The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published April 25, 2018

Eminent domain victims file suit against Lake Ozark

LAKE OZARK - Victoria Sutton and Rosemary Laramore, property owners near the City of Lake Ozark’s Twin Oaks Pump Station, filed suit in Miller County Court on April 13 for violations of the Missouri Sunshine Law.

The defendants named in the suit are the City of Lake Ozark, Custodian of Records Kathy Vance and former Custodian of Records Kimberly Baker.

According to a press release from attorney Jim Putnam of McCausland, Barrett, and Bartalos, P.C., the complaint alleges that the defendants repeatedly violated the state open records law by failing to respond to records requests within three days, failing to provide requested records, failing to provide detailed explanations for the cause of delays in providing records and violations related to open meetings.

The complaint also alleges that the defendants knowingly, willfully and purposefully broke the Sunshine Law.

The lawsuit contains 19 counts of Sunshine law violations and is allegedly supported by exhibits containing detailed communications with the City of Lake Ozark.

It seeks judgment that the records sought are public records, an injunction to provide records, a leveling of civil penalties for knowing and willful violations, and an award of damages.

In addition, the suit seeks an injunction to prevent the city from taking action on a City Ordinance authorizing the use of eminent domain to obtain a portion of Ms. Laramore’s property for an access road to the Twin Oaks Lift Station.

The Board of Aldermen approved the taking of the property last month. A section of the approved ordinance says:

“The City Administrator and the City Attorney of the City of Lake Ozark, Missouri are hereby authorized and directed to proceed immediately with the ling of condemnation proceedings against the above described property to acquire the Temporary Construction Easement and Permanent Utility Easement giving permanent right-of-way over, under and through said parcels necessary for constructing and maintaining infrastructure related to the Twin Oaks Lift/Pump Station. Said acquisition is to be carried out as authorized by the laws and Constitution of the State of Missouri.”

The city lost a court case with the state in 2008 regarding their sewage and the city has to obey the consent agreement, which they feel this is a part of.

According to the court record, the objectives of the 2008 judgment are:

“A. To require Lake Ozark to come into and maintain compliance with the law, which prohibits discharging pollutants except in compliance with the law and this consent decree: and
B. To require Lake Ozark to abide by a schedule to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows (‘SSOs’) from its collection system.”

The consent judgment stated that the city “is ordered to comply with the Missouri Clean Water Law…at all times in the future.”

The Twin Oaks Lift Station is located in the City of Lake Ozark and is part of the city’s sewer system.

The city is undertaking to repair the Twin Oaks Lift Station, including constructing a permanent, paved access road to the station.

The project will include modifying the approach to the lift station by lowering the grade and is intended to make it easier to service the pumps and whatever else the facility needs in times of repair, the city is stating in their reasoning for the action.

According to Putnam, his clients, (Sutton and Laramore) and other area property owners are opposed to the permanent road.

“The City of Lake Ozark is required to comply with the Missouri Sunshine Law by providing public records in accordance with the law and conducting its meetings with transparency,” Putnam said. “The city has repeatedly failed to comply with the Sunshine Law over the course of several years. As a result my clients have been harmed and their property and property rights are in jeopardy.”

As of press time, there had been no response from the city filed with the court in this suit.

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