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'Big Y' property owners fight ODOT By JILL BRISKEY Mail Tribune Work on Medford's "Big Y" intersection might be winding down, but battles over the costs to nearby property owners are still going strong. A Jackson County Circuit Court jury on Friday ruled that the Oregon Department of Transportation should pay Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers $135,000 in compensation for taking a small portion of the franchise's parking lot at 1920 N. Pacific Highway. Originally, the state offered to pay Wendy's $69,000, while Wendy's owner Walt Stallcup sought $411,000. Friday's trial was the third court case in which property owners sought more money than ODOT offered for their land. Two additional cases are pending. Despite the legal tie-ups, ODOT construction crews will wrap up work on the intersection project by Feb. 22. ODOT Area Manager Monte Grove said the $15.2 million project is nearly complete, although crews need to paint crosswalks, lanes and arrows on the pavement and work on signal lights. When finished, the road work will connect Crater Lake Highway near the north freeway interchange with Rossanley Drive at Sage Road. Another new road will connect West Table Rock Road to Central Avenue. According to state Assistant Attorney General Paul Sundermeir, ODOT's original offer for the Wendy's property was determined by a Medford appraiser. An appraiser hired by Wendy's reached a higher sum. Although happy with the amount, Stallcup said the money still doesn't make up for financial losses that began when ODOT started construction. "The state doesn't want to compensate you," he said. "We got a tremendous amount of cut-across traffic which is a danger for my customers. It creates circulation problems." Stallcup added that, according to an independent study, more than 1,000 vehicles cut across his parking lot each day since portions of Table Rock Road were closed. "The end result is we've got a traffic problem we didn't have before," he said. In April, the owners of Morningside Apartments at 2001 Table Rock Road will take ODOT to court seeking more money for a swath of property in front of the complex. Merlin Fjarli owns a warehouse on the corner of Rossanley Drive and Ross Lane and will lose a small portion of land to ODOT. Fjarli is also seeking a higher amount for a small piece of his property by taking ODOT to court in July. Figures on the two properties weren't available Monday. Last March, ODOT was ordered to pay $400,000 to C&K Markets Inc., the parent company of Ray's Food Place, for a taking portion of the store's parking lot. C&K officials argued that construction at the Big Y likely contributed to the drop in sales that led to the store's closure last February. The old Medford Corp. mill property, owned by Dallas investment firm Valcor Partners, sought $1.8 million from the state in October. ODOT offered $600,000, but a jury said the property was valued at $1 million. About 23 percent of the state's $27 million budget of the Big Y has been spent on purchasing rights of way. A total of 53 pieces of property are being acquired for the project. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.