LdF tribe wants nearly $10M to settle road issue

After months of not hearing from the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians regarding another negotiating session with the Lac du Flambeau town board on the current expired easement situation for four roads, town chairman Matt Gaulke received a letter on Friday, Dec. 1, from tribal president John Johnson, Sr. stating that the tribe expects nearly $10 million in damages.

A new road access permitting ordinance was approved by tribal voters in August and Johnson referred to that ordinance in his letter to Gaulke and the town. 

He wrote the ordinance “applies to all roads traversing lands owned by the Tribe or by the United States as a trustee for the tribe (Access Roads).”

“As you will see, the Permitting Ordinance will allow legal access to those roads, in exchange for a fee equal to 1.5% of the state-assessed fair market value for the homes situated along the Access Road,” Johnson wrote to Gaulke. “Secondly, the town will not be eligible to utilize the forward-looking Permitting Ordinance until the issues related to the past trespass over Annie Sunn Lane, Center Sugarbush Lane, East Ross Allen Lake Lane and Elsie Lake Lane (the Four Roads) along with past trespass over Big Thunder Lane, are resolved.”

Johnson included the calculations used to reach the $9,657,720 figure.

• $2,885,370 would be for a 10-year settlement at the rate of 1.5% of fair market value of the property along the four roads.

• $3,448,843 for a Big Thunder Road settlement, including 1.5% applied to East Ross Allen Lake Lane for 31 years. 

• $140,000 in legal fees related to negotiations.

• $183,807 in legal fees related to a lawsuit brought against the tribal council by property owners on the four roads.

• $3 million in tribal administrative fees. 

“The Tribe will not issue any permits under the Permitting Ordinance to the town until the Tribe receives payment for past trespass damages,” Johnson wrote in his letter. 

He concluded by telling Gaulke the tribe “has communicated to you and the town repeatedly in the past, the Tribe will not approve any new long-term assessments across Access Roads.”

On Monday, Dec. 4., Gaulke told The Lakeland Times that town clerk Susan Schoonover called him on Friday and told him “you’ve got to come see this.”

“So I did,” he said. Gaulke told the Times Monday he couldn’t comment on the matter further as he hadn’t, at that point, had an opportunity to talk to the town’s legal counsel.

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].