Thursday, March 31, 2005 By Jeremiah Stettler TIMES NEWS SERVICE

With permits in hand, Saginaw County now must lock up the land that someday will become home to spoils scraped from the Saginaw River bottom.

Public Works Commissioner James A. Koski said the property purchase is mere "mechanics" and won't keep the county from a fall construction date.

He said he will get the land, even if it takes condemnation.

"I'm not Santa Claus, but I will be as absolutely fair to them as I possibly can," Koski said of working out a deal with the landowners. "The last thing I want to do is condemn the land, but I will."

Saginaw County is negotiating for 537 acres of farmland in Zilwaukee and Frankenlust townships that officials plan to use as a dumping ground for river muck.

Some of that land is for wetland mitigation. About 281 acres is for dredging spoils.

The property is divided between two landowners: Maryellen Burke and Terry and Ann Schulte. Both are from Reese, though the Schulte family recently moved to Florida because of occupational reasons, an attorney representing the landowners said.

Talks continue outside the courtroom between the parties.

Should the county choose to condemn the land, however, officials will have to prove in court that the disposal site is for a "public purpose," a position that both parties and legal experts say is hard to dispute.

David S. Favre, a professor of property law at Michigan State University, said the project likely would fall into the same category as a public highway, which courts repeatedly have declared a public use.

"I don't think there is much question about that," he said. "Transportation, whether commercial or recreational, is certainly within the confines of public use."

Favre said the scenario would change if the project was benefiting a single employer. But in this case, dredging would sustain the shipping industry for 16 docks along the river.

If a "public purpose" is established, Koski said the county would have a deed to the properties in hand within 45 days of filing for condemnation. Court battles may continue, but only about the sale price.

Norman D. Shinkle, a Williamston-based attorney representing the landowners, said he doesn't plan to challenge the public nature of the project. He said his attention is on getting his clients a fair price for their properties.

"The bottom line is that if (the county) wants it, they are going to take it," Shinkle said. "My job is to make sure (the owners) get just compensation."

Koski remains confident that he can buy the land without going to court. Shinkle said he will reserve judgment until appraisals return on the two properties.

The proposed dump site is part of a $5.5 million project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the silt-clogged Saginaw River. Business owners say shallow water threatens shipping along the channel, jeopardizing more than 280 jobs.

The Corps plans to siphon 3.1 million cubic yards of sediment from the river bottom and dump it on a disposal site straddling the Saginaw-Bay county line.

What worries property owners who live near the site are reports of dioxin contamination in the riverbed. Recent sampling found dioxin levels much higher than allowed by the state in residential areas.

Residents fear the facility lacks the appropriate safeguards to keep the contamination contained. They are calling for an environmental impact statement.

The Corps of Engineers recently completed a less rigorous environmental assessment that shows no significant impact to public health or the environment. While not as comprehensive as environmental groups would like, officials say the document has addressed potential environmental implications and deemed the site safe.

Koski said the project is here to stay, like it or not.

"We're not going away," he said. "If we missed something, then we will change whatever we have to change to make it work."

For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.