Bayfield County Board narrowly approves highway designation for corridor

By RICK OLIVO

The Daily Press

Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 10:20:20 AM

WASHBURN — Reflecting the divided views of snowmobile and all terrain vehicle interests on one hand and property owners on the other, the Bayfield County Board narrowly passed a resolution that "embraced and established" at least parts of the former Chicago and Northwestern corridor for public highway use from Washburn to the Sawyer County line.

The 7-6 vote was intended to allow the county to acquire any and all rights, specifically including any federal rights, that may have reverted to the federal government when the railroad gave up the line over 25 years ago. The right-of-way, if acquired by the county, would be used as a multi-purpose recreational trail for snowmobiling, all terrain vehicles, bike riding and walking, among other uses.

The vote came despite a federal circuit court ruling issued by District Judge John Shabaz on January 19, which gave property owners a summary judgement upholding their rights to the former rail corridor.

Prior to the vote, as has been the case in virtually every county board deliberation on the matter, speakers for and against a recreational trail spoke in impassioned tones for their position.

One speaker called the county's efforts a taking of private property, while another compared landowner use of the corridor as akin to possessing a stolen car.

County supervisors too had their debating points over the matter. Board member Tom Gordon said that some people had the misconception that if the measure was passed, the trail would soon be available for use.

"It is just the beginning of a long fight," he said.

Board member John Blahnik said, while he thought ATV and snowmobile riding are "great activities," having the county spend endless amounts of time in court over the former right-of-way would not accomplish the goal of establishing trails.

"I cannot support this," he said. "I don't want to keep fighting taxpayers."

Board member Kenneth "Bucky" Jardine said the decision by Shabaz did not properly take into account federal law regarding federally granted rights of way, while fellow supervisor James Crandell said he favored a north-south trail, but said "I don't believe taking land from people is the way to do it."

Property owner John Hawksford, one of the group of landowners who filed the lawsuit, urged the board to put the matter on a public referendum, and warned that continued legal fights over the trail would lead other property owners to revoke agreements that allowed the trails to cross their land.

He read a letter from Madison attorney Carl Sinderbrand to the board asserting that if the board passed the resolution they would "willfully, knowingly and intentionally slander the plaintiffs’ title as well as similarly-situated landowners."

"To the extent that it affects the properties of the plaintiffs in Johnson et al v. Bayfield County, the resolution also violates the court's judgement in that case," he said.

Sinderbrand said the resolution would call into question the title of scores of pieces of private property

"The owners of those properties have paid taxes for years without any indication whatsoever of the actions to come from the county. It is plainly wrong for the county to treat its citizens this way, and the board members should resoundingly reject the proposed resolution," he said, maintaining that the action could make properties along the corridor "unmarketable."

"This resolution does not concern a freshly abandoned railroad interest; nor does it apply to an existing trail in jeopardy of closure," he said. "The county is proposing to open a new trail, confiscating properties that have been in private ownership for over a quarter of a century."

Board Chairman Bill Kacvinsky released a statement saying that the county needed "viable and user-friendly recreational trails on a permanent basis" in order to maintain a healthy tourism business, which he called vital to the county's economy.

"Under federal law, the county may have the right to convert the old Chicago Northwestern railroad grade to a public recreational corridor," he said.

Kacvinsky noted that both the county and property owners had endured significant uncertainty over the issue of the corridor for the past several years.

"That is because the right of the county to establish a public trail under federal law has not been fully resolved. Unfortunately, the latest court decision still did not answer that underlying question. Tonight's action was seen by the county as a necessary step so that the county's rights and landowners rights can be determined once and for all," he said in the release.

Kacvinsky said the purpose of the resolution was to "formally exercise the county's right to establish a public recreational trail wherever that right exists along the railroad grade."

"This step was necessary or else the county's right to do so may have been lost," he said. "Establishing a public trail now may be the only way to ensure a viable trail in the long run."

Kacvinsky said the county intended to continue working with landowners along the grade to address their concerns.

"The county does not expect to change the way it operates the trail at this time," he said. "The resolution was passed so that we can get a final answer to the question of county rights under federal law. We hope not to change how we deal with landowners and how we operate the trail until we get that answer."