grant to the Housing Sustainability program. If awarded, the grant would cover $245,000 for the project with no matching funds from the city.
The grant is aimed at assisting low to moderate income homeowners to pay for improvements to their owner-occupied dwellings.
