asst. to editor

There seems to be a misunderstanding between city officials and a local land-owner regarding a piece of property here in town, and it looks like the matter is far from being settled.

According to a letter sent to the Times by Larry G. Ball, an attorney representing Ron Gregory, the property located at 1000 S. Park Lane belongs to Gregory and he feels City officials are stepping outside their bounds.

The City of Altus removed dirt and gravel from Gregory's property and moved it to another location when preparing for city-wide upgrading and waste removal efforts earlier this year.

When the city moved the dirt and gravel, it left Gregory's property partially unusable (he cannot easily move his vehicles over the newly created lip) and re-created a drainage problem that Gregory had already solved before by placing gravel in the alley.

The letter states that the new lip is very likely to cause Gregory's fence around the property to fall and the grading that has been done has far exceeded the width of the city's recorded easement.

Street Commissioner Holmes Willis said that he has never been contacted about the matter, but he did hear about Gregory's complaints.

“That's a city easement and he doesn't own that. Yes, he owns the property but he does not own the alley behind the property; so we did what we were supposed to do and cleaned up around there. And people like it, too,” he said.

In his letter, Ball said that this is simply incorrect. Gregory owns the alley, subject to the city's utility easement. The city is authorized by the easement to maintain its utility lines but not to remove Mr. Gregory's soil and gravel or grade his property for no reason related to the utility lines.

Ball also stated that the purpose of the letter is to again request that the city rectify the damage it has done by illegally and improperly grading the alley.

Gregory asks that the property be returned to its original grade level and the gravel he paid to have laid be replaced. He does not want to pursue any legal matters against the city.

Mayor T.L. Gramling said that he was aware that the letter had been sent, but he had not seen a copy of it just yet.

“I know he's talking about that alley, but that is a city easement that runs about 20 feet. That belongs to the city. Any other statements about this matter will come from the city attorney,” he said.