Sanders asks city for $120K or part of another lot

A man who bought property from the City of Shelbyville only to learn it was owned by the railroad has specified to the city council what type of compensation he wants.

Bobby Sanders hand-delivered a letter to council members last Thursday, following the August city council meeting, that requested reimbursement of the money he paid to the city "plus accrued interest and expenses."

Sanders is asking for either $120,000 or a conveyance of the city's one-half undivided interest in property located on North Main Street that Shelbyville co-owns with Bedford County.

The land was purchased from the city by Sanders in December 1995.

Officials with Walking Horse and Eastern Railroad learned last year that a piece of property was actually within the railroad's right of way. That prompted railroad officials to check for any other properties that might lay in the right of way, and the land that Sanders bought from the city was one of them. But Sanders was already starting a building pad on the lot.

City manager Ed Craig said Monday that he was glad that the city has Sanders' request in writing. The council will be meeting with city attorney Ginger Shofner, to determine the appropriate course of action.

Sanders' letter stated that he bought the land, which is located at the corner of Bethany Lane and Madison Street, for $20,000 and obtained a building permit to construct two commercial buildings.

An agreement had been struck with a prospective tenant for the use of one building and had agreed to purchase it after leasing it for one or two years, Sanders said.

"The excavation work had begun and a pad had been constructed in preparation for the first building," Sanders wrote. "Before a slab was poured, I was notified by the city manager to cease construction."

The matter involving Sanders was considered by the Bedford Railroad Authority and it determined that it "had a need for that property for storage of materials during times of track construction," Craig explained, adding that it was the only piece of land usable for that purpose.

The Authority declined to sell Sanders the property or give him an easement, therefore, he can't use it, Craig said.

According to figures Sanders presented to the city, $22,768.96 was spent buying the land and paying property taxes, an additional $6,399 was spent in "development expenses" and, along with "uncertain materials" listed by Sanders, add up to $40,922.80, most of which are a summary of expenses for the land for the last 10 years.

Sanders told the council two weeks ago that he bought the property on yesterday's market and wants to sell it at today's value.

Since the issue arose last year, the city has obtained all of the drawings from the railroad showing where the right-of-ways exist so they will know if there is a potential problem, but Craig stressed that a property owner must identify what he owns.

"We can do no more than go to the property tax records and assure ourselves that he is the owner of the property," Craig said at the time.