We live in a county without a
township board, so we have been dealing with the county
commissioners on our matter. We own 160 acres and do not
have access to it. We would like to develop a road
approximately 1/4mile long, and the board gave an opinion
that the section line was impassable and would be a
"taxpayer burden" in discussion. A petition was not
submitted. We have talked with all neighboring landowners
and none are willing to provide access. We are wondering
what, if any, options do we have?
If we were to build the road
down the section line under our own expense, what actions do
we take to have the section line opened up for the 33 feet
on each side of the section line?
Hello Levi,
Thank you for the inquiry.
If you lived in an organized township,
you could get permission from the township board
to build your road. Since you do not live
in an organized township, I believe that you will have
to get permission from your county to build a road.
The 66 foot right of way along the section line
is open for public use by you and anyone else unless
the section line has been "closed" by action of the county
commissioners.
Yours case is a pretty classic example of why it is
important to have grassroots township government.
What county are you in?
I am sorry we can't be of more assistance.
Maybe one of the users of this forum will have
some other suggestion for you.
Thank you Levi for taking
the time to email your question to us.
kerry@ndtoa.com
Email your thoughts on this
or other matters to
forum@ndtoa.com .
Open Meetings Guidelines -
Feb 13, 2008
There has been some question
among our township board whether emailing each other
information is legal or not. No decisions or voting is made
over email. Is this legal?
As far as I know, it is not illegal to email information
between township board members. To be safe, I think
that you should refrain from emailing any accompanying
discussion or comments concerning the information being sent
between board members.
We also have a question
regarding calling a quorum. Our situation was, the main
city outside of our township was hosting an public
meeting. Two of our supervisors and our chairman were
present in the audience. Do we have to call a quorum in
this instance?
As far as I know, you do
not have to call a quorum in this instance. Your board may
have been attending the meeting to obtain information
pertaining to a matter that may or may not concern your
township. The board members may certainly discuss the
information presented at the meeting. However, as long as
no Stanley township matters are discussed or decided by the
board at such a meeting, you should not be in violation of
the state's open meetings policy.
You can find more
specific information regarding the state's open records
Thank you Renee for taking
the time to email your question to us.
kerry@ndtoa.com
Email your thoughts on this
or other matters to
forum@ndtoa.com .
Safety and Dust on Township Roads - Feb 3, 2008
Kerry,
When it
comes to gravel roads and farmsteads being right on the road,
the occupants safety as well as the dust created by semi
trucks and trailers is coming into issue. There are dust
solutions such as calcium chloride but for most this is
becoming cost prohibitive. With such heavy usage year around
and the added need to grade more frequently which then adds to
the dust and speed problem as well the grading cost to my
township, are there any solutions for these people other than
moving. Just mentioning reducing the speed for trucks under
the 55mph on the gravel roads in front of these farmsteads met
with great resistance from the big farmers and county
commissioners. There are concerns for school bus stops on
these roads as well as they are school bus routes.
If your school bus stops are not signed, they should be and
that in itself, may also cause the traffic to slow down, at
least during the school year.
I see this becoming a bigger issue as I see these same trucks
now pulling two trailers. Has this issue been addressed
amicably in other townships?
Safety and dust for people living along township roads has
long been a problem. As your question reveals, the issue
has still not been adequately addressed. If anyone has
any answers, please let us know at
forum@ndtoa.com.
Is there any help for these farmsteads such as getting better
prices or suppliers for calcium chloride? Can
you work with your county to get better pricing? I am
not aware of any "volume" pricing opportunities available
through the state association. Also, maybe you could
work with adjoining townships in that regard.
What can my township do?
Some suggestions.
Many times the solution to township problems can be solved
with adequate funding. At your next annual meeting could
you authorize spending some additional money dedicated to dust
suppression in your township? You may have to raise your
annual levy to take care of the problem if the residents think
it is a serious enough problem to address.
