City to install crosswalk

The City of Sisters will paint a new crosswalk in the middle of the block on Main Avenue between Cedar and Locust streets, after being forced by a court ruling to remove sidewalks along the north side of the street.

The removal makes Main Avenue narrower at that mid-block juncture than the rest of the street.

City Manager Andrew Gorayeb and Public Works Director Paul Bertagna told the city council in a workshop on Thursday that the City will install a "sidewalk ends" sign and paint the crosswalk so that pedestrians do not use the now-unimproved shoulder of the street.

The City will also install standing "deliniators" to mark the corner of Main and Locust for vehicle traffic.

The City removed the sidewalk and parking improvements on Friday, January 17, to comply with a court order resulting from a suit over ownership of a 25-foot strip of land, part of a lot owned by Dave and Sandy Marlow of Sisters. The city in 2009 widened Main Avenue, put in diagonal parking, and built sidewalk on the property.

The City and the Marlows signed a reimbursement agreement in January 2011, requiring the property owner to reimburse the city for the improvements at the time of the sale or development of the property.

Court documents note that "at the time of the execution of the agreement, all parties believed that (the City) owned the 140-foot by 25-foot strip abutting the south boundary (of the property)." Tax assessor maps proved to be in error regarding ownership, leaving the improvements to be made on Main Avenue based on what the court calls "a mutual mistake."

According to the Marlows, the mistake was discovered some three-plus years ago when the Marlows were planning to do some improvements on the property. Sandy Marlow said the city administration at that time was not responsive and sent the matter into the courts.

Despite a lengthy period of discussions, the Marlows and the City could not reach a settlement that would leave the improvements in place, a circumstance that Judge Alta Brady called "perplexing."

Sandy Marlow told The Nugget that the Marlows would have preferred to keep the improvements. She said their desired outcome was for the City of Sisters to pay them fair market value for the property, which, she says, the City did not want to do.

Gorayeb disputes that characterization of events.

"We offered the Marlows the appraised value of their strip of property, $40,900 less the improvement reimbursement of $12,500 - which they have signed an agreement to pay," he told The Nugget. "They declined that offer."

Gorayeb also said that the city's insurance company is appealing the court's $30,000 award to the Marlows.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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