Last week the Broadcaster ran an editorial concerning the Mark and Theresa Lepke family and an appraisal they received from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) concerning their farm north of Viroqua.

Their farm is on Hwys. 14/61/27 and is losing land to the four-lane expansion of the highway and construction of the multi-use path, which is slated to take place in 2011.

At the time we ran the editorial, the DOT did not get back to us. However, later last week they did. We asked them specifically to address the timeline for dealing with appraisals.

Diane K. Kaufman, Real Estate Specialist for the DOT, sent us e-mails on Thursday or Friday addressing the timelines to respond to appraisals. She said:

“Wisconsin Administrative Code requires that the Acquiring Agency — WisDOT in this case — meet with displaced property owners within 7 to 14 days after they receive the DOT appraisal, to review with them their relocation benefits. If a face-to-face meeting is not possible within this timeframe, the benefit package may be delivered by mail. Delivery of this package requires no immediate response from affected property owners. WisDOT staff will, to the greatest extent possible, accommodate property owners’ schedules for meetings to discuss the relocation program and the benefits for which they are eligible.

Once the DOT provides an appraisal of the property to be acquired to the property owner, they are allowed 60 days in which to secure an appraisal of their own by an appraiser of their choosing. If turned in to DOT within this 60 day timeframe, DOT will reimburse the owner for the reasonable cost of this additional appraisal. This appraisal can then be used in their negotiations with DOT. On average, DOT and property owners are able to reach successful conclusions to their negotiations in over 90 percent of DOT’s acquisitions.

In cases where an agreement cannot be reached, DOT is required to take possession of the property through Wisconsin’s eminent domain process. This process allows for an additional 20-day negotiation period. If one cannot be reached, title to the needed property is then transferred to the DOT by the recording of an award of damages, with payment made to the property owner. The property owner is then allowed two years in which to file an appeal for additional compensation.”

In an effort to be fair to the DOT, we’re printing its response this week.