By: Sheila Crowley
Staffwriter
The Murray County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, December 24th. Michael Keleher 943 121st street was present for open forum with concerns regarding the ditch cleanup project on the west half of County Road 86. He stated that he was willing to work with the county to come up with a solution to the problem. Keleher commented, “It seems to me in the conversation with Mr. Burke (county administrator) he has a narrow focus and understanding of the problem at hand. He’s made at least one statement in an attempt to minimize the effect of the tree removal on my northern windbreak.” Keleher continued, “My only comment to a statement like that is he doesn’t understand what it’s like at 943 121st Street on a day-to-day basis when that north winds blow.”
Keleher shared the western half of that quarter of the strip has already been removed. This, he felt was the least critical as the remaining three-quarters will have the most dramatic affect on his driveway, yard, and home. In his letter, Keleher questioned the long term history of this right-away purchase, management, and also of significance is the very recent history of that strip of land.
He stated the first attempt was someone stopping by stating they were ready to remove trees on that very day. Keleher wasn’t home at the time so work did not commence. He spoke with Lon on the phone on December 7th, 2019 after figuring out what the county’s plan was for CR86. Keleher shared his concerns with the county highway department on December 9th stating he had concerns and intended to discuss them with the board of commissioners. “He obviously did not feel compelled to let others in the leadership positions know this landowner had serious concerns about the project,” stated Keleher. A letter was sent to Keleher stating the situation on December 13th. Keleher explained since the meeting on December 9th he had been drafting an email and shared this with the board. In it, he had asked Commissioner Gunninck to stop the project with the response being she was willing to have a conversation regarding the project.
Keleher drafted a letter after the meeting on the 19th and read from it at the meeting. Hello Randy and Lori. I had completed the email below Tuesday night abruptly. I plan on reviewing it one more time before sending it your way. To my surprise the 2020 project is in full swing today when I arrived home from work. Fortunately only about 25% of the tree removal at 943 121st Street was executed before work stopped.
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