Easement fee?

[Wheil17]

Hi I am looking for guidance on whether or not I should negotiate an easement fee for the county using my land for access to their timber behind my property. Context: this is a project I would like to happen because it gives me more access to this land behind my property. They have also added culverts for the logging access road in the contract. I would like to add water hole projects x2 in addition to the culverts to make the road usable. The road they will be  using was already accessed 7 years ago on my property so they shouldn't need a whole lot of work until they get to their timber. The consulting forester is also an employee for me as they will incorporate more timber harvest on my property as they harvest their county timber behind my land. So.... Should I expect payment on top of the projects they will be adding to this temporary easement or not? Thanks 

[btulloh]

Sounds like an opportunity for some negotiation and horse trading. Maybe some cash would be possible, maybe a little equipment work for your projects "while they're at it", maybe both.  A good place to start is to see what they thought about both possibilities and go from there. Sounds like no matter how that comes out of it you get the benefit of improved access at no cost to you. They probably have a comfort level with the cash or the equipment work so it would be useful to find out what they typically do in these situations and work it out from there. 

[Iwawoodwork]

So you will have loaded log trucks coming across your property. make sure that it is written in the easement document what condition you want the road to be in at the end of use, graveled. graded, ditched, culverts  open and functional, brush piled where you want it, etc. Also some property owners charge a small amount per thousand BDF off the scale tickets for the logs to go across their land.

[Ljohnsaw]

Also some property owners charge a small amount per thousand BDF off the scale tickets for the logs to go across their land.

Ca-ching!????

[Dom]

I'd be asking for work to be done, and stating how the final roadwork should be completed at the end of the project. 
I would be more inclined to ask for a tax break if possible.
If you do get a fee for the wood harvested, you would likely need to report it as income. Depending on the value, you may be ahead to ask for work to be done on your property. 
Just my nickel, since we got rid of cents.  :D

[dgdrls]

What has the County requested from you specifically?
Do they want an easement?  Do they already have one?

D

[kantuckid]

In my area that road would become a county road which means that the public would pay to maintain it buy also be able to use it. Not what I'd want unless to your overall advantage? 
 

[sealark37]

Make sure that the easement is temporary, for removal of logging material.  Without this stated in the contract, you may end up with new neighbors that you don't want.

[kantuckid]

A few county judge executives ago we had one who we knew and he was on what I'll call a cemetery kick wherein he was doing road improvements to the many of them found in any eastern KY county, including one old one on our land. He asked me if I wanted to gain county road designation and thus their rocks and grader work on my costly to maintain steep private entrance road. I declined as that would have meant too many hunters and root diggers easily entering our land which is otherwise very private-well sort of, if you don't count the 5 deer stands in the woods left by people I don't know.
Our most recent neighbor let that cemetery road degrade to prevent others from using it to enter his small property that fronts ours. Those families buried there are either all dead or choose to ignore the cemetery FWIW. 
  

[John Mc]

I would be more inclined to ask for a tax break if possible.

Granting a tax break is often much more difficult for a government entity to do than simply paying you for the right to access. (Doing a little extra work on the side for you is sometimes even easier, as they are already there with the equipment, and don't have to put a hard dollar figure on the work.) There are generally all sorts of rules and restrictions around granting a tax break. If the work they are doing somehow devalues your land, that's a different story - they could reassess your land a the lower value, reducing your taxes - but it does not sound as though that is the case here.

[mike_belben]

whatever you decide to do, be sure to make friends with govt and not enemies.  they have all sorts of ways to play dirty.  let the bigwigs grandson hunt your place or send him home with a pie for the wife, something like that.  those people have a lot of power and ofter a lot of ego to go with it. recruit it to your side.  you may need that fellow later. 

[Southside]

Just keep in mind that the fee you receive will be in part paid by yourself via your taxes.  Taking it out of one pocket and putting it into the other does not make you richer. 

[Iwawoodwork]

Southside, I don't know about not making you richer, I know a few contractors who deal in government jobs and they seem to be doing quite well.

[Dom]

Iwawoodwork, he's not the contractor in this case.

I agree with Southside. its likely not worth trying to get a cut of the stumpage. Better to get work done.


John Mc, its long shot asking a tax break. If you never ask, you never know.

[Iwawoodwork]

Dom you missed the point, I know he is not a contractor but contractors get government money for work done and they also pay taxes, however if he can barter a better deal thats great.

[Dom]

Dom you missed the point, I know he is not a contractor but contractors get government money for work done and they also pay taxes, however if he can barter a better deal thats great.

Gotcha.