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April 25, 2000
Noah's Ark Project lawsuit taken under advisementAnimal shelteroperator says she needs more timeBy GUY PRIEL Journal Staff Writer GAYLORD -- The owner and operator of an animal shelter in Sibley County had her day in court Monday, but she will have to wait for some decision on the case. During the hearing on Monday, a motion for dismissal was made by the defendants in the case, who want the rural Winthrop property partitioned and sold by the county. The judge, Robert J. Goggins took the case under advisement and now has 90 days to make a decision. "They are trying to get me out one way or the other," Sandra Gerke, owner and operator of the Noah's Ark Project in Bismarck Township, said. The lawsuit was filed by Gerke last summer claiming that she was denied due process and had been defrauded out of the intended use of the property, which was to develop a temporary shelter for stray animals while homes were being found for them. "All of us agreed when we bought the property that this is what we wanted to do," Gerke said. "I am working on getting things going, like the county wanted. I need time, and no one is giving me the time I need." Named as defendants in the lawsuit are the Sibley County Planning and Zoning Commission, the Bismarck Township Board, Sally Webster, conservator for Dorothy Oestrich and Janice Schrupp, conservator for Howard LaFavor. The lawsuit was filed in response to a denial of a conditional use permit that Gerke applied for early in 1999, after the joint tenants Oestrich and LaFavor withdrew their proposal because of health reasons. "I have never even met one of the conservators until this morning in court," Gerke said. "No one will talk to me when I try to get things worked out between us." In the lawsuit, Gerke claims that county and township officials are not in compliance with state statutes. She is seeking related costs of the civil suit and appeal, as well as reimbursement of $299.50 for application and filing fees related to the denied permit. She is also asking that the court void the severance of the joint tenancy involved in the purchase of the property in October 1996. "There are levels to this that no one knows about," she said. "I had a house fire and the county attorney, through a letter, indicated that I can't make any repairs to the house." The defendants say the operation of a kennel and animal shelter diminishes the value of equity interest of Oestrich and LaFavor. Gerke, who defended herself in court Monday, has said she will hire an attorney from outside the county to help get the matter settled in an appropriate fashion. "I can't get an attorney here or in McLeod County, because they all say it is a conflict of interest," she said. "We are a rural county. Everyone knows what is going on with this case." It was the motion for dismissal made by the attorney's for the defendants that Judge Goggins said he will take under advisement pending further information on all related matters.
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