When Gaylord Tarleton looks along the path where the Scenic Heights sewer project will soon bring a sanity sewer line across his property, he sees lost potential in farmland and timber.

Tarleton and his son, Jeff, settled a nine-month fight with the Wayne County commissioners Monday, March 7, in an easement agreement that gives them more control over their land and timber than they may otherwise have had in an outright easement purchase by the county. They will retain all trees, and the inherent timber value, felled to make way for the construction of the sewer lines. The sewer line can be bumped from its original path over 20 feet to Jeff’s property line, giving him the use of all the property in that corner.

Gaylord Tarleton will receive $6,885 for approximately .305 linear acres and Jeff will receive $8,248 for .407 linear acres.

In exchange, the county gets permanent use of that acreage for sanitary sewer lines and access to a road above the line, dotted with manholes. The property itself will remain in possession of the Tarleton family.

The $1.29 million project, contracted out to G.E. Baker Construction, started in February. Excavation that follows easements through neighboring properties was underway as the Tarletons and the county, represented by Robert Burridge, assistant prosecuting attorney, ironed out the details in the final agreement.

But when it comes right down to it, the Tarletons would have preferred never to have been a part of the easement process at all.

“This is an enormous assault on farmland in general,” Gaylord Tarleton said. “Once they put that road in, it can’t be used for agriculture. It’s a road, nothing else.”

The Tarletons initiated proceedings in Wayne County Probate Court in July against the county’s move to take the easement by eminent domain. Then, as now, they argued the easement would negatively impact the value of their land. There was, and still is, a better route, they said.

Moving the sewer line over a few feet to the property line is a small win for Jeff Tarleton. The original path skirted close to the property line, leaving a 10-foot strip of land separated from the rest of his property. This part of the easement is only valid if the neighboring property owner agrees to it.

By Gaylord Tarleton’s count, there are 72 trees in the path of the sewer line. The appraisal used to set the value for the easement purchase included 12 trees on the two properties.

“There’s future value in those trees that are not ready to be timbered we will never get,” Gaylord said. “I can’t replant there because of the easement...(and) you’re not going to see (new trees) mature in my lifetime that are going to be worth the same.”

Kent Baker, project manager for Engineering Associates, general contractor, said that Baker Construction has the right to clear all trees in the path of the easement. Baker said the contractor will keep the impact to trees at a minimum, because cutting down trees “costs them (extra) money.”

Robert Moore, Tarleton’s attorney, said future value does not come into play, only the value at the time of assessment. Moore compared the situation to an insurance claim; if a farmer were to lose a calf to someone else’s negligence, for example, the settlement would be for a calf and not a full grown heifer.

Baker said he believes the contractor can work with the terms of the easement.

“I think we can get it worked out,” Baker said. “We’ve already worked with other property owners on the same subject of trees.”

The Wayne County commissioners referred comment to the prosecutor’s office. Prosecutor Dan Lutz was unavailable for comment.

The sanitary sewer project was prompted after E. coli was detected in groundwater in the Scenic Heights/Batdorf Road area in 2003. The contamination is believed to have leached out of existing septic systems. The sewer project was ordered by the EPA to correct the problem.

The county is handling installation of the project, after which the lines will be turned over to the city of Wooster.