The Dam

Will the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners ever get around to replacing this dam at the headwaters on the Shell Rock River?

That is a question that the Citizens of Freeborn County have wanted answered for quite some time now.



The Jugland dam was constructed by Freeborn county in 1922. In 1958 the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution declaring that the County of Freeborn , turn over a portion of State Aid highway 19 which was no longer needed as a public road to C.D. Palmer as a private road. Nowhere in this resolution does it state the the County of Freeborn is also turning over the ownership of the Jugland dam to C.D. Palmer.

What is said about the dam is this:

Reserving however to the County of Freeborn it agents and invitees, the
right to access to, egress and ingress across said premises to and from
the Jugland dam.

So what do these three little words mean access, egress and ingress in the context of the Jugland dam?



Access: a way or means of approach


Egress: Maintenance and workmanship." Means of egress shall be continually maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full instant use in the case of fire or other emergency.

Ingress: the right to enter.

The county did state that it retained access to go to and from the dam. Also, through the word egress, it has the right to continually maintain free of all obstructions the Shell Rock River dam.


But as early as the 1960's thing started to get heated when the County started decussions on the over hall of the Shell rock river dam.


In an article in the Albert Lea Tribune of Oct 23 2001 it was stated
that:

State statute stipulates that the owner of a dam constructed before
the
state regulation was applied must maintain and operate the dam in a
manner
approved and prescribed by the Department of Natural Resources
(DNR).
The
state law also demands the state to take over the control of
an abandoned
dam
owned by a private entity.

The county considered either the state or the landowner was to be responsible for the restoration.

But in the state's opinion, the county
retains the possession. A document
issued by State Assistant Attorney General
Matthew B. Seltzer in August
1999 said,
"All of the facts that have been
presented to me indicate
that the dam was
built by a public agency and it
continues to be owned
and controlled by that
public agency."

The county board in October of 2001 asked County Attorney Craig Nelson to conduct a survey to identify the legal owner of the dam and report his finding back to the county board.


Then in the November 11, 2001 story that was printed in the Albert Lea Tribune on the ownership issue of the dam, County attorney Craig Nelson stated:

The document, signed in October 1958 by the chairman of county board, T. C.
Nelson, and County Auditor Robert D. Hanson, says the county would reserve the
right of access to the dam and turn over a portion of old County Road 19 to the
landowner "as a private road or for whatever purposes he chooses that
does not interfere with the operation of the remaining portion of said
County-State Aid Highway No. 19."

County Attorney Craig Nelson added:

"The legal concern is all clear now for the county to start the
project,"

So we have yet to see where it is stated in a government document or in a title or deed of property that the County of Freeborn does not own and does not have control of the Shell rock River dam.



In 2005 funding was attained from the state of Minnesota to go through the Minnesota DNR in the amount of $250,000.00 to go towards replacing the Shell rock river dam.



In January of 2007 in action taken by the Freeborn County Board of Commissioners Stated as reported in the Albert Lea Tribune

The Freeborn County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a partnership between Freeborn County and the Shell Rock River Watershed District to pursue the building of a dam and bridge. The dam will be on the Shell Rock River at Albert Lea Lake and the bridge to be replaced will be for County Road 19 over the river.

Also in the 2007 Department of Natural resources current dam safty program projected proirity needs listed the Shell Rock river Dam at number 6 on the Priorty list of dams in need of replacing and was funded

So one would think that maybe the County Commissioners might now have there ducks in a row right?

Not by a long shot!



So the Shell rock river watershed set out to Negotiate and purchase the property around the old dam to be used to parking and fishing and to put a public fishing peer for the pubic to fish from.



BUT for what ever reasons the owner had at that time decided to sell his property to another individual.



So in August of 2008 the Shell rock River watershed District vote to proceed with the Bridge dam project: in wishfully thinking by the Albert Lea Tribune it was reported that:

The Albert Lea Lake dam project is finally under way.
The Shell Rock River
Watershed District Tuesday morning approved plans for the Albert Lea Lake dam
project — after a discussion lasting longer than an hour.
The vote was 4 to 3

But as you can see by reading link poviided the new owner had different ideas for the Dam area and ownership of the dam.


