City Manager

Montpelier City Manager William Fraser announced today that the Aja/Zorzi family, the State of Vermont Agency of Transportation ("VTrans") and the City of Montpelier have settled pending litigation concerning the City's acquisition of two parcels of land as part of the Pioneer Street Bridge construction project.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Aja/Zorzi family will be paid a lump sum of $95,000. Under the funding formula for the bridge project, VTrans will assume 90% of the payment liability ($85,500) while the City will assume the remaining 10% ($9,500). At issue was the ownership of two land parcels acquired by the city for the bridge project. The settlement

amount is based on the established value of one of those parcels, a former railroad right of way, including accrued interest since commencement of the condemnation proceedings in 2000. The settlement does not include any compensation for the second parcel, the Barre Street right of way. The family was previously paid $31,600 for a third parcel which was not in dispute.

Fraser said, "The city is delighted that the case is resolved. We have stated repeatedly that this litigation is about a lingering property dispute between the family and Vtrans over the State's claimed ownership of the former rail right of way. For this reason we have maintained that if the family is to be compensated, it should be largely at State expense, not City taxpayers. This settlement achieves that result."

VTrans had previously objected to payment of federal/state funds alleging that the state fully owned the former railroad right of way and the city fully owned the Barre Street right of way. Had the City not pursed this litigation, City taxpayers alone could have been liable for all amounts claimed by the family and accrued interest, an amount in excess of $150,000.

“We are also happy that the family is being fairly compensated.” Fraser continued. “The city has consistently maintained that if the family has a legitimate claim to the land they should be paid. We're pleased to have initiated court proceedings which brought the matter to a proper conclusion."

The settlement makes no official determination about the State's ownership of the former rail right of way, leaving resolution of any continuing issues for the future. Fraser pointed out that as the City and VTrans pursued this case, it became clear that resolution of this ownership issue involved complex factual and legal questions. It also became clear that resolution in a manner not supported by Vtrans could compromise State financial participation. Fraser said, "The City began this condemnation as a routine proceeding similar to many it has worked on with Vtrans in the past. In hindsight however, there should have been better communication and coordination between the City, Vtrans and the family on the rail right of way from the outset. Since the ownership issue is still not resolved, we intend to have discussions with Vtrans to insure that what happened in this case does not occur in the future."

Fraser went on to state, "This is a great outcome." Fraser said. The family is getting compensated consistent with their earlier expectations. The city's share stays at 10% and is an amount that we were prepared to pay originally. Finally, resolution of the rail right of way issue is back with the State, where it belongs. The state can base its final payment on defensible facts, records, property values and case law. Public dollars have been properly spent. We only wish that this conclusion had been reached a couple of years ago. It's unfortunate that the family had to wait this long for a final resolution."

The settlement was presented today to Judge Helen Toor in Washington County Superior Court in lieu of a scheduled trial on the matter. Attorney Steven Stitzel represented the city, Attorney Michael Popowski represented the Aja/Zorzi family. The Vermont Agency of Transportation

was represented by Agency Attorney and Assistant Attorney General John Dunleavy.

Posted May 24, 2006