Swans say city is acquiring their land unfairly

State Rep. Kathy Swan and her husband, Reg, say the city of Cape Girardeau is taking their land unfairly, offering well below the appraised value for just over three acres of woods behind their home.

"Kathy and I just want to be treated fairly," Reg Swan said Tuesday. "We expect to be paid at least the appraised value."

The city hired an appraiser to assess the value of the land when it began acquiring property to extend Veterans Memorial Drive from Scenic Drive to Hopper Road. The Swans' property is part of the acreage being acquired for the roadway to be built east of Interstate 55.

The Swans said the land was valued at $39,000 an acre. But the city only offered $58,375 total for slightly more than three acres and put little value on the trees that cover the site, Reg Swan said.

When the Swans wouldn't agree to that offer, the condemnation case went to court.

A special judge ruled last month the city can proceed with the road project and appointed three commissioners to decide on a value for the contested land. The commissioners determined the city should pay $67,200, still well below the appraised value of more than $119,000 reported by the Swans.

The Swans must decide before the end of the month whether they will contest the three-member commission's determination and seek a jury trial, even as the project moves ahead.

City manager Scott Meyer declined to discuss the appraisal or the dollar figures disclosed by the Swans. Meyer said the Swans can make whatever legal case they wish, but he said city officials won't comment because "this is a pending legal case."

The city received five bids on the project Tuesday. R.L. Persons Construction Inc. of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, submitted the low bid of $1.68 million, below the engineer's estimate of $2.24 million.

City engineer Casey Brunke said the city council will be asked to award the construction contract Tuesday. The council's regular meeting has been moved from Monday to Tuesday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Once approved, the contractor will have 270 days to build the road to substantial completion and another 30 days for final completion, Brunke said. She said construction could begin as early as March.

The contractor will have to bring construction equipment to the wooded site from both ends of the project, from Hopper Road or Scenic Drive, unless they make other arrangements with property owners, Brunke said. She said the city has barred construction crews from accessing the site from Interstate 55.

The impending road construction doesn't sit well with the Swans, who love to walk in the woods behind their hilltop home on the city's west side. They had talked about building a new home for themselves in the middle of the woods, but the city's plan to build a road through their property has shattered that dream.

Reg Swan said the road project will result in the removal of all the trees on the project site.

"They are stripping them all," Reg Swan said as he and his wife recently walked among the white oak and hickory trees, leaves rustling with every step. "It just kills us."

The Swans noted the city's acquisition of slightly more than three acres of the 4.7-acre tract would leave them with less than two acres. Eliminating all those trees would lessen the natural sound barrier that shields the Swans and their neighbors from traffic noise of nearby Interstate 55.

According to the commissioners' report, just over an acre of the Swans' land would be used for roadway. Temporary construction easements would cover 1.85 acres, and the rest of the acquired property would be used for drainage improvements. Stormwater would be funneled by pipe under the new road and empty into a ditch that runs parallel to northbound Interstate 55.

Brunke said the Missouri Department of Transporation has reviewed and approved the plans. MoDOT approval was required because the road project abuts I-55 right of way, she said.

The woods contain ravines that will require a lot of fill dirt for a level road, city officials and the Swans said. Much of that fill dirt is expected to come from the Swans' property.

Reg Swan said the city acts as if it is "simply renting" that section of the property that ultimately will be turned back over to the Swans. But Kathy and Reg Swan said the construction work will drastically change the grade of the land and degrade their property.

Reg Swan said he and wife have incurred considerable legal expenses in fighting city hall. Reg Swan acknowledged he and his wife would prefer to keep their woods, but he said the situation could have been resolved out of court if the city had offered to pay a fair price.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Veterans Memorial Drive and Scenic Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.