(Spirit Lake)– One of the landowners whose land was voluntarily annexed into the city of Spirit Lake for the proposed Golf Course Resort development now wants his land de-annexed from the city, siting a lack of progress by developers.
Damon Radcliff told the Spirit Lake city council he’s tired of waiting for something to happen with the development, saying developers are stringing the city along indefinitely.
Radcliff added…quote…”There is no purchase agreement with Benskin Inc. (the developer) and the Radliffs. The purchase agreement is null and void and has been for quite some time.”
Radcliff went on to say…quote…”If they get their poop in a group they can come back and get a new purchase agreement with us. At that time if it does happen we’ll gladly do the annexation”.
One councilman, Jerry Harbst, was sympathetic to the Radcliff’s request, saying the city at the time promised them the area would be de-annexed in the event the development should fall through.
But City Administrator Mark Stevens pleaded with the council not to do anything harsh, saying if the land is de-annexed, it could jeopardize any possibility of the development moving forward in the future. Stevens added he had talked with the developers as recently as Tuesday.
Assistant City Attorney Greg Owen told the landowners there is a process that must be followed before any de-annexation could proceed, saying the first step is to file a formal request with the city, something the Radcliff’s indicated they would do.
Meanwhile, council members said they want to meet with developers Martin Benskin and Glenn Maddox at the next city council meeting. Several indicated the presence of the developers will be required if they are even to begin to show any interest in the development moving forward.
