Leighton Township Supervisor Steve Deer and Township Attorney Cliff Bloom are going to do some bargaining with Linnie VanderWerp on her offer to sell two lots.
VanderWerp owns two small lots (Nos. 10 and 34), not big enough for houses on the east end of North Lake Drive, running across the Green Lake public access. Her latest offer to the township is $50,000 for both lots together and closing fees of about $5,000.
Township officials are only interested in obtaining an easement for an emergency road. They thought they already had it, but history is a bit cloudy on that issue because there is no documentation except minutes of a meeting in bygone days.
The sites are in a gated community called “The Cove” and they might serve as locations for a garage or parking lot, but otherwise they aren’t particularly useful.
One observer said, “There’s no market value on that piece of land.”
VanderWerp not long ago was asking for $110,000, but had no takers, and it’s been asserted she’ll have trouble unloading it because it lacks a clear title.
VanderWerp years ago had rocks placed at the endtance of the road, but they have been removed because of public safety concerns.
One member in the audience at Thursday night’s meeting suggested claiming the easement and then sell it to a neighbor who could turn the lots into a parking lot. Deer said he can’t be certain the easement will be recognized as belonging to Leighton Township.
But Deer agreed with colleagues on the board that the asking price for what they’d be getting was too steep and he asked the board for authorization to haggle with VanderWerp and her real estate representatives.
