Proposed land sale seeks to resolve error

Miamisburg resident’s upgrade crossed onto golf course, official says.

The city of Miamisburg MIAMISBURG — is seeking to resolve a 21-yearold home improvement mistake by selling a piece of Pipestone Golf Club land to an adjoining property owner.

Miamisburg is proposing to sell 1,742 square feet on the ninth hole of the city-owned course to a Berwick Court property owner who this year discovered a 1996 home improvement project crossed into golf course land, said Miamisburg Economic Development Director Chris Fine.

While Michael Fink of Berwick Court filed for a permit and completed some swimming pool and hardscape work more than two decades ago, it was only earlier this year when he discovered that some of his property improvements “encroach on city owned property” and approached officials about resolving the issue, city records show.

Why the issue was overlooked for so long is something Fine said he is not certain about. One factor, he said, may be that the Finks been the only owner of that land during that time.

“Unless there’s a property transaction, nobody’s really going to know these things until something triggers some type of survey or something along those lines,” Fine said.

Miamisburg City Council was made aware of the issue earlier this year, shortly after it was discovered, Fine said. Council tonight will consider an ordinance to sell the land – the equivalent of slightly more than 0.0446 acres on Pipestone’s southeastern edge – for $500, records show.

Fine described the size of the parcel proposed for sale as “pretty insignificant.”

The transaction “would have no negative impact on the course,” according to city documents, and “selling this land to Mr. and Mrs. Fink is the easiest and quickest way” to resolve the issue.

The city didn’t spend any money on prep work for the sale, as local officials instructed the Finks to perform those duties, Fine said. The sale does not set any negative precedent for the city, he added.

“I think the circumstances around this are somewhat unique, and we can justify what we’re doing without setting a precedent, I believe,” Fine said.