No decision on Old County Cemetery issue
“The brewing battle for the Old County Cemetery will carry into the coming year.
#Lawmakers went into executive session on Monday, Dec. 15 to discuss their prospects for obtaining the former county-owned property in Essex that they now say was mistakenly sold to a private buyer 30 years ago.
#But after 20 minutes, they emerged without making a decision.
#Earlier this month, the board authorized the county to move forward with eminent domain proceedings if the owner, Ruth Morgan, did not sell at fair market value.
#County Attorney Dan Manning held a confab with Morgan, their first, on Monday, Dec. 8.
#“I explained that we were attempting to come to a resolution that was acceptable to everybody,” Manning told the Valley News.
#Manning stressed that eminent domain would only be used as a last resort.
#He said he provided Morgan with a list of sweeteners, including paying for the appraisal process that is required as part of eminent domain proceedings.
#Tax rolls show the 18.2 acre lot is assessed at $104,900.
#Morgan lives on the property in a house about a third of a mile from the cemetery, which occupies about two acres in the center of the long, slender parcel.”
DeMola, Pete. Denton Publications 22 December 2014.