Also, the state of North Dakota, Upper Great Plains Institute
is sponsoring a series of statewide meetings this spring
concerning the future funding of transportation needs in our
state. If township road needs are going to be
considered, we need your presence and your testimony at the
meeting in your area. As an elected official, you will
be given the opportunity to voice your opinion concerning
current and future system and program needs and funding
options. We encourage and need your township's
participation as well participation of lots of other townships
around the state to make sure that township residents needs
are addressed. Click here for information on the dates
and times of the Transportation Needs and Funding Workshops:
http://ndtoa.com/calendar.htm
If you want to help your township, get involved. Get
involved in your county and state township officers
association. Funding needs for townships are met through
the legislative process. Both of those organizations are
aggressively pursuing an agenda of getting townships the tools
needed to solve their problems. Whenever you get the
opportunity, let your state senators and representatives know
that you appreciate their efforts to provide funds for safe
and efficient township roads. Let representatives know
that most of the of the state's grain, livestock and oil
products begin their route to market on a township road.
Thanks,
dfite@fitedev.com
Thank you David for taking
the time to email your question to us.
Email your thoughts on this
or other matters to
forum@ndtoa.com .
State
Park Boundary Fence
The Turtle
River State Park, in Grand Forks County,
has a fence around the park. The south fence is on the section
line between
Hegton
township and
Arvilla Township. The current Park Manger claims that
the park actually owns 33 feet outside of
the fence line.
This fence has
been there for many years and I question that.
1. Why would
the fence be installed 33 feet off the section line?
Answer: There should be no fences installed in a
township section line, unless the section line in question has
been declared closed by action of the County Commissioners.
The 33 feet on each side of the section line should remain clear
of obstructions so that the section line can be used for public
right of way. You can find reference to section lines through
the link on the township website: at http://ndtoa.com/centurycode.htm
and
then here:
Section 24-07 of the ND Century Code:
http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t24c07.pdf.
2. I believe
that this 33feet is actually property of
Arvilla Township. And, if the fence is on the section
line, as I suspect, the Township actually owns 33 feet inside
the fence line.
Answer: It would be unusual for the township
to own any land on a section line. In nearly all cases, the
adjoining land owner actually owns the land right up to the
middle of the section line, including the 33 feet of public
right of way. While the landowner owns the land up the middle
of the section line, the landowner must allow public access and
cannot restrict public access on the section line unless
the
landowner completes the "Section line closing" procedure found
in Section 24-07 of the ND Century Code.
There is no
road on the section line because U.S. Highway #2 is located
parallel to the section line at about 400 feet south, due to a
deep coulee and slough on the
section line.
3. Is there any
place we can find the record of the location of the fence line
without the cost of having it surveyed?
Answer: The Park Manager should be able to show you the Park
Service plans for construction of the fence. That plan should
show the location of the fence in relation to the
section line. The Park Manager is required to show you
those plans, upon your request, as directed by the North Dakota
Open Records laws.
A.L.
I am the new president of the
Stutsman County Township Officers and was looking for some ideas
to try and have a good informative fall meeting. What
are some of the things or topics that should be on the agenda?
Or who are some guest speakers that would be informative?
ranchn@daktel.com
December, 12, 2003
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 7:31 PM
Subject: roads
I am a member of the Scott
township board in Adams County,ND. and I have a question
about roads.
If a non farmer
builds a house on a small plot of land out in the country and
that house is located along side of a unimproved section line,
does the township have to build a road up to his new home?
I do not believe that the
township is required to build a road to this new home.
If so, is the township also
responsible for putting gravel on this new road? We have
gravel
on all of the other majour
roads in the township.
In a letter
from the ndtoa last spring it was stated that the N.D.
attorney general ruled that the townships had to build a road
right up to the house no matter where it was built but
this ruling was going to be appealed. Is there anything new on
that ruling?
(Look for 24-07-06).
Sincerely,
Bill
You are welcome Bill.
Please feel free to call or email me anytime and we will look
forward to seeing you at one of the workshops this spring that
will be addressing the new IRS rulings http://www.ndtoa.com/workshops.htm.
Sincerely,
