Herrick Park property being negotiated

WALLACE — Public access is at the forefront as Shoshone County commissioners address a piece of property at the center of an ongoing dispute over the land’s ownership.

The property, at the mouth of Big Creek as it flows into the St. Joe River near Herrick Park, is now the subject of a quiet title suit filed in April by the Buell Brothers against the unknown heirs of William and Joyce Scofield, the original owners of the Herrick Park's land.

“We have authorized the public works department to engage in negotiations with the plaintiff to protect everyone’s interests as best we can,” Shoshone BOCC chairman Dave Dose said. “Our stated goals are to secure appropriate space for public service utilities, such as our water truck; and adequate space to turn around and operate, as we have historically. And to do our best to preserve the ability for foot access to this portion of Big Creek, which has been historically accessed by the public at this location.”

The property has received a high volume of publicity over the past two years following two failed petitions by the Buell Brothers seeking to vacate a 100-foot section of county right-of-way that would provide access to the property.

Now, the “interest” of that property is being debated between the Buell Brothers and Shoshone County Public Works.

When a person has an interest in a property, it means they have a right to the property, whether it's through ownership or security. Further, to have ownership interest would mean that they have all the rights that come with owning a property.

The section of land originally petitioned for abandonment includes a ramp that runs from the road down to the waterfront area below. The ramp was constructed and maintained by Shoshone County for the purpose of filling up water trucks for dust control in the area.

The area of land at the bottom of the ramp is a popular recreation spot for people using both waterways for boating, floating, and even fishing.

The Buell Brothers own the property directly east of the creek mouth but they had claimed the chunk of land on the west side of the creek, allegedly through the process of accretion and the use of a quitclaim deed.

If the county had vacated the section of right of way, and allowed the Buell Brothers ownership of the ramp, a valuable county and public access point would have been surrendered for free.

A quitclaim deed in the state of Idaho is a legal document that conveys a property from a grantor to the grantee without any form of guarantee that the grantor has the legal authority to sell or transfer the property or that the property has a clean title.

Shoshone County Assessor Jerry White explained the history of the Herrick Park subdivision, including its original owner William Schofield — who owned much of the land in the area and created the subdivision.

When Schofield platted the subdivision in the 1960s, he didn’t include the section of property that has been claimed in the quitclaim deed, which almost nullifies any sort of claim or interest on the land in question according to White.

“These two pieces of land were not subdivided so I think in essence the Schofields would still be the owners,” White previously explained.

White explained that in their quitclaim deed, Buell Bros. Inc. signed over the interest in the property from themselves to themselves and are thus claiming an interest in the land.