A stretch of property on the south end of Bellevue was donated by landowners seven years ago for the purpose of beautifying the entrance to the city. Some of those landowners say the city has fallen short on its agreement to keep the area properly maintained. Some of them want the land back.
In 2002, the city of Bellevue received a $12,000 grant from the Idaho Transportation Department to improve a strip of land 800 feet long and 15 feet wide between state Highway 75 and Lookout Lane on the southernmost end of town. Several property owners had donated small portions of their land to the city under the agreement that the city would maintain it with trees and grass.
"We were told the property would look like the areas in front of Atkinsons' Market, with evergreen trees and a grass lawn," said Lookout Lane resident Karen Tackett. "Right now it is a fire hazard and an eyesore. I'd like the city to sign a quit-claim deed so we can get the land back and maintain it properly."
Tackett said she and other landowners had a meeting with Mayor Jon Anderson in 2005 over concerns about lack of maintenance of the property, but that lately her calls to city hall have gone unanswered.
Vivian Ivie, who served on Bellevue City Council for 15 years, owns two lots on Lookout Lane. She was instrumental in getting the land donated and securing the grant for sprinkler, trees and grass.
"I know the city is short on money and there are a lot of parks to maintain, but I'm not happy with it either," she said.
Ivie said she made a call to the public works department recently to complain about the condition of the donated land, but as of Tuesday afternoon, nothing had been done about it.
"I'm not sure I want to get the land back," said Ivie. "I would have 200 feet of property to maintain."
Anderson and City Administrator Tom Blanchard did not return telephone calls from the Idaho Mountain Express to discuss the issue.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
Karen Tackett stands beside a weed-filled strip of land that the city of Bellevue said it would maintain when Tackett and her neighbors donated the property seven years ago. With her is her 4-year-old daughter Tessa. Photo by Willy Cook