So on October 7 2008 the Freeborn County Commissioners at that time on a 3 to 2 vote, voted down the Shell Rock watersheds plan to replace this dam with a variable crest dam under neath a new bridge that is going to replace the bridge you see in the background of the picture above.

So to put it Bluntly
what the Freeborn County Commissioners did was in-fact took the replacement of the Shell rock river Dam our of the hands of the Shell rock River Watershed and Bought this issue, meaning that the Freeborn county commissioners will now make the finial decision on when the dam will be built where it will be built, what type of dam will be built, and if the public will have access to the dam and to the shell rock river at the dam site and below the dam site. the decision this board will make will affect the citizens of Freeborn county for the next 100 years

It also came out in the October 7th meeting that two commissioners had been negotiating a deal with the new owner.
From the Albert Lea tribune article that day after the meeting we see this in there store

Petersen then said the public should know the details of the negotiations
going on between the commissioners and Jensen.
Belshan retorted that Petersen
is asking about land negotiations. Mathiason said all the details are not
ready.
Petersen repeated that people should know what’s going on. Belshan
then spilled some details.
“You’re grabbing something in negotiations and
making it public,” he said.
Belshan then said Jensen would donate land to the
county on the west side of the Shell Rock River for public fishing. He said it
could have picnic tables, and people can reach the dam. He said a new dam might
have decks for fishing atop it.
Mathiason added that there would no parking
lot but the county would seek a wider shoulder on the road. Petersen questioned
the safety of roadside parking and the ability for people to use the river as a
public waterway.“It looks like Greg Jensen has made a deal with you that is not
acceptable to the public and the Shell Rock River Watershed District board,” he
said.

Then on October 9th 2008 there was an article printed in the Albert Lea Tribune where the new Owner of the Land around the Shell rock river dam stated his case

Mr Jensen in this article bring up some issues to which I have some questions

Mr Jensen and Mr Belshan when talking about a small bay next to county road 19 stated in this article that:
"the people have riparian rights to the small bay between County 19 and the present dam.
“They cannot remove this waterway,”

Well riparian right do apply and it give access to the public to all the water of the shell rock river
even to waters below the Dam.

My question is the being that the public has riparian rights does not that mean that Mr Jensen would have to give Safe passage around the Shell rock river dam.

Jensen said the dam is part of the road, and so the dam was turned over; the county only has the right to get there

I will repeat myself again, in the 1958 resolution there is no mention of the county handing over ownership of the dam to anyone. Next

Jensen said the state Department of Natural Resources last summer gave him a permit to repair part of the dam. Because he received the permit, the state recognizes his ownership of the dam, he said.

Not so fast below a picture on the shell rock watershed Website it was stated that Part of the Albert Lea Lake dam washed out in 1997 and was repaired by local residents
Here is a link

Did these people claim ownership of the dam then??? No!

then we have Mr Jensen's demands

He said a new dam needs to have a fixed crest

No Parking lot only parking will be on the side of the road

Jensen said he doesn’t owe anyone access beyond the dam and said he plans to put up a fence to keep people from trespassing beyond the dam.
So what are riparian duty's?

It is the duty of the riparian owners to exercise their rights reasonably, so as not to unreasonably interfere with the riparian rights of others [see Petraborg v. Zontelli, 217 Minn. 536, 15 N.W. 2d 174 (1944)]. They cannot dike off anddrain, or fence off, their part of the waterbody [see Johnson v. Seifert, 257 Minn. 159, 100 N.W. 2d 689 (1960)]. It is a public nuisance and a misdemeanor to “interfere with, obstruct, or render dangerous for passage waters used by the
public” [see Public Nuisance Law, Minnesota Statutes 609.74].


Lastly. Belshan and Jensen on Wednesday said the deal is done except for a few last details. that was on October 8 2008

So where is the deal this article was printed on October 9th 2008 and as of April 11 2009 a deal has still not been reached with Mr. Jensen. That is over 6 monthes and still no deal. the Dam is still in dier need of repair and the time line to use the state funding to replace the jugland dam runs out on July 1 2009.

Can you say good bye to $250,000.00 and say hello to higher property taxes to pay for the new dam

How is that saving the Taxpayers Money???