ELY – Officials from the city of Ely and Morse Township continued negotiations this past week over a land swap near a former landfill area on Lookout Ridge Road.

With St. Louis County Commissioner Tom Rukavina acting as umpire during a joint meeting between the governmental bodies, members of the Ely city council voted to “accept for consideration” the township’s proposal to allow the city to acquire 60 acres of tax-forfeited land and annex 140 additional acres in the township.

Morse demanded that no industrial use take place on the land and also asked to receive as much as one-fourth of property tax revenue on that land for the next 10 years. In addition, the township would acquire 40 acres of property now owned by the city located east of Hwy. 1. A second township proposal was that no other annexation take place outside of an existing annexation agreement, dating back to 1973, without the consent of both sides.

“We’re all Ely guys,” Rukavina said during an hour-long give-and-take session in the Ely council chambers. He urged the local leaders to solve the dispute themselves rather than take legal action or look to the state for mediation.

The negotiation session came after months of wrangling between the two units of government because both Ely and Morse wanted the chance to purchase the land from the St. Louis County tax forfeit rolls.

Ely Mayor Chuck Novak said that the former dumpsite needs to be cleaned up for any development to take place on the parcel. “The groundwater pollution is impacting everybody,” he said. “People put everything in that dump, including the kitchen sink.” He said grant money is available to clean up the site, but only if a development project is planned. He said he would like to see more housing built in the area.

Morse officials have indicated they want to open the land for recreational use.

Rukavina tabled his proposal to sell the land to Morse at a recent St. Louis County Board meeting in order to give the local officials a chance to work out a deal. He told the two sides there were no guarantees if they took their dispute to an administrative law judge. “The only people guaranteed to win that way are the lawyers,” he said.

Like most discussions between the city and township, this latest one was spirited at times.

Ely council member Paul Kess questioned the demand that no further annexations be done without an agreement. “Why is that important?” he asked.

Morse Supervisor Bob Berrini yelled back, “Why do you think? Come on, Paul, use your head!”

Berrini reminded the city council that their water pipes go through the Town of Morse.

“If you want to shut off the water, say so,” Novak shot back.

In the end, the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Council members voted 6-0 to consider the Morse proposal.

“I was hoping we could come to some sort of agreement where everybody wins,” Rukavina said.