Whites Canyon Detention Basin drainage easement

Moab's Whites Dam Detention Basin, a stormwater facility built in the 1970s by the state and the city, has never had a recorded easement or property interest granted to any government, and the city says it has not been able to reach the basin for several years. For the Oct. 27 meeting the city manager asks the council to buy a permanent, exclusive drainage easement of about 4.06 acres from Panorama Holdings, LLC for $142,100, which works out to $35,000 an acre under a price negotiated from recent appraisals and comparable sales. The money would come from the Stormwater Enterprise Fund, which staff say budgeted enough for easement and land purchases. The draft easement lets the city detain and discharge stormwater and enter to inspect, repair and clean the basin, reaching it through two neighboring parcels, and it would replace any rights the city may have gained by long use. The city would maintain the basin at its own cost, and the owner may inspect to confirm that it does. The easement takes effect when both sides sign and is recorded with Grand County. The council had not voted as of the agenda, and the packet has no signed easement or closing record.