- Neighbors in East Mill County spoke out against a school district resolution that could use eminent domain to acquire five acres of the Jeff Zanders Family Farm.
- Community members, including farmers, express concerns about the impact on agriculture and the precedent of using eminent domain.
- Despite opposition, the school board approved the resolution and can now appraise the land and enter another round of negotiations.
Neighbors in East Mill County are standing together to fight a school district resolution that could use eminent domain to acquire five acres of land from a farm that has been in the Zanders family for 100 years.
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The district plans to build a 10,000-square-foot bus barn with maintenance and wash bays, a concrete apron, parking for bus drivers, space for other district vehicles and equipment, and a stormwater detention basin.
"For our family, this is really bigger than the bus barn," a Zanders family member said.
Bret Hays, a fourth-generation farmer, spoke against the district using eminent domain.
"Agriculture is the backbone of this community. A farmer's number one goal is to be able to pass their land down to future generations, so it's taking that opportunity away from the family," Hays said.
Neighbors came not only to support the family and farming community but to prevent what many called a "slippery slope" of eminent domain use.
"Most of us in this community, including the Zanders, have been here for well over a century, and my husband's farm family, we've been here too for over a century and we do not believe that that is the right thing to do to take property by eminent domain," Karen Seipold said.
Jack Sayers of the Mills County Board questioned the necessity of the location, saying, "I'm not sure why we have to have our bus right next to the school."
Despite community opposition, the school board voted to approve the resolution. This approval will allow the district to get their own appraisal of the land and enter what they describe as "good faith" negotiations.
School board member Mark Stearns said he's against eminent domain 99% of the time, but defended the decision, stating, "This isn't putting in a shopping mall. This isn't putting a pipeline or some for-profit thing. This is the only time I would begin to consider it [eminent domain], and we hope it doesn't get there, we hope we can come to an agreement."
This is not the final step in the process. The district will go through another round of offers for the land before it considers eminent domain.
